The Globe and Mail - 27.03.2020

A6 | NEWS O THEGLOBEANDMAIL| FRIDAY,MARCH27,

Parks Canada is restricting access
in national parks and historic
sites after people flocked to the
popular areas on the weekend.
The federal agency said it’s still
noticing lots of visitors despite
the suspension of services and fa-
cility closures last week.
Officials suspended motor ve-
hicle access, starting Wednesday,
until further notice.
“I know this weekend was
quite beautiful across our great
country, which leads many fam-
ilies to spend time outdoors in
our parks and our heritage sites,”
Environment Minister Jonathan
Wilkinson, who is responsible for
Parks Canada, said Tuesday in a
video posted on YouTube.
“We saw visitation rates soar.”
Similar concerns have been
raised in some Alberta commu-
nities within or near national
parks.
Visitors on the weekend
crowded the main street and
nearby trails of Canmore, a small
town just east of Banff National
Park’s gates.
It led to concerns from resi-
dents about increasing the risk of
COVID-19 in places with limited
health-care facilities.
Banff Mayor Karen Sorensen
said the tourist town’s main
street wasn’t too busy on the
weekend, but people did crowd
other popular areas within the
park. She said she fully supports
Parks Canada’s decision to re-
strict traffic.
“I’m glad they’ve done it,” Ms.
Sorensen said. “We are not set up
for visitors right now. Medical
services get lifted right up to the
top of reasons not to visit.”
Wilkinson agreed that crowd-
ing on trails and at day-use areas
is unsafe. “It increases the risk of
transmission of the COVID-19 vi-
rus.”
He said the restriction on vehi-
cles includes parking lots and

trailheads at all national parks,

national historic sites and na-

tional marine conservation ar-

eas.

Ontario closed its provincial

parks on Thursday until April 30

to protect the health of employ-

ees and visitors. Gates have been

put up at park entrances and

buildings are locked.

British Columbia also added

restrictions Tuesday after a surge

in weekend traffic.

“The mental and physical well-

ness benefit of being outside dur-

ing the COVID-19 pandemic re-

sponse is important, but keeping

people safe right now is the most

important thing we can be do-

ing,” B.C. Environment Minister

George Heyman said in a news re-

lease.

He said certain parks will be

fully closed until health officials

can get a handle on the virus.

Parks Canada said in a news re-

lease that highways and road-

ways through the national parks

will remain open for residents,

but people are urged to stay

home unless travel is essential.

Commercial and truck traffic

will also be allowed on those cor-

ridors, including the Trans-Cana-

da Highway through Banff Na-

tional Park and Yoho National

Park in B.C.

Officials said parking won’t be

permitted on highways and road-

ways through the areas.

“We are asking all Canadians to

respect these restrictions,” Parks

Canada said.

Staff will continue to perform

highway maintenance, snow re-

moval, fire response, dam oper-

ations and water management,

as well as avalanche forecasting

and control in the mountain

parks.

Officials with Avalanche Cana-

da, however, said the final fore-

cast of the season will be issued

Saturday due to a lack of availa-

ble data and over larger concerns

about the health-care system.

“We do not want to provide a

service that promotes recreating

in mountainous terrain, where

there is often a significant haz-

ard,” executive director Gilles Va-

lade said in a release. “Both B.C.

and Alberta have declared a state

of emergency. “Our health au-

thorities, as well as our prime

minister, are urging people to

stay home. This is clearly not the

time for taking any sort of risk.”

Rescue groups asked back-

country users last week to choose

low-risk activities at a time when

health resources are stretched

due to COVID-19.

THECANADIANPRESS

Nationalparksclosedtovehicletraffic

ParksCanadasays

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ofvisitorsdespite

suspendingservices

Snowboardersclimbback

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BanfftownsiteinBanff,

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Canadasawalarge

numberofvisitors

lastweekend.

