On June 8, 2020, the Ontario government announced that at the end of this week, the second stage of reopening of certain businesses in certain public health unit regions will begin. A complete list of the public health unit regions moving to Stage 2 and business re-openings can be found here. Beginning on Friday, June 12, 2020 at 12:01 a.m., the following businesses may re-open:
- Places of worship with physical distancing in place and attendance limited to 30% of the building capacity;
- Outdoor dine-in services at restaurants, bars and other establishments, including patios, curbside, parking lots and adjacent properties;
- Select personal and personal care services with the proper health and safety measures in place, including tattoo parlours, barber shops, hair salons and beauty salons;
- Shopping malls under existing restrictions, including food services reopening for take-out and outdoor dining only;
- Tour and guide services, such as bike and walking, bus and boat tours, as well as tasting tours for wineries, breweries and distilleries;
- Water recreational facilities such as outdoor splash pads and wading pools and all swimming pools;
- Beach access and additional camping at Ontario Parks;
- Camping at private campgrounds;
- Outdoor-only recreational facilities and training for outdoor team sports, with limits to enable physical distancing;
- Drive-in and drive-through venues for theatres, concerts, animal attractions and cultural appreciation, such as art installations;
- Film and television production activities, with limits to enable physical distancing; and
- Weddings and funerals, with limits on social gatherings to 10 people.
Stay tuned for more details on child care, summer camps, post-secondary education pilots for graduating students, training centres and public transit.
To assist with the reopening, the government and health and safety associations released a series of sector-specific guidance documents, which can be found here and here.
The Ontario government has also launched a website to inform businesses about personal protective equipment suppliers. This Workplace PPE Supplier Directory provides a list of Ontario companies and business associations that offer to supply personal protective equipment. For more information on Stage 2 of the reopening, please click here.
This blog post was written by Jade Renaud, a member of the Business Law team. Jade can be reached at 613-369-0373 or at [email protected].
