The Board of Directors of the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce recently sent a letter to the Saskatchewan Ministers of Health and Rural & Remote Health recommending that the government begin accepting from businesses their Pandemic Response Plans; and those which are approved, receive certification. Certification would mean that in the event of another disease outbreak, those businesses would be allowed to remain open.
The letter was written as a result of the Chamber receiving complaints from its members about the lack of consistencies in the province’s lockdown rules and re-opening plans in response to the pandemic crisis. Further, as the medical community cautions about a second wave of the disease later this year, businesses across the province simply cannot afford another lockdown.
Marty Sveinbjornson, Chair of the Yorkton Chamber’s Policy committee said that after weeks of lockdown, all businesses now have a Pandemic Response Plan in place. “To once again lockdown the business community, and in particular, small businesses, would be devastating,” he said. “The province cannot afford to lose any more small businesses.”
A business which has received from the Government of Saskatchewan certification or approval for its Pandemic Response Plan could post it in a visible location for the public to see. “In the event there is another wave of the COVID-19 virus, the Public can decide if it wishes to patronize a business with an approved Plan,” said Sveinbjornson.
The Chamber is making available to its members a draft of a letter in support of this recommendation which they can submit to the Ministries.
The Yorkton Chamber of Commerce is comprised of an elected Board of Directors representing over 460 businesses. It has been “the voice of business in Yorkton” for over 120 years.