JEFFMCINTOSH/THE

CANADIANPRESS

COLETTEDERWORIZ

The money that normally flows
into Gordon Bohlmann’s small
physiotherapy business in south
Vancouver stopped dead last
week, after he became one of the
many businesses forced to close
because of the COVID-19 pan-
demic.
Now, he’s facing a $10,
rent payment in less than a week
with no money to pay it. He can’t
reach his landlord in person and
he’s heard no word from any lev-
el of government about any help
for people like him – small, inde-
pendent business owners that
can no longer operate because of
increasingly restrictive policies
aimed at reducing person-to-per-
son contact.
“They’re going to have to pro-
vide some relief and it has to be
done quickly,” said Mr. Bohl-
mann, who has operated Mar-
pole Physiotherapy for 20 years.
“Our bank account just doesn’t
have the money.”
He is one of thousands of
small and medium-sized busi-
ness owners across the country
who feel as though they are in-
visible, asgovernments scramble
to provide help for renters, em-

ployees and, it seems at times,

almost everyone else.

In Western Canada, businesses

are facing different variations of

a similar problem, depending on

where they are located. Increas-

ing property taxes and a tight re-

al estate market were already

squeezing businesses in the Van-

couver region, while in Alberta, a

stubbornly sluggish economy

had left the balance sheets of

many companies and landlords

in dire circumstances even be-

fore the latest turmoil from the

pandemic.

“They just don’t feel heard. It’s

now Day 10 and the overall senti-

ment is that ... we need to re-

duce their fixed costs,” said

Sandip Lalli, chief executive offi-

cer of the Calgary Chamber of

Commerce. “It’s great we’re sta-

bilizing others and there’s one-

to-one help. But companies are

saying, ‘I need my business stabi-

lized so that I can build in resil-

ience and gainfully employ peo-

ple again.’ ”

Business advocates are calling

for government help while also

asking landlords to work with

their tenants to offer flexibility,

through measures such as reduc-

ing or deferring rent payments.

“B.C. came out with a renters’

program, but that’s just for resi-

dences; small businesses are

struggling, too,” said Muriel

Protzer, a policy analyst with the

B.C. branch of the Canadian Fed-

eration of Independent Business.

“We were hoping to see com-

mercial and industrial tenants in

that.”

Neil Wyles, who runs the

Mount Pleasant business im-

provement association, said pri-

vate landlords and tenants need

to work together to negotiate

some kind of temporary plan.

“If a landlord has a tenant

now, that is a bird in the hand

that he should keep.

“I think the reality is that a lot

of businesses are not going to

weather this. There will be a glut

of space after this,” Mr. Wyles

said.

Jeff Jamieson, co-owner of the

Proof cocktail bar and Donna

Mac restaurant in downtown

Calgary, said many restaurants

are enduring week-to-week. They

simply won’t survive if they are

forced to pay rent – potentially

for months without any revenue

coming in.

“I think we’re in the same sit-

uation as most: We’re out of

dough,” said Mr. Jamieson, who

also co-owns the Vine Arts wine

and liquor stores, which remain

open.

“It’s impossible now with no

money in the bank.

“You’re going to see a lot of

closures.”

Mr. Jamieson said he’s been

negotiating with his landlords,

although with April 1 quickly ap-

proaching, they face a tight

deadline to figure something

out. He saidgovernments could

do more to help commercial ten-

ants and their landlords defer

rental payments.

“We don’t want to step way

from our obligations and we’re

not trying to take advantage of a

bad situation,” he said.

“It’s simply the fact that if you

want these businesses to be here

in three or four months so peo-

ple can get hired back and the

rent can keep coming back in,

something needs to be done to-

day.”

Governments have an-

nounced various measures to

help businesses and property

owners, though none specifically

targeted at rental relief.

The federalgovernment has

offered wage subsidies for small

employers while Ottawa and

provincialgovernments have ex-

tended tax filing deadlines.

There are low-interest federal

loans available to some compa-

nies and major banks have an-

nounced mortgage payment de-

ferrals in some circumstances.

Local governments, for exam-

ple in Vancouver and Calgary,

have allowed property tax defer-

rals or are considering it.

In Vancouver, all property tax-

es, normally due at the begin-

ning of July, have been deferred

two months.

In Alberta, payments for

workers’ compensation have

been deferred and the City of

Calgary was considering defer-

ring property taxes in a meeting

Thursday.

