Toronto residents celebrate with patios, non-essential shopping this weekend as Ontario reopens
There were long lines outside non-essential stores and patios were packed in Toronto on the first weekend after the province eased COVID-19 restrictions.
The province moved into Step 1 of its reopening framework on Friday allowing the return of dining on patios and non-essential in-store retail.
“We have been full since we’ve opened our doors,” said Justin Cheung, owner of Mira Mira Diner on Queen Street East. “It’s really going to be the make or break for a lot of restaurants to that have suffered for the past year and a half.”
After months of being limited to take-out, the restaurant’s patio has been at capacity since opening at noon. Current restrictions limit four people to table.
The province is also permitting non-essential retailers to operate at 15 per cent capacity and with no limitations on what goods they can sell.
“Our normal life is back, we need that,” said one shopper at a women’s clothing boutique in the Beach.
For the second day in a row, there were long lines at a big box stores. Customers waiting outside a Winners in Leaside telling CTV News Toronto that the wait to get in the store was well over an hour Saturday morning.
“We just got to have a social experience for once, it’s a good thing,” said one shopper.
TORONTO OPENS POOLS THIS WEEKEND
As COVID-19 restrictions ease in the province allowing outdoor activities to resume, the City of Toronto opened ten outdoor pools on Saturday, weeks ahead of schedule.
Pools are operating at 25 percent capacity and reservations must be made on the city’s website. Swim time is also limited to 45 minutes.
A select number of spaces at each outdoor pool location will be held back on a first-come, first-serve basis to ensure swimming remains accessible to people with limited access to the Internet.
“I’m delighted that we’re able to open up outdoor pools ahead of schedule now that the city has moved into Step 1 of the provincial reopening,” Mayor John Tory said in a press release.
“I encourage Torontonians to reserve their swim time and take advantage of the city’s outdoor pools and amenities throughout the summer.”
According to the city, more than 23,819 reservations were made in the first two days that the system was up and running.
The 10 outdoor pools that opened are:
- Alex Duff – 779 Crawford St.
- Monarch Park Pool – 115 Felstead Ave.
- Heron Park CC – 292 Manse Rd.
- Grandravine CC – 23 Grandravine Dr.
- McGregor CC – 2231 Lawrence Ave. E.
- Parkway Forest CC – 59 Forest Manor Rd.
- Pine Point – 15 Grierson Rd.
- Riverdale Park – 550 Broadview Ave.
- Sunnyside – Gus Ryder – 1755 Lake Shore Blvd. W.
- West Mall – 380 The West Mall
The remaining 49 outdoor pools will open for the season on June 19.
-- With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.