Ready to bloom?

Ontario Premier Doug Ford hints at a loosening of restrictions for garden centres

ONTARIO PREMIER DOUG Ford said today there will be some good news coming in the next “day or two” for garden centres that have been forced to close just as their busiest season get underway.

On Thursday, the provincial government extended an emergency order requiring the closure of non-essential businesses for another 14 days, but during a news conference at Queen’s Park Ford told reporters there may be some wiggle room provided for garden centres, which will risk losing a significant portion of their inventory if they can’t soon open.

He did not indicate whether the centres would be allowed to open as usual or only for curbside pickup, as is the case with hardware stores.

“I understand the situation they are in and the government is going to act on that,” he said. “You will be hearing about that over the next day or two, we will be rolling that out.”

The emergency order requiring the closure of non-essential businesses in Ontario now goes through May 6.