More than 350 workers laid off from Town of Newmarket amid coronavirus crisis

Mayor says town likely to run deficit for 1st time in decades

Yorkregion.com
April 20, 2020
Simone Joseph

More than 350 employees with the Town of Newmarket have been laid off, taking protected leave.

The workers are seasonal, casual staff from the recreation and culture department.

"These are programs that have been shut down," Mayor John Taylor said April 18. "We have to manage the financial situation in town."

As part of the attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19, the town had to halt all recreation programs.

Under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, employees have the right to take a declared emergency leave -- unpaid leave from work if the employee cannot perform their duties because of an emergency declared by the Lieutenant Governor in Council or the premier.

The mayor pointed out that some of the laid-off employees have benefits that will be returned in the future and, of course, this temporary layoff includes a protected leave so the town cannot seek a person to fill one of the laid off employee’s positions.

The town has to manage COVID-19’s impact on the budget, the mayor said, adding that for the first time in decades, Newmarket will run a deficit.

Newmarket is "looking at other ways to contain the budget", the mayor said.

Staff is examining what the non-essential areas of spending are, Taylor said. At the same time, the town has also experienced some COVID-19-related areas of savings, such as less fuel expenses, he said.

Newmarket is working hard to move forward under the stress and strain of the novel coronavirus.

"We’re still continuing to execute critical services, working hard to manage the impact (and) the new demand on the municipality," Taylor said.