For Immediate Release
November 26, 2020
STATEMENT: Mayor Bonnie Crombie’s Response to Regional Motion on Levelling The Playing Field for Small Businesses
I am pleased that Peel Regional Council today voted unanimously to pass a motion that asks the Provincial government to immediately look at ways to address the inequity between small businesses required to close for in-person sales, due to the lockdown, and those permitted to stay open.
To be clear, this motion does not limit the in-person sale of non-essential items at big box stores – what had been originally proposed. Council debated this motion for three hours and several concerns arose from our discussion. Although the original wording of the motion was amended, I’m pleased that the intent remained – supporting small businesses. What’s most important to me is that we had consensus and presented a united front in defense of our small business community.
I want to thank my colleagues at Regional Council for passing this motion. It sends a strong signal to the Provincial government to find ways to ensure there is a level playing field between small and large retailers. It reaffirms our commitment to advocating to both the provincial and federal government that more needs to be done to support our small business community. I want to also thank small businesses and residents for sharing their thoughts on this motion.
I hope the Province and our local MPPs hear our plea and the plight of our businesses. We have limited powers at the City, but we have a strong voice as Mayors and Councillors. I’m using mine to put this issue on the agenda and demand action.
We can’t afford to let Mainstreet die while multi-national corporations thrive.
I will continue advocating for our small business community to ensure their voices are heard at all levels of government.
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