OLDS — Town council has agreed to send a letter to the provincial government calling for small businesses to be allowed to reopen.
During initial discussion, restaurants and fitness classes were singled out as being especially hurt by the pandemic lockdown.
The matter was expected to come up for more discussion during the town’s Feb. 1 policies and priorities meeting.
The Olds and District Chamber of Commerce has sent a similar letter.
Councillors made their decision during the council’s Jan. 25 meeting after receiving an email on the matter. In council’s agenda package, the email was unsigned.
It said, “I would like to request that the Town of Olds petition our Alberta government to open small businesses.
“I support our small businesses in Olds, but not every business can earn through curb-side pickups.
"Everyone deserves the right to work," the email said, adding that "small businesses should be able to open safely.”
Administrative staff recommended sending such a letter, signed by mayor Michael Muzychka.
Virtually all councillors expressed support for sending the letter. However, there were some nuances.
Coun. Mary Jane Harper indicated restaurants and fitness centres are especially hard hit.
Coun. Mary Anne Overwater said while she “wholly” supports small businesses being reopened, they must do so while still supporting Alberta Health Services guidelines, which include hand washing, wearing masks, and staying at least six feet apart.
She alluded to a recent incident in which a barbershop in Innisfail opened in defiance of the shutdown orders.
“I'm not saying our businesses would, but our neighbours to the north, we had some businesses open under different circumstances and were fined and having legal issues,” she said.
Muzychka said in Olds there has been little sign of businesses opening in defiance of provincial orders. He praised them for not doing that.
Ryan wondered if that’s due to people following AHS pandemic protocols, rather than the closing of businesses. Although she supported sending the letter, Ryan wondered if it will change minds in the government.
Several councillors noted that COVID-19 infection rates have dropped lately in the province, saying that appears to be the result of residents following pandemic protocols by not gathering with family and friends during the Christmas holidays.
On behalf of council, Mayor Muzychka thanked residents for making that sacrifice.
“I know my poor mother was devastated not to have Christmas this year as we normally do," he said.
Coun. Wanda Blatz picked up on a point also made by Overwater; that people are suffering from COVID fatigue and "winter doldrums” and thus need to get out, get exercise and mingle.
"I think for the mental well-being of many people, to be able to get out – even if you have to sit with your cohorts or your own family – at least to have an option to go somewhere else or to do some exercising I think would be very beneficial,” she said.
Coun. Mitch Thomson also supported sending the letter. However, he noted if businesses open up, they’ll be asking their employees to come back to work.
Thomson worried that the town could appear hypocritical if it calls for businesses to reopen but doesn’t require its employees to come back to work in the town office.
Harper didn’t think that would be a problem.
She said the town office is already open. And she pointed out town recreation facilities are still not open, as per provincial COVID restrictions.
Blatz agreed simply sending the letter may not by itself work, but “at least we’re trying to do something to get our economy started again and get people back to work.”
She said if businesses are allowed to reopen it would be up to each business owner and their employees as to whether they feel comfortable returning to work.
"I think that we need to do something and start a process to get everybody back and get some normalcy going again," Blatz said.
“As I stated earlier, peoples’ well-being is the majority of concern that we all have and I don’t think we want to do anything – nor would we ever do anything – that would jeopardize that with anyone.”
Overwater said one letter from the town is not likely to have much effect on the provincial government. But she believes many such letters from a variety of businesses might have some impact.
As a result, she wondered if the chamber has a template of its letter that it could provide to its members as well as the Uptowne Olds Committee so they too could send similar letters calling for small businesses to reopen.
Harper, council’s representative on the chamber, promised to take that question to Olds and District Chamber of Commerce president Clare Janitz.
As of the end of day on Sunday, Jan. 31, the Olds local geographic region had five active COVID cases.
