The provincial government continues to look at strategies to get our economy back on track.
Northern Development Minister Greg Rickford says all of their energy literally from the crack of dawn to late at night has been on recovering from COVID-19.
Rickford says, “Our Cabinet meetings and our discussions have been focusing on a reopening plan after February 10. Its become incredibly complicated to think about a lockdown that is titrated on a regional basis.”
He adds, “There may be a few hot spots left in the province but I think if we stay the course we’re better off spending our time focusing on how businesses can recover.”
Rickford says they also need to identify specific strategies for seasonal and tourism businesses.
“I actually view them as an opportunity and I think that we need to start talking about how and what that would look like at least by late Spring. A lot of that depends on the supply of vaccinations.”
Rickford says, “I and Eric (Melillo) will continue to lobby for innovations that the federal government is largely seized with those and I’ve become concerned recently that the federal government is kind of just woke up to the idea that borders are an issue.”
He notes the province is committed to finding innovative solutions to help small and seasonal businesses recover from the extended shutdown.
