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3 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,January 14,2021 theifp.ca Stop the Spread COVID-19 can be deadly. Stay home. Stay strong. Save lives. Visit ontario.ca/coronavirus Paid for by the Government of Ontario Real Estate Centre In., Brokerage Independently Owned and Operated Please visit www.mcqwin.com to see our Listings and Open Houses Or contact us at info@mcqwinteam.com 23 Mountainview Road, South Georgetown Thinking of Listing? Give me a call! As always your listing includes 3 months of free in town, heated and secure storage - to start packing! Janet McKeown 905-866-3258 Halton is calling on the province to level the play- ing field for small business- es forced to close their doors during provincial COVID-19 lockdowns. During their last meet- ing of 2020, regional coun- cillors unanimously passed a motion asking the Ontario government to re- vise its lockdown rules to address inequities and "avoid unfair competitive advantage between busi- nesses." The resolution, put forth by Burlington coun- cillors Kelvin Galbraith and Angelo Bentivegna, in- dicates that small busi- nesses and local retailers are "at a significant com- petitive disadvantage" when they're limited to on- line sales and curbside pickup or delivery while larger retail outlets are al- lowed to remain open and sell more than just essen- tials. "They (big box stores) can still sell clothes, where a small clothing retailer is required to close," said Gal- braith, noting January and February are already tough months for business- es. "We want to do every- thing we can to assist busi- nesses in their survival." The motion also calls for the Ford government to ad- dress its red zone regula- tions that limit restaurants to 10 customers, regardless of the building size, and in- stead establish capacity limits on a per-square-me- tre basis. Bentivegna emphasized that the effects of the busi- ness restrictions are far- reaching, including im- pacts on people's families, emotional health and local employment opportuni- ties. "Small businesses em- ploy a lot of people," he said. Oakville Coun. Jeff Knoll said it's a "special kind of hell" to be a busi- ness owner right now, add- ing he believes there are safe capacity limits that small businesses can im- plement to continue oper- ating. "The province needs to dig into where the real (CO- VID-19) spread issues are coming from," he said. NEWS REGION URGES PROVINCE TO CHANGE BUSINESS LOCKDOWN RULES MELANIE HENNESSEY mhennessey@ metroland.com SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA