Businesses want fair, consistent rules for big box and mom and pop operations
A small business owner in Kentville who opened on May 25 and was fined $11,622 by police for doing so says he did it as a form of protest.“I only opened to protest the unwillingness of government to give us a fair chance to make a living,” said Mike Huntley, owner of Huntley’s Sand and Sea Dive Shop. “I will be fighting the fine.”
Huntley said he believes that all stores should be treated equally. He also believes that small businesses can do a better job managing COVID-19 public health protocols than big-box retailers.
AVCC president Mark Vardy said they know that small business is the backbone of our economy. They also know that entrepreneurs who own and operate small businesses don’t want loans, grants or government handouts: they want fair, equitable rules so they can safely get to work, create jobs and sustain a living for themselves and others.
The AVCC has watched and listened as its 380 members cry out for help, protest restrictions and plead for the chance to reopen. Members have identified unfair restrictions to “non-essential” shopping while so-called big-box stores continue to operate with everything on the shelves.
Unless the rules change soon, the AVCC is worried that many of its members won’t survive the current regulatory environment.
Vardy said the AVCC has been engaging with government since day one and although they’ve been told there will soon be a plan announced, the current situation has gone on too long.
Vardy said they were initially expecting the current lockdown to last two weeks, but it has lasted over a month. He said government has to put some rules in place, which small businesses are capable of handling, to allow them to reopen.
“We’re going to be losing a lot of long-term businesses that we need in our community,” Vardy said. “The government’s inattention to this has gone on too long and we need to get them back open.”
He said it seems like the wild west with big retailers being allowed to operate uninhibited. Vardy said they don’t want to see any business facing restrictions but for rules that are fair, make sense, and that are enforced equitably to be established.
He said COVID-19 outbreaks are happening when rules such as social distancing, limiting capacity and proper sanitization aren’t being followed.
Vardy said small businesses such as Huntley’s Sand and Sea Dive Shop in Kentville are being fined $11,622 for opening, but you don’t see police waiting outside Walmart to fine them when there are too many people in the store or for selling non-essential items.
AVCC interim executive director Nyla Frank-Rodgers pointed out that small businesses have detailed COVID-19 safety procedures in place and are better equipped than so-called “big box” retailers to handle the flow of customers, contact tracing, social distancing and cleanliness.
‘Level the playing field’
Kings North MLA John Lohr has been calling on the Rankin government to act. He said the time has come to level the playing field.
“I think the Rankin government made a serious mistake or error in the way they implemented this latest shutdown,” Lohr said.
He said the lack of small business support from the provincial government during the third wave is killing small retail in western Nova Scotia. Large retailers are allowed to stay open, selling both essential and non-essential items, while small retailers are shut down.
He said small retailers have done an excellent job obeying the rules throughout the pandemic and pointed out that there have been almost no contact exposures reported at these stores.
Lohr said he doesn’t agree with so many small businesses being classified as non-essential. He believes they are all essential to the economy and to the entrepreneurs who depend on them for their livelihoods.
“I know there are curbside sales for some, but many can’t adapt to that and many can’t adapt to online sales, so it’s been particularly difficult for them,” Lohr said.
He said he appreciates the necessity to exercise public health protocols and precautions as Nova Scotia remains in the grip of the third wave of COVID-19. However, he believes a greater emphasis should have been placed on contact tracing and cleanings, for example, opposed to forcing small businesses to close their doors.
Lohr said he doesn’t place blame on larger retailers that have been allowed to remain open, as they are playing by the rules. He said the staff at our larger grocery stores, for example, have taken considerable risks in continuing to serve the public and could be considered essential.
“This is a very artificial distinction between essential and non-essential and it hasn’t been implemented fairly,” Lohr said.
He said he and his wife had a retail store for 19 years and they know how tough it is. Retail is not easy, as operators work hard to survive on very small margins.
Saltwire Network
https://www.saltwire.com/prince-edward-island/news/canada/updated-annapolis-valley-chamber-small-businesses-call-on-ns-government-to-level-the-playing-field-100593636/
