Landscape Ontario update May 4, 2020

On Friday Premier Ford announced that Landscape Services and Lawn Care businesses can open as of today. Garden Centres are allowed to operate under strict conditions of curbside pick up and delivery.   

 

This is a huge relief for our Landscape and Lawn Care sectors.  

 

However we still have more work to do to get Garden Centres open with the same rules as Grocery Stores and Mass Merchants. It is crucial that they open fully  in the next few days because 80% of their business is done in a 12-week period. Over $450 million dollars of plants are ready and waiting to be sold at Ontario’s nurseries. The demand is there. It is much easier to operate safely in outdoor locations. We are doing everything we can to get the message across. The public needs gardens and gardening more than ever. Our members are able to provide plants and expertise in a safe manner.  

 

It is an absolute privilege to be one of the first businesses allowed to operate. Media attention has been intense. CTV, Global, City TV, Breakfast Television, CBC, Canadian Press and many others have done stories on our profession. The public and enforcement officials are also watching. It is important that you do all you can to operate safely, responsibly and professionally. This is our opportunity to earn public trust.   

 

The government has issued a number of guidance documents that you can use to implement safety policies and procedures in your business.

 

Lawn and Landscape Guidelines 

 

Garden Centre Guidelines 

 

Transportation of Workers to Work Locations 

 

Safety Information for Drivers and Truck Drivers 

 

 

Learn more at tomorrow’s Town Hall webinar. Tuesday at 10 a.m. we have invited officials from the Ministry of Labour, (MOL) Workplace Safety and  Prevention Services (WSPS)  and Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to participate in our Town Hall to answer your questions about the guidance documents.    Register here.  

 

It is important that we show the government that we are up to the task of working safely. 

We are landscape and horticultural professionals.