Frustration grows as Ontario’s gyms ordered to close due to COVID case surge

With Ontario’s gyms and fitness studios set to close temporarily on Wednesday as part of the provincial government’s latest restrictions to combat a rapid surge in the COVID-19 Omicron variant, facility operators and patrons are expressing their frustration with the move.

“Immediately my thoughts were, ‘Not again,'” Samar Abou-Khrebieh, a Toronto resident, told CityNews Monday afternoon.

“I was feeling really discouraged by the whole thing because that’s really my coping mechanism throughout the whole pandemic. It’s my go-to to feel good about myself, it’s part of my daily routine and it helps me feel structure.”

As of 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 5 and until Jan. 26 at least, indoor dining in restaurants, gyms, mall food courts, concert venues, theatres, meeting spaces, saunas, steam rooms, oxygen bars, museums were ordered to close. Indoor retail settings, shopping malls, personal care services were reduced to 50 per cent of each facility’s approved capacity.

RELATED: Indoor dining banned, gyms to close Wednesday as Ontario announces new COVID-19 restrictions

“Omicron case counts are rising exponentially across the province. We face a tsunami of new cases in the days and weeks ahead,” Premier Doug Ford said during a news conference Monday morning, adding the measures are aimed to “slow” the spread since it “can’t be stopped.”

“The hardship of these restrictions aren’t shared equally.”

Officials said the Ontario Business Costs Rebate program will be expanded to receive a rebate for a “portion” of property taxes and energy costs. For indoor businesses forced to fully close, those operators will be able to apply for a “payment equivalent to 100 per cent of their costs.” For those reduced to 50 per cent capacity, 50 per cent of the eligible costs will be rebated.

It was also announced that retroactive to Jan. 1, up to $7.5 billion will be made available for a six-month, interest- and penalty-free period for Ontario businesses on payments covering “most provincially administered taxes” in an effort to “improve” cash flows.

Ian Smith, the owner of an Orange Theory Fitness franchise in Toronto’s Fort York neighbourhood, questioned the latest round of restrictions.

“I don’t see the endgame here. I don’t see what we’re going to have to do to be able to operate our businesses,” he told CityNews.

“Prime example right here. We followed every restriction throughout this entire pandemic. We’re coming up on two years. If it meant reduced capacity, we did it. If it meant closing for extended periods of time, we did it. Vaccine passport, we launched, we’ve done that.”

Smith called the changing rules unsustainable, adding as many as 50 per cent of fitness facilities across Canada have already closed. He said more transparency and a clear message are needed from the Ford government so businesses can better understand and prepare.

RELATED: Ontario businesses face new temporary COVID restrictions, costs rebate program expanded

“What is expected right now from small business owners? What are we expected to do besides close our businesses permanently [and] for good … what is the answer they’re looking for,” Smith said.

Barry Samuel, a director and master coach at InsideOut Health, Fitness and Wellness, echoed the concerns brought forward by Smith, saying the quest to have “solid ground” underneath the industry still isn’t there.

“This time of the year is notorious where we look to improve and renew our commitment to ourselves and our personal health goals and … the floor doesn’t feel very secure underneath us again to provide that foundation,” he told CityNews, adding they’ve worked to adhere to various COVID-19 protocols in small, controlled environments.

“The ability for us to financially weather this as small businesses is finding new and creative ways beyond mere handouts to recoup the losses, which are monumental losses from a financial standpoint, and it’s something that really pulls on the heartstrings and is a mental challenge.”

RELATED: Restaurants Canada, CFIB criticize Ford on restrictions

Meanwhile, when it comes to the current supports being offered to business operators, Ryan Mallough, the senior director of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), said the programs currently don’t go far enough amid soaring debt levels over the past two years as a result of various restrictions.

“While the government says 21 days, not once in this entire pandemic have we actually stuck to a timeline. In fact, we’ve gone months late, so I think there is a lot of fear, a lot of anxiety, coupled with a lot of anger and a lot of frustration coming from the small business community today,” he said.

“There needs to be more. We understand no one wants to see hospitals overwhelmed, we understand the pressure that the health care sector is under, but if you’re going to close businesses there needs to be support that is in full and it needs to be immediate.”

Mallough called on the Ontario government to provide another round of provincial small business grant funding to help with expenses beyond just taxes and utilities as a continuation of a commercial eviction ban. With respect to the federal government, he called for the easing of wage and rent subsidies.

“It’s extremely precarious for small business owners in Ontario right now,” he said.