ONTARIO’S PLAN TO REOPEN

Yesterday, Premier Doug Ford announced the Plan to safely reopen Ontario.

For dealers, nothing has changed and will not change until February:

• 50 per cent capacity
• music played is not above a decibel level where normal conversation is possible
• safety measures for vehicle test drives sales, such as a maximum of 10 minutes for a test drive, a maximum of two people in a vehicle, including one sales representative, windows must be rolled down, active screening, masking, etc.
• Post visible and conspicuous signs that state the capacity limits in the establishment (50 per cent of the maximum occupant load as calculated in accordance with the Fire Code)
• Ensure physical distancing in-store
• Clean and disinfect commonly touched areas of surfaces and objects, including inside vehicles

Restrictions will loosen further on February 21, 2022 with a further step and additional barriers removed on March 14, 2022.  The full plan can be viewed here:

https://covid-19.ontario.ca/public-health-measures#returning-to-our-plan-to-safely-reopen-ontario

ONTARIO MOVES DEALERS TO A MODIFIED STEP 2

As some may have already heard, Doug Ford announced he has moved the Province, effective Wednesday, January 5, 2022 at 12:01 a.m. for at least 21 days (until January 26, 2022), subject to trends in public health and health system indicators, to a modified Step 2 in the plan to reopen Ontario.

Essentially, for dealers, the modification affects the advice on test drives:

If the business permits members of the public to test drive any vehicles, boats or watercraft,

1. the test drive must be limited to no more than 10 minutes,
2. a maximum of two people, including up to one sales representative, may be present in the vehicle, boat or watercraft during the test drive,

iii. if two people who are not members of the same household are present in the vehicle during the test drive, any windows in the vehicle, boat or watercraft must be opened at all times,

1. the members of the public must be actively screened in accordance with the advice, recommendations and instructions of the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health before they participate in the test drive, and
2. all participants in the test drive must wear a mask or face covering in a manner that covers their mouth, nose and chin, unless they are entitled to any exceptions.

All retailers, including dealers, must remain at 50% capacity.

• Post visible and conspicuous signs that state the capacity limits in the establishment (50 per cent of the maximum occupant load as calculated in accordance with the Fire Code)
• Ensure physical distancing in-store
• Clean and disinfect commonly touched areas of surfaces and objects, including inside vehicles

For more detailed and sector-specific guidance please visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/enhancing-public-health-and-workplace-safety-measures-provincewide-shutdown

See previous Dealer Alerts at  www.ucda.org/dealer-alerts/

The early success of vaccines made us all hope the worst was behind us, but then the OMICRON Covid-19 variant came along, and we are all back in the soup.  Worldwide transmission rates are soaring, and Ontario’s infection numbers are as bad now as they were way back in April.

All retailers, including dealers, must move to 50% capacity as of 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, 2021.  In establishing 50% capacity at all retail stores and service facilities, the Ontario Government seeks to slow the spread and help us all enjoy a safe holiday season.

These are things dealers need to know:

• No more than 50% capacity in-store
• Post visible and conspicuous signs that state the capacity limits in the establishment (50 per cent of the maximum occupant load as calculated in accordance with the Fire Code)
• Ensure physical distancing in-store
• Test Drives: If the business permits members of the public to test drive any vehicles:

–  members of the public must be actively screened in accordance with the advice, recommendations and      instructions of the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health before they participate in the test drive    https://covid-19.ontario.ca/screening/customer/

and

–  all participants in the test drive must wear a mask or face covering in a manner that covers their             mouth, nose and chin

• Clean and disinfect commonly touched areas of surfaces and objects, including inside vehicles

Finally, please try to get your booster shot as soon as possible and watch for news from your local office of Public Health.

For more detailed and sector-specific guidance please visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/enhancing-public-health-and-workplace-safety-measures-provincewide-shutdown

See previous Dealer Alerts at  www.ucda.org/dealer-alerts/

ONTARIO MOVING INTO STEP THREE IN ROADMAP TO REOPENING

Thanks to careful crisis management, high vaccination rates and lower infection numbers, Ontario will move into the third phase of the three-stage plan to reopen Ontario for Business on Friday, July 16, 2021 at 12:01 a.m. This is earlier than originally anticipated by almost a week and is a hopeful sign that we are truly getting ahead of this pandemic.

Having said this, we are clearly not out of the woods yet so dealers must remain vigilant and continue social distancing practices, sanitizing and masking protocols.

For more details on this announcement, please visit https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1000501/ontario-moving-to-step-three-of-roadmap-to-reopen-on-july-16

STEP THREE

• Capacity restricted