Toronto small business owners to stage protest over lockdown restrictions

Small businesses in Toronto are planning to protest the provincial ordered lockdown measures that have forced them to close.

Business improvement areas in the city, including Broadview-Danforth and The Eglinton Way, are asking their member businesses to stand outside their storefronts at noon on Friday.

The business owners are also being asked to hold signs saying how long they’ve been in business and how many people they employ.

The BIA’s argue that while large big box stores continue to profit by selling thousands of non-essential items, many of the small businesses that make Toronto’s main streets vibrant and unique have been forced to close their doors.

The protests are also taking their message online with the hashtag “think outside the box.”

The protests from small businesses comes on the heels of the Hudson’s Bay Company asking an Ontario court to review the province’s decision to shut down non-essential retailers in Toronto and Peel.

HBC says there needs to be a solution that prioritizes health and safety without damaging the livelihood of retail workers and businesses while also arguing that shoppers aren’t the ones significantly contributing to the spread of the coronavirus.