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Without a credit card, Jami Trout said he has no more options for Christmas this year.
Winnipeg’s single mother was hoping to buy new Xbox games or gift cards for her children. But Manitoba’s new public health orders mean those items can’t be bought in-store, and Trout said the alternative – online shopping – is entirely out of reach.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Trout said on Friday, the day provincial orders banning companies from selling non-essential goods in-store went into effect.
“I don’t know where this leaves parents or single parents who are somehow scraping, [living] check-to-check, to offer their children or close relatives gifts under the tree, “he said.
“Not having a credit card or access to shop online, it will be very difficult for them to find something to give to children or loved ones.”
Advocates say Trout is not alone, and the online shopping barrier is just one of the ways public health orders affect low-income Manitobans more severely than others.
“11% of Manitoban adults don’t have a credit card … so it’s not possible for those people to buy something online and make a curb pickup,” said Molly McCracken, director of the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives, citing the 2016 data.
“People who trade with cash just have to go in person … They can still go in person to buy things at a grocery store, but they put themselves at greater risk for COVID.”
Many “already in a state of crisis” before the pandemic
The new retail restrictions also require businesses to remove or block non-essential items on their shelves, a requirement that took effect Saturday. These items can still be purchased in advance and delivered or picked up on the curb.
When he announced the rules on Thursday, Dr Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer, said COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed. forced the province to take drastic measures.
“We have no choice but to announce further measures to protect Manitobans, to limit the spread of this virus,” he said at the time.
WATCH | Dr Brent Roussin says Manitoba must take “drastic measures”:
The province’s chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, has begged Manitobans to stay home as the new public health orders took effect Friday. 1:16
On Friday, McCracken said he understands the need for new orders. But the pandemic has left low-income Manitobans in trouble and has increased the number of people in need of support due to the impact on the economy.
There is less access to community services that provide access to meals, free Wi-Fi, or bathrooms, he said, while people suffering from housing insecurity may be more likely to live in overcrowded environments where the virus it can spread more easily.
“These are people who, before the pandemic, were already in a state of crisis – not enough money to pay for food, healthy food and shelter,” he said. “And the pandemic has only made things worse.”
Open thrift shops, defend impulses
Al Wiebe, who works with Make Poverty History Manitoba, said the province must expand what it defines as essential.
Currently, items deemed essential include food, personal care and health products, items for babies and children, pet items, and winter outdoor clothing. A list of essential and non-essential items is available on the provincial government website.
WATCH | Manitoba Cracks Down on Non-Essential Purchases:
With cases still on the rise, Manitoba has announced new and stiff COVID-19 restrictions, including what officials are calling the toughest retail restrictions in Canada, meaning Manitobans will soon find it difficult to buy anything that isn’t deemed essential. 2:27
But Wiebe, like Trout, said gift cards should be added to the list, not only as potential gifts, but also as a way for people without credit cards to access more online purchases. Even more clothes should be added, he said, for people who may not have much to spare.
Wiebe, who was left homeless, also called on the province to consider reopening thrift stores to give low-income people the opportunity to buy things they can afford.
“It all comes down to knowing what people can afford and how people have to live,” he said.
“We have to live off thrift shops. We have to live by collecting cans of beer towards the end of the month. This is how bad it gets for people living in poverty. [line] and on welfare, which is really unfair “.
The list of what is essential could be expanded: Roussin
In a press conference on Friday, Roussin said the province would review public health orders as needed and changes could be made. The head of public health has said in the past that it is difficult to write orders that take into account all the circumstances that arise.
McCracken said the province must raise social assistance and welfare rates so Manitobans can support themselves.
“We have to … make sure that our welfare rates are adequate to meet people’s basic needs so that they are not always in this desperate mode of survival,” he said.
Trout said he hopes to see shoppers authorized to purchase non-essential products in stores, or at least an expanded list of what the province considers essential.
For single parents like her, trying to find ways to entertain teen boys while closing is now a challenge, she said. He has a son with autism and he also needs stimulation, he said.
“I don’t know how they can decide what is essential and what is not,” he said. “Perhaps it is absolutely essential that a child has something to occupy him during this block.”
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