THUNDER BAY — Jamie Gauvreau feels small businesses in Thunder Bay are being treated unjustly by the provincial government's COVID-19 lockdown that went into effect on December 26.
"We did everything we were asked to do for the six months. We put our PPE in place. We kept things clean. We slowed down our flow of traffic...but I guess it wasn't enough," Gauvreau said Monday at the scene of a protest on Memorial Ave. at Central Ave.
About half a dozen people participated.
Gauvreau, who owns Do or Dye hair salon, "Now, the real slap in the face is that Walmart is open, the schools are open, and yet it's just our small businesses suffering."
He said that although some government programs have been set up to help business owners, they are not enough.
"We're suffering. We're going to see a big economy drop here in Thunder Bay real soon."
Gauvreau said the incidence of COVID-19 in the district is nothing close to what it is in southern Ontario, so "we should open until the numbers say otherwise. Right now the numbers deem us in orange, which is the standard the government and the health unit set. It's just not sticking to it."
To be fair, he said, the government should either lock everything down, including travel, or let small businesses in the city and district reopen.
Gauvreau questioned why "if there can be 25 kids in a classroom" small business owners can't have a couple of people inside their premises..
"We follow all the protocol," he said. "We're not oblivious to the situation. We understand the problem. But we also have a problem. We may not be essential to the government but we're essential to our families for income."
Gauvreau's plea echoes concerns in an online petition to the Thunder Bay District Health Unit that's been signed by over 3,300 people.
It calls on local leaders and health officials to "take ownership of the situation in our region and back us in returning to the colour-coded framework laid out by the province to recognize regional differences."
One of the people promoting the petition in a video posted to Facebook is business owner Gavin Barrett.
Barrett operates Afloat Wellness Centre.
In the video, he also identified himself as a paramedic, but in an interview Monday he stressed that his opinions are are not those of his employer.
Barrett said he spoke out after hearing a lot of frustration in the business community for the move away from the regional COVID-19 colour-coded system.
"Throughout this year, we've been taking a regional approach that took case numbers into account. The extension of this lockdown just seemed to go against the framework set out by the province."
Barrett said he never intended for his message to take an adversarial approach against the health unit's medical officer of health, and offered an apology to Dr. Janet DeMille.
"My intent was never to attack her personally or undermine the importance of public health guidelines, it just reflected frustration. A lot of businesses are trying to plan and manage the situation. It's very difficult when we don't know if the colour-coded framework is going to be upheld."
Barrett added, however, that he's open to the possibility that people aren't fully informed as to the reasons the framework is not being followed.
"If that's the case, I'd love to hear it, and perhaps it could be communicated a little more effectively to struggling local businesses," Barrett said.
He noted that he knows some business owners who have already been forced to close, and others who are talking about doing so.
"It would really help in managing if local businesses knew there was going to be consistency....Certainly our intention is not to be irresponsible in any way. We're going to respect public health guidelines regardless of what they are."
TBDHU responds to 'inaccuracies and misrepresentations'
In a statement issued late Monday afternoon, the TBDHU issued the following response:
Recent statements circulating on social media contain inaccuracies and misrepresentations of the messaging from Dr. Janet DeMille, Medical Officer of Health of the Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU). Dr. DeMille did support the provincial decision to extend the province wide shut down for an additional two weeks in this area. Her support was based on careful consideration of many different factors, which include:
. Analysis of rising case numbers in many areas in the province and other areas of the country, including some areas with steep increases recently. Overall this is a worrisome trend with numbers now higher than they have ever been in this pandemic;
. Evidence of increased COVID-19 activity in other Northern Health Units which have the most similarity with TBDHU in the province.
. Vulnerability of the post-holiday period with indications in many other jurisdictions of holiday activities and gatherings directly contributing to spread;
. Recognition that measures are most effective when implemented early and are less effective when rates and numbers are already elevated.
The shutdown measures are intended to temporarily keep people home, to reduce the further spread of the virus and to maintain, as much as possible, low community transmission of this virus. Low community spread of COVID-19 protects communities, optimizes the likelihood of being able to keep schools and businesses open and ensures the ability of the health care system to manage.
In addition, at no time did Dr. DeMille refuse any funding to support the response to COVID-19. TBDHU is part of a provincial system, which includes the Ministry of Health, Office of the Chief MOH, Public Health Ontario, and other health units, and has worked through that system to access support for TBDHU when needed. Federal supports and programs are often provided to areas, if needed, through the province.
As of Monday, there were 74 active COVID-19 cases across the District of Thunder Bay, with three patients receiving treatment in hospital.
Note: This story has been updated to include the statement provided by the TBDHU
