Mayor’s meeting brings officials together to support small business

December 17, 2020 · 0 Comments

Written By ALYSSA PARKHILL

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Mayor Allan Thompson held a Mayor Virtual Town Hall meeting Tuesday night to discuss the various support programs available for local small businesses.

Joining the session were MP Kyle Seeback and MPP and Solicitor General Sylvia Jones.

Members of the public submitted questions about COVID-19 and their small businesses and each level of government was able to provide their feedback and answers.

Myriad topics were covered including masks, business landlords, resources and programs available, as well as internet services.

“Without a doubt, small businesses have taken the hardest economic hit during the pandemic. Local businesses are the heartbeat of our town,” said Mayor Thompson. “That’s why shopping local is so important.”

The Town of Caledon has implemented several promotional initiatives including Love Local Tuesdays and Shop Local in order to support business and encourage the community to shop local rather than online or at the big box retailers.

But one question that has been on a number of resident’s minds is: why are small businesses forced to close while big box stores like Walmart and Costco stay open?

“I’m going to repeat what Premier Ford often says. There is nothing fair about COVID-19 or this pandemic,” remarked MPP Jones. “If any of you have walked around a Costco, a Walmart or a hardware store, there are items in there that they sell that would be essential, and there are items that they sell in there that would be considered non-essential.”