COVID-19 safety blitzes at small businesses appear to be working.
This from Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton who says 110 provincial offences officers conducted more than a thousand workplace inspections earlier this month in a number of regions including Windsor-Essex.
McNaughton says roughly 73% of businesses were in full compliance with public health measures.
He says business owners are taking the regulations seriously.
"There merchants are responding to our customer service approach to health and safety," he says. "They've pulled up their socks and they're putting the well being of their workers and customers first. This means they are ensuring masking, regular disinfecting and that people are maintaining physical distancing from each other."
McNaughton says inspections will continue as long as the pandemic is around.
"The results that we're seeing are extremely encouraging, but we're not letting up our inspection efforts," says McNaughton. "We'll be in communities across Ontario each and every day. Healthy and safe workplaces are good for business and important to families in all of our communities."
He adds small businesses need all the help they can get right now.
"We know these small businesses don't have a big HR department like some of these other big corporations," he adds. "So we're really going in with a customer service focus to answer questions that small businesses have. We're there to help them transition."
The blitzes, done at both small and large businesses, are part of an ongoing government effort to ensure employers and employees are following COVID-19 rules.