Percy Woods of BOMA Ed-

monton, which represents com-

mercial building owners and

property managers, said that

sort of relief should make it eas-

ier for landlords to help tenants.

He said many landlords, partic-

ularly privately owned local and

regional players, are in the same

boat as tenants, with few options

to cover their bills if rental pay-

ments dry up.

“It’s a lot easier to work with

somebody that’s in place and

find somebody to replace them,”

he said.

“We’ve got to keep the busi-

ness is going on. From our per-

spective, the best way for that to

happen is to get popped up for a

short time and defer.”

Small,mediumbusinessespushforgovernmentrentrelief

FRANCESBULAVANCOUVER
JAMESKELLERCALGARY

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is
vowing to crack down on price
gouging in the province as resi-
dents cope with the COVID-
health crisis.
Mr. Ford told reporters on
Thursday that his cabinet is meet-
ing to create an order that will
make it illegal to unreasonably
raise prices, amid reports of high
costs for cleaning products at a
posh Toronto grocery store.
The Premier called out Pusate-
ri’s Fine Foods during his news
conference, after a photo circulat-
ing online showed one of the
store’s Toronto locations was sell-
ing Lysol disinfectant wipes for
$29.99.

“That’s disgusting, absolutely

disgusting,” Mr. Ford said. “A

message to anyone who price

gouges: We’re coming after you.

We’re going to come after you

hard.”

The province’s Emergency

Management Act prohibits charg-

ing “unconscionable prices” for

necessary goods, services and re-

sources. The Premier’s Office said

more details, including potential

fines, would be released on Friday.

In a statement posted on the

Pusateri’s website on Thursday,

president and chief executive offi-

cer Frank Luchetta blamed the

high costs on a pricing error that

would not happen again.

“This was our mistake, our er-

ror, our oversight and we apol-

ogize to everyone impacted,” Mr.

Luchetta said, promising full re-

funds for anyone who purchased

the product.

British Columbia also an-

nounced on Thursday that it was

banning the resale of food, medi-

cal supplies, personal protective

equipment, cleaning and other

essential supplies, while restrict-

ing the number of items people

can purchase in stores.

Mr. Ford’s government on

Wednesday released a fiscal up-

date aimed at addressing the eco-

nomic impact of COVID-19, in-

cluding $7-billion in new spend-

ing on health care and other mea-

sures and $10-billion in tax

deferrals.

The Ontariogovernment said

the spending builds on the $82-

billion in support and tax defer-

rals that the federalgovernment

has announced, which include

$2,000-a-month payments for

workers affected by COVID-19.

Asked Thursday why Ontario is

not sending more direct pay-

ments to people, Finance Minister

Rod Phillips said the province’s

plan is intended to fill the gaps left

by Ottawa. The provincialgovern-

ment has pledged more money

for low-income seniors, as well as

money for parents and an elec-

tricity subsidy, he said.

Mr. Ford also reiterated that the

province has halted evictions.

Still, Green Party Leader Mike

Schreiner calledon thegovern-

ment to create an emergency rent

fund, noting landlords for smaller

buildings “will face immediate fi-

nancial hardship” if tenants can’t

pay rent on April 1.

Meanwhile, Health Minister

Christine Elliott denied that

health-care workers are being

told to ration personal protective

equipment. On Wednesday, The

Globe and Mail reported that Can-

adian hospitals are limiting front-

line staff to one or two disposable

masks a day and asking the public

for donations of protective gear as

they prepare for their wards to be

flooded with patients made se-

verely ill by the new coronavirus

that causes COVID-19.

“There is no rationing of per-

sonal protective equipment right

now for front-line workers. If they

need the masks, they will get the

masks,” Ms. Elliott said.

Ontario on Thursday also an-

nouncedthat licensed restau-

rants and bars will be allowed to

sell alcohol with food takeout and

delivery orders between 9 a.m.

and 11 p.m.

The province confirmed 170

new coronavirus cases on Thurs-

day for a total of 837, as well as 15

deaths.

Fordpledgestoreinin‘disgusting’pricegougingonnecessitiesinOntario

LAURASTONE
QUEEN'SPARKREPORTER
TORONTO