Facing calls from both the large and small side of the business sector, Premier Doug Ford once again defended the government's position on lockdown restrictions for Toronto and Peel.
"If I put my business hat on, I'd switch those things open in a heartbeat," Ford said Wednesday. "But I can't."
The comments were in response to a coalition of 50 retailers calling on the government to lift restrictions for non-essential stores, arguing it hasn't reduced the amount of shoppers.
Instead the group including Hudson's Bay, Canadian Tire and Ikea among others, say it's pushing consumers into fewer, crowded stores in nearby communities.
For example, while Toronto remains in the grey lockdown phase, York Region to the north is not.
And when it comes to big box stores like grocery stores, Wal-Mart and Costco, being allowed to sell non-essential items in-store while small businesses are limited to curbside pickup and delivery, calls for change continues there as well.
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie has been one of the most high-profile proponents of cordoning off non-essential items in such retailers, while groups like the Canadian Federation of Independent Business have called for new capacity limits for small business in-store shopping.
Despite large retailers in Manitoba closing off certain items and the fact that big box stores have various aisle closures throughout the year for various reasons, Ford said the ultimate goal is lowering interaction.
"If you're going to one of the big box retailers, it's kind of the one-stop shop and I know it's not fair," he said. "But it really limits people from going out and making four or five or six stops on the way home."
The Ford Government is also touting new research from York University, which found lockdowns which estimated a nearly 50 per cent decrease in contact rates during lockdowns in the first wave of the virus.
Ontario reported 1,723 new cases and 35 deaths Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Toronto's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa issued a "blunt warning" to Torontonians to follow public health guidelines, as the city's latest data showed that "35 per cent of cases reporting close contact said it was with indicated that their close contact with known cases were only non-household."
AG RESPONSE
A week after blasting the auditor-general for her most recent report into the government's COVID-19 response, Ford took a more tempered approach following a scathing report into the office by the Toronto Star.
The paper reported according to confidential sources, that staff felt intimidated around returning to work in the office despite concerns, feeling forced to use vacation days to make up for work that couldn't be done during normal work hours and fighting for work exemptions for family reasons.
The premier did not want to get into specifics considering the auditor-general's office is an independent body, but did say that no one is above accountability.
Where he did comment was on the length of the term, which is 10 years.
"With anyone I think it's too long," he said. "I'll even speak for myself, I think 10 years is too long for a premier to be very frank with you."
"There's no one in this province, should not have someone that they report into or there's some sort of accountability."
The Integrity Commissioner does look into certain public servants as well as elected officials, but not employees who work in an independent office of the Legislature.