Pragmatic Approach to Reopening Ontario Reduces Uncertainty for Business

(Toronto – May 20, 2021) – Today, Rocco Rossi, President and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), released the following statement in reaction to the reopening plan announced by the Government of Ontario today:

“As we have said from the beginning, transparency and clear communication from the Government of Ontario are critical for business confidence during this time. We believe the plan introduced today is a pragmatic approach that will improve predictability for Ontario business.

“We are pleased to see the government use evidence-based metrics and thresholds to indicate when Ontario will move from one stage of reopening to the next. This will provide businesses with a runway for operational planning. We look forward to collecting additional feedback from the business community and hope the government will be remain open to hearing from stakeholders across the province.

“We continue to call on the Province for further clarity on when and how Ontarians who received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine will receive their second dose, or at least when that decision will be made and what information it will be based on.

“While we fully appreciate the need to be nimble and agile in responding to a crisis that is evolving rapidly, we believe this flexibility should not preclude the government from providing Ontarians with a clear understanding about the key metrics and thresholds for a measured, safe, and carefully calibrated reopening process. The plan announced today strikes a good balance.

“We all want our communities, businesses, and services to reopen as quickly as possible, but this should not come at the expense of public health. To help prevent a fourth wave, we implore the Province to continue pursuing a speedy vaccination roll-out in addition to deploying free rapid tests. These are essential parts of curbing the spread of COVID-19 in our communities so that we can all get on a path to economic recovery as soon as possible.”

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About the Ontario Chamber of Commerce
For more than a century, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) has been the independent, non-partisan, indispensable partner of Ontario business. The OCC’s mission is to support economic growth in Ontario by defending business priorities at Queen’s Park on behalf of its network’s diverse 60,000 members.

For more information, please contact:
Ceara Copps – Edwards
Manager, Public Affairs
cearacoppsedwards@occ.ca | Mobile: (647) 936-6734