‘Why are we so different?’: Confusion continues among small business owners over Toronto’s lockdown restrictions

Small business owners say Toronto’s blockade restrictions continue to unfairly restrict small businesses while allowing department stores to stay open.

Two flower shops in the same neighborhood were visited by law enforcement officers on Friday and said they couldn’t display flowers and plants outside their shops.

Yang, the owner of Yang’s flower market on Avenue Road, said an agent told him that if he didn’t put his flower displays inside the shop, he could be fined up to $ 10,000.

Yang, who gave only one name, said he asked the agent of other shops authorized to sell flowers, such as garden centers, and asked him to explain the difference but did not get a satisfactory answer.

“It’s not fair at all,” he said, adding that the store is doing everything it can to stay safe, but it’s frustrating to be hit with restrictions that don’t apply to garden centers and other businesses.

Jasmine Nicholson, the owner of Jong Young Flower Market a short walk from Yang’s, had the same experience: she said she was told their outdoor display had to be brought indoors. She said when she asked the garden center law officer, she didn’t have an answer for her.

“Why are we so different?” Nicholson said.

He said he supports the application of restrictions to keep the city safe, but does not see how it is right for small flower shops to be prevented from selling flowers outdoors when someone can buy flowers in the garden center of a large shop.

“I’m really tired of this,” she said. “It’s very frustrating.”

According to the city’s COVID-19 webpage, restrictions on retail stores and malls, garden centers and nurseries can remain open, with indoor shopping by appointment only. Open air markets, including farmers’ and holiday markets, are allowed with restrictions.

Most other retail operators can only be open for curbside pickup or drop-off, according to the page, and in-person shopping isn’t allowed.

Media relations in the city of Toronto did not immediately provide more details on law enforcement and flower shops when they were contacted by the Star.

This is the latest example of confusion about what is allowed and what is not subject to the new “gray” blockade measures in Toronto.

Business owners and industry leaders have expressed frustration with department stores that stay open and sell non-essential goods along with groceries and other essential items. Meanwhile, small specialty stores must remain closed and rely on online shopping and curbside pickup during the holiday shopping season, when many hoped to recoup some of the lost profits.

Nicholson said he supports the motion in Mississauga to restrict department stores to selling only essential items, a motion intended to help level the playing field for small businesses.

“It has to be across the board, everyone has to be treated equally,” Nicholson said.