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Mayor concerned continued COVID rise will cripple businesses

Wants to see province focus on reopening retail

BOYLE - The more you use a yo-yo the greater the likelihood of the string breaking. 

That’s the concern for the mayor and councillors of the Village of Boyle as they watch local businesses close down, reopen and close again, as regulations regarding who can and cannot be open during the pandemic. And while that is a common complaint for many small towns, says mayor Colin Derko, it can destroy them in ways cities like Edmonton or Red Deer will not feel as hard, or understand. 

“Although our businesses are very strongly managed, it is extremely hard for them to endure the yo-yo effect of being open and closed due to COVID,” said Derko in an April 3 e-mail. 

As numbers rise suddenly in the greater Athabasca region, the toll it takes on businesses is profound, both on the working people and the local economy. 

“It’s not only the businesses within our communities that suffer, but the working people that either lose their jobs or are forced to take time off also suffer,” he said. 

Derko noted it is important for people to remain diligent and help stop the spread. 

“I really hope that we can sustain a reasonable health boundary along with keeping our businesses open,” he said. “Nobody wants to see people getting sick, but at the same time it is very difficult, both mentally and financially, for people to continue without working.” 

Derko is calling on the government to take a more balanced approach when reopening businesses — small businesses are just as important as national and international chain stores and are the lifeblood of communities like Boyle and Athabasca. 

“We are 100 per cent committed to following provincial guidelines and it is my hope that our provincial government will take all matters into account when making decisions to either open or close businesses within our province,” he said. 

Mental and financial health needs to be just as important as the health and well-being of Albertans, he said, adding people need to be patient and work together to get out of the pandemic. 

“Like our Welcome to Boyle sign says, ‘This too shall pass — Might pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass.’” 

[email protected] 





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