1/ Today we begin phase 3 in Ontario, or, as I like to call it "killing ourselves to pay the rent."

2/ As has been well documented, we know from other places that opening up bars lead to more cases and more deaths. So, people will die. Why are we killing them? To keep these businesses from going under. And what would drive them under? Rent. This is all about rent.

3/ When a bar (or movie theatre or gym) is closed, they lay off their staff and stop buying things. The things they already bought aren't perishable, so there's no cost to holding them. Most of what's left is rent. Bars could stay closed almost indefinitely with no rent.

4/ What about the workers, you say? Well, for bars and theatres these are mostly min wage jobs, so people are still covered by CERB. No real issue there. (Personal trainers an exception here). So making this about "putting people to work" is simply marketing.

5/ Don't get me wrong - I get how hard life is for small biz. I've spend the last 4 months fighting for them with Save Small Business. But with a thoughtful rent relief program (instead of the gong show that is CECRA) we wouldn't be choosing between lives and bankruptcies.