It's critical to shop local during lockdown, chamber urges

The Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce is encouraging the public to shop local during the province-wide lockdown brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Executive director Rory Ring says the coming weeks are critical for local businesses that have been restricted from opening their doors during the two-week lockdown, which will remain in effect throughout northern Ontario until Jan. 9. 

 “We’ve really got to be diligent in making sure that we get the message out that shopping local is absolutely critical,” Ring said. “It’s buy local, or say goodbye local.”

The economic impacts are far reaching, says Ring - he points to the food service and accommodation sectors that continue to take a hit through the holiday season and into lockdown - and the impacts will be felt for many businesses throughout the new year. 

The chamber of commerce is disappointed the lockdown did not allow non-essential businesses to stay open to some extent with a reduced capacity, equivalent to what’s being offered to big-box stores permitted to remain open for business. 

“What they’ve done through the lockdown is eliminate all of their competition,” said Ring. “Those small and medium-sized enterprises are accountable for 90-95 per cent of the job creation in Canada, and it’s no different here in Sault Ste. Marie.”

“We want to make sure that we’re pushing as much as possible to shop local, support local.” 

If consumers don’t commit to hyperlocal shopping, Ring says, Sault Ste. Marie is going to lose a lot of its small businesses that routinely support local charities and youth sports in the community. 

“They do a lot of great things in our community, and they share their economic prosperity when they have the ability to do so, and that’s going to have some impact on how our not-for-profits and charitable organizations are supported as well,” Ring said. 

Ring is somewhat encouraged by the forthcoming Ontario Small Business Support Grant, which will provide small businesses with dollar-for-dollar funding from $10,000 up to a maximum $20,000 to help cover decreased revenues as a result of the lockdown.

There’s also the chamber-supported Algoma Marketplace, an online shopping portal featuring more than two dozen local businesses.  

“We take a look at this lockdown as a real challenge, but we know our business community is up to that challenge,” Ring said.