Tighter measures were recently taken in Ontario in an attempt by the Ford Government to slow the third wave of the pandemic including new retail restrictions effective April 8th, 2021. As indicated in the Ontario Government’s public announcement:
- Most “non-essential” retailers may open for curbside pick-up and delivery only.
- “Essential Retailers” (i.e. grocery, pharmacy) may open with the exception that “Discount and Big Box stores” must limit their in-person retail sales to “grocery items, pet care supplies, household cleaning supplies, pharmaceutical items, health care items, and personal care items only”.
Note, this differs from the recent restrictions in Quebec where ALL retailers were restricted to selling ONLY “essential” products, which included products defined as “health and hygiene” rather than “personal care”.
Consequently, guidance may be particularly helpful in defining “personal care” in Discount and Big Box Stores. To objectively inform these decisions, CA continues to utilize the statutory definitions of these products in the federal Food & Drugs Act. Our updated Guidance can be found HERE.
