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No Alcohol In Convenience Stores: Mayor

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Ontario’s Big City Mayors are making their voices heard on the possibility of selling alcohol in convenience stores.

In a letter addressed to four members of the provincial government, including Attorney General Doug Downey, Chair and Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman says there are a few reasons why the mayors say no to this proposal brought forward by the Convenience Store Association.

“Convenience stores have not been negatively affected by the pandemic, they have been allowed to stay open and many of us on the call felt this would give an unfair advantage relative to some other businesses that have suffered,” said Mayor Mauro. “There was also a number on the call that expressed concerns about the convenience store business is not the place that you might get the best control of the sale of alcohol.”

The Mayor noted the overall move to approve this measure is up to the province.

Below is an excerpt of the motion from the letter:

WHEREAS Ontario’s Big City Mayors recognize the ongoing hardships faced by restaurants, pubs and other foodservice businesses as a result of mandated closures and patron limits due to Covid19;

AND WHEREAS municipalities have been working hard to implement and advocate for business supports (such as providing restaurants the ability to access wine, beer and spirits at wholesale or discounted pricing) to ensure more local businesses survive the pandemic;

AND WHEREAS convenience stores have not been mandated to close during the pandemic and have not endured undue hardship like other industries;

AND WHEREAS 7-Eleven Canada has applied to introduce in-store alcohol service at 61 stores throughout Ontario to leverage their open status as a competitive advantage;

AND WHEREAS approval by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) would mean exposing an already vulnerable and hard-hit restaurant/bar industry to further competition;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Ontario’s Big City Mayors oppose 7-Eleven Canada’s proposal to serve alcohol

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Proposals Green-lit For COVID-19 Fund

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The provincial government is shedding some light on its $20 million Ontario COVID-19 Rapid Research Fund.

The fund focuses on areas of research such as vaccine development, diagnostics, drug trials and development, and social sciences.

These 15 proposals are the first to receive funding from the Ontario COVID-19 Rapid Research Fund, with additional projects expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Premier Doug Ford highlighted some of the initiatives, including a new process that would increase testing and a study looking into whether antibodies remain in people who have recovered from COVID-19.

Ford stated he won’t hesitate to backtrack and put restrictions back in place as COVID-19 numbers increase. He calls recent trends “concerning” and says that he will continue to rely on the advice of medical experts.

The Premier is calling for broader testing of all parts of Ontario’s population, noting they don’t know how many people could have the virus but aren’t showing any symptoms.

Ford wants to see increased testing by public health officials and backs concerns of those working in the trucking industry who would like to be tested.