OTTAWA Eight Ottawa businesses are accused of violating COVID-19 safety measures following a two-day blitz by Ottawa Bylaw Services. Officers visited businesses across the city during the weekend of March 6 and 7 to ensure establishments are following the rules of Ottawa s Temporary Mandatory Mask Bylaw and provincial orders during the pandemic. In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, Bylaw Services Director Roger Chapman said officers issued 15 fines to eight businesses. Officers in plan clothes discovered some businesses were beyond the opening hours, not adhering to public health guidelines and hosting large gatherings, said Chapman. Ottawa Bylaw did not provide the names of the businesses or the exact violations for each establishment charged with violating the public health measures.
Mar 1, 2021
This article originally appeared in the BOMA Ottawa Commercial Space Directory. Read the full publication here.
Thanks to the pandemic, retail will never be the same.
It’s easy to consider this statement only in the context of e-commerce growth. Shopify, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority and others have released plenty of data points charting the dramatic increases in online retail activity among small businesses.
But brick-and-mortar businesses are still dominant retail players, despite the challenges of 2020. Stalwart entrepreneurs continue to set up shop on traditional main streets and other high-traffic locations across the region. Consumers still want the experience of visiting a local store in-person, even if they also value the convenience of online shopping more than ever before.
“It breaks my heart when I see the people who are suffering the most financially and mental health-wise," veteran marketing expert Michelle Groulx says.
Posted: Jan 25, 2021 2:50 PM ET | Last Updated: January 25
As big box store blitz starts in Ottawa, some say small businesses are still paying the price
CBC News Ottawa2 months ago
0:55Michael Wood, who co-owns Ottawa Special Events, says Ministry of Labour inspections of big box stores are necessary to enforce COVID-19 measures, but says small businesses should also be allowed to open with restrictions.0:55
Provincial inspectors handed out more than two dozen fines to Ottawa businesses on the weekend as part of a big-box blitz aimed at sniffing out COVID-19 scofflaws.
Inspectors visited 114 businesses including retail stores, gas stations and restaurants offering takeout, to ensure they were following public health guidelines related to the pandemic. They issued 27 tickets and 18 health and safety orders. The latter don t carry an immediate financial penalty, but instruct the business to make changes before a follow-up inspection.