Ottawa small businesses prepare to lose more good employees in April lockdown

Another month-long lockdown means another stretch of time that's going to be tough for Ottawa's small business community.

With new restrictions set to be announced Thursday, April 1, putting Ottawa back into a lockdown for the next 28 days, the Chair of the Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement Areas says he's running out of ways to describe how businesses feel.

“To say we're frustrated and exhausted would be an understatement,” says Mark Kaluski. “Obviously the [COVID-19] numbers are the worst they've ever been so it's hard to argue with the pubic policy.”

Aside from the financial hit that the majority of business owners are going take during this incoming COVID-19 lockdown, the BIA coalition chair says there is another unintended consequence of the restrictions roller coaster.

“I was talking to an owner of a well-known restaurant in Ottawa and she said, 'Every time we close down I lose another really good staff member.' And it's just another challenge that these businesses have to overcome,” Kaluski explains.

“If they have to keep putting somebody on… you know, laying them off or clawing back their hours, you tend to lose some of your better employees — the people who have helped build your business, some of the front-facing staff that customers come to know and love.”

The one positive to this particular lockdown situation, adds Kaluski, is that the province is no longer putting blame on businesses for high COVID-19 figures, but rather focusing on the responsibility of each Ontario resident.