For Immediate Release
April 7, 2021
STATEMENT: Mayor Bonnie Crombie’s Response to Ontario Implementing a Provincewide Stay-at-Home Order
“Let’s make this lockdown the last. Today, Premier Ford declared a third provincial state of emergency, implementing a provincewide stay-at-home order and the closure of non-essential retail in an effort to reduce the spread of variant cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations throughout the Province. These new measures come into effect on Thursday, April 8 for at least four weeks.
The Premier has listened and while this was an extremely difficult decision to make, I firmly believe this is the right course of action at this critical moment. These measures will go a long way to helping us put out the fire causing our Region to be a consistent hotspot. The Region of Peel continues to be one of the hardest hit areas in Ontario, with 10.5% of the population, we account for almost 20% of the Province’s total COVID-19 case counts. The new variants are very concerning with cases associated with a variant causing a 64% increase in hospitalizations.
We are now into the third wave of COVID-19. New variants are far more dangerous, spread faster and do more harm than the virus we were fighting last year. They are hitting younger people harder, and recovery is slower with more long-term impacts. Strict measures are needed in order to address the new variants, halt the virus for good and allow our vaccination program time to be effective. We are now in a race between stopping the spread of the variants and getting vaccines into arms.
I want to thank the Premier for opening up vaccines to educators and those 18+ in high-risk neighbourhoods; this will help get our kids back to school, which is critical for their mental health and well-being. I also want to thank the Premier for announcing Mobile Units to administer vaccines to those 18+ in high-risk congregate settings, residential buildings, faith-based locations and essential workplaces. Vaccinating these core groups, especially our essential workers as I have been calling for, will go a long way in driving down the case counts in Peel.
I am also pleased to see that the Premier has found a way to restrict the sales of non-essential items for in-person shopping in big box retail stores. Months ago, I called on the Province to restrict these items in an effort to make the lockdown fair for our local businesses. Regional Council also voted unanimously to pass a motion calling for the Province to look at ways to address the inequity between small businesses required to close for in-person sales and those permitted to stay open. While it is difficult to see our local businesses have to move to online and curbside once again, I am glad to see that these restrictions level the playing field between small and large retailers.
I want to encourage Mississauga residents to visit the websites of your favourite local businesses or MississaugaMade.ca to make your purchases and pick up curb-side. And if you are able to, consider ordering take-out from one of your favourite local restaurants.
While today’s announcement is a step in the right direction toward ending this pandemic, there is still a need for real time paid sick leave. I encourage the federal and provincial governments to continue discussions on the matter.
Mississauga residents and businesses have sacrificed so much throughout this pandemic. I ask that you please continue to support each other – set up virtual touch points with your family, call a neighbour, support a local business with curbside pickup, order takeout from a local restaurant and take care of your own physical and mental health.
I am confident that if we follow the advice of our health experts, we will be able to keep variant cases at bay and provide the additional time needed to continue vaccinating residents in our community. Let’s make this lockdown count and make sure it’s the last one we have to live through.”
– Bonnie Crombie, Mayor of Mississauga
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