Toronto, the city I call home, is presently under a lockdown due to a rise in cases of COVID these past number of weeks. Now when I use the term “lockdown”, that does not mean people are not allowed to go anywhere or all businesses are closed. In fact, if you want to go to Walmart or Costco, you can and shop as you would normally shop. Meanwhile, no foot traffic is allowed in any non-essential small businesses. Small business owners feel that this is a double standard and I can’t agree with them enough!
How does the government justify that it’s safer to shop within an indoor space like Costco where hundreds of people congregate at once? It isn’t, there’s evidence to that effect as people are getting sick when going to shop at those places.
Why do we feel that big box stores run by multi-national corporations can do a better job of keeping people safe? Wouldn’t the safest route be to allow customers of small businesses to book a specific time to enter the store, thus allowing the business to stay relevant to its small but dedicated customer base?
The danger of the current policy is that the very idea of a small business will be destroyed. Despite the fact small businesses employ the vast majority of Canadians, the danger of such policies is to change the very essence of how goods and services are exchanged. We’ve already seen clear evidence of the detrimental effects of big box stores overrunning a city. I’m very concerned that these COVID policies could push many businesses over the edge.
The government is in the position of looking out for the health welfare of its citizenry. If they truly believe that serious harm can come to us if we go shopping in our local store, then they must be consistent and immediately order the closure of big box stores as well. As we’ve been told, COVID doesn’t discriminate.