Although not entirely unexpected, Ontario has announced that they will be going into a second provincial state of emergency—a level we haven’t seen since the pandemic first began back in March 2020.

I had hoped that the first column of 2021 might have had a happier tone, with the vaccine starting to make its first rounds, but alas we still aren’t yet out of the woods.

The silver lining to the newest provincial lockdown is that much of the industry, this time around, is still permitted to stay open. See Ont. locked down for second time during pandemic for more details related to the Ontario state of emergency.

Speaking with contractors after the last lockdown, there was much concern about how long it would take for business to get back to normal. What we heard was that most expected at least six months; some even argued that it would be years until they might reach a level of normalcy. It remains to be seen how tighter restrictions will affect business moving forward. I sadly suspect those that were in good shape prior will remain so, and those that were struggling will continue to struggle for the foreseeable future.

If you’d like to share your stories about how COVID-19 has affected your business and how long you believe it will take for your company to get back to normal, please email leah@plumbingandhvac.ca.

There is a fine line we are dancing on right now. We need to be careful about the health of our loved ones, family members, friends, co-workers, employees, and employers. Yet, we still need to pay bills and feed our families. I am confident that the decision to put a province back into a lockdown was not an easy one for the Ontario government to make.

Hopefully, people will respect the current situation and do what is in their power to limit the spread and shorten how long we are in this period. Business owners want to stay open. People want to visit family. And I want to head back to the gym!

Stay safe and sane everyone. Hopefully, soon enough, business won’t be as unusual as it has been in the last year.