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“I don’t know whether it will work or it won’t work. I hope it works,” said Larry Rosen, chief executive at luxury menswear chain Harry Rosen Inc. “We are just getting absolutely punished financially.”
Major retailers and industry advocates have loudly criticized government restrictions in the currently locked-down zones of Toronto and neighbouring Peel Region, where non-essential retailers have been forced to shut down, aside from delivery and curb-side pickups, since late last month.
Big-box chains that sell both groceries and non-essential goods — such as Walmart, Costco and Loblaw — have been allowed to remain open, riling their competitors.
I don’t know whether it will work or it won’t work. I hope it works
Larry Rosen
In HBC’s court filings on Thursday, it said the restrictions were “incoherent and devoid of logic” and asked a judge to either invalidate the orders or at least allow department stores to be exempt.
But the provincial government has for weeks resisted calls to loosen the rules or force the big-box chains to only sell essential goods.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said he is following public health advice in an attempt to tamp down a surging second wave of infections. On Friday, the province announced it was moving York Region, north of Toronto, and Windsor-Essex, into lockdown as well.
“This is a nightmare for our merchants, just a nightmare,” said Diane Brisebois, chief executive at the Retail Council of Canada.
Since HBC filed its application for a judicial review on Thursday, Brisebois said she has been hearing from retailers that are “very supportive” of the move.
