‘We want to obey, but there’s a limit’
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Joost Van Campen says they will respect anyone who comes to their business in Tillsonburg, Nectar Coffee and Bar, for takeout service.
Saturday afternoon, in front of Nectar’s on Broadway, volunteers from the local ‘No More Lockdowns’ group (NoMoreLockdowns.ca) were distributing signs. On Friday, volunteers were handing out signs in the large parking lot next to D’Lish Café on north Broadway.
On the local NoMoreLockdowns Facebook page it states, ‘Our goal here is to open local business in Tillsonburg and surrounding areas as well as educating people on their rights to (choose) no matter what the views are.’
“They want to let everyone know what their point is, to make it clear to everyone,” said Van Campen. “And I think that’s one of the best – and safe – arguments. ‘We want to obey, but there’s a limit.’
“We have to let them (government) know that there is a limit as business owners and also as citizens. And the business owners, they also have to make a statement to let their customers know what their position is – here is what we stand for. I think that’s a little sign from the business owners, from the citizens, to the government – to their local government, to provincial government.
“The most important thing is… the business owners they have to let people know that we want to open, but we want to stay by the rules, we want to pay our bills, we want to pay taxes, we want to serve our customers. It’s also a community issue, right? Serve the community, have a place to go. That’s where we are.”
Van Campen stressed Nectar Coffee & Bar is currently open for takeout-only right now and it will remain takeout-only until the lockdown is lifted. On Saturday Nectar’s was serving an excellent takeout fish and chips, cooked outdoors on their patio.
“But we want them – the government – to know the lockdown doesn’t make sense if you look to the numbers, the cases, in our area,” said Van Campen. “Therefore we don’t understand why this area is locked down. This area, we were in a coloured zone (orange) and then all of a sudden the whole province is closed. What kind of powerful decision is that? They are passing by the local townships, the local health areas, they pass by everyone and it’s just ‘lockdown.’ And everyone starts fearing. I think it’s not fair.
“I really appreciate the police, they are really nice. They support us…” he said, recalling several police forces in Ontario stating they would not exercise new powers to randomly stop people. “That was a very, very positive encouragement.”
“The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is doing its part to support the Government of Ontario’s health emergency declaration to limit the transmission of the COVID-19 virus, and expects the public including business owners to follow the legislation and the direction of public health officials,” said Oxford OPP Const. Patti Cote, Media Relations/Community Safety Officer on the weekend.
Aware that many people on social media were encouraging businesses in Tillsonburg to open Saturday, Cote stated, “It is important for the public to understand there are consequences for individuals who choose to defy the Acts while emergency orders are in force.
“The primary focus for the OPP is public safety,” Cote added in the email.
cabbott@postmedia.com
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