The Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association has launched an online petition in a bid to protect its members during the latest lockdown.
The petition on Change.org questions why big box stores, like Costco and Walmart, can stay open, but not small businesses.
Businesses not considered essential are closed now that Windsor-Essex is in lockdown because of the growing number of COVID-19 cases across the region.
Many of those business owners fear they will not survive a second lockdown.
Janet Campbell, co-owner of Aggregate, a new home and gift shop on Ottawa Street, will spend the day setting up a website to hopefully translate in-store sales online. The shop only opened in October, and Campbell told BlackburnNews.com she takes the COVID-19 protocols very seriously.
"We have a capacity that is technically four bodies less than it could be. We'll stop that even below if we feel the flow in the shop could be a discomfort situation or something we don't feel personally safe within," she said.
The shop already offers curbside pickup, but Campbell confessed some anxiety regarding the future of her business during their first shutdown.
"It's an entire unknown for us. Will that experience translate into online? We have no clue. We're terrified -- everything that has been successful so far, we have no idea if that will translate into an online world," she admitted.
"Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy," read the petition launched on Friday. "COVID-19 and the corresponding public health orders have been devastating to Canada's main streets, while also being a boon to multi-national and large big-box retailers."
The petition points to research by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which suggested only 63 per cent of businesses were fully open in October. The carnage is even more pronounced in industries like tourism and hospitality.
The petition also demanded big-box retailers be prohibited from selling products consumers can buy from small retail and specialty stores.
Campbell said she could not support any move that could limit employment opportunities in the city, but agreed the restrictions on small business seem arbitrary.
"If we actually look at where our numbers have come from, it's not in business environments," she explained. "If the goal is safety, I just really think we've gotten our wires crossed on what we're doing here."
Medical Officer of Health Doctor Wajid Ahmed clarified to reporters Monday morning that it is not the health unit that decides what restrictions go into place. It is up to the provincial government.
"The ideal situation is everything should be closed. But, then we talk about what are some of the needs that people will need to stay at home. Food and essentials are critical even when you're in lockdown," he explained. "Strictly from a public health perspective, it doesn't matter if we're talking about these services being offered by a large business, small business, or a multi-national corporation."
So far, more than 2,000 people have signed the petition addressed to Premier Doug Ford.