Reopen GTA-Hamilton area with one set of restrictions, mayors tell Premier Ford

Thestar.com
May 20, 2021
David Rider

Ontario should reopen the Greater Toronto-Hamilton area with one set of rules -- not the past confusing patchwork of zones that had residents hopping borders to shop or dine out, several mayors say.

“To me, whatever the rules are, they should be applicable to the entire region,” Toronto Mayor John Tory said Wednesday, a day before Premier Doug Ford is expected to unveil a detailed blueprint for easing Ontario’s pandemic restrictions.

Tory’s desire was echoed by mayors of Hamilton, Markham, Brampton, Oshawa and Caledon, including some who in past months had pushed the province to loosen restrictions on their communities.

Toronto’s mayor said he hopes for “simple, decisive and yet cautious” rules that don’t confuse GTHA residents, who routinely cross municipal borders to work, dine and shop and often get information from the same news sources.

Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s public health chief, said the new framework must be “practical (and) it has to be readily communicated and understandable to the large swath of the province’s population that lives, works and plays in this Greater Toronto and Hamilton area.”

Before the current Ontario-wide stay-at-home order was imposed amid a punishing third wave of COVID-19, the Ford government had municipalities in colour-coded zones, based on virus levels and risk of spread, with different restrictions.

For example, in late February indoor dining was banned in Toronto but allowed in neighbouring York Region. Earlier, some GTHA malls were packed with shoppers from more locked-down zones, raising fears of potential virus spread.

Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti agrees with Tory that this time the GTHA needs a unified approach, especially since vaccination rates are fairly uniform.

As to what should open first, Scarpitti said he believes outdoor dining could safely happen soon. Also, he has asked the Ford government to consider letting small retailers open a week or two before big ones.

“It’s not just a chance to regain some of their lost business,” Scarpitti said. “Small, family-owned businesses know their employees, they know their customers, they can better control who comes in and who goes out and won’t be hit with an overwhelming turnout.”

The Star’s Robert Benzie reported Wednesday that the Ford government won’t bring back geography-based zones, instead lifting restrictions by economic sector. If applied provincewide, or least GTHA-wide, that should address the local mayors’ fears about regional confusion and disparity.

Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger said a uniform approach is needed to avoid “the region hopping that we saw last fall.”

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said: “You can’t split up the GTA. We are too interconnected.”

Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter said: “Allowing some municipalities to open earlier could result in the migration of individuals from restricted areas, leading to the spread of transmission.”

And Allan Thompson, mayor of Caledon, said a standard approach “would create fairness for Caledon small businesses who have endured multiple openings and closings throughout the pandemic.”