A Niagara Falls councilor has taken to Facebook to express his dissatisfaction over the province's decision to not include Niagara in the second phase of Ontario's reopening strategy.
"Open up Niagara Ford Government," an event page started by Chris Dabrowski of Niagara Falls city council states that Niagara has 'waited long enough' after the pandemic closed down most businesses and many workplaces across the region.
"The rationale behind Niagara’s exclusion from the latest Phase 2 provincial announcement is baffling. Our residents and business community have been patient, followed all guidelines and we are now slowly watching businesses around us go under. If we continue to sit and wait, many more in the community will lose their businesses. We need to get back to work! The waiting was the hardest part, but now it’s time to move on," Dabrowski wrote in a statement.
Earlier this week the regional acting medical officer of health, Dr. Mustafa Hirji said the rationale for not including Niagara appears to stem from the recent discovery of 60 cases of COVID-19 at Pioneer Flower Farms in St Catharines, where the virus spread among workers that have since been isolating at the farm.
Officials said there are currently no indications of wider spread outside the facility, that is being watched closely.
The case count in surrounding communities also is believed to have played a role in not letting the region open up again.
On Wednesday, Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism, and Culture Industries Lisa MacLeod, announced that Niagara would receive $1 million in support of the local tourism industry that has been severely maimed by the pandemic.
Of the around 10,000 residents in the region that lost their jobs between April and the middle of May, 3/4 were in the tourism sector according to estimates.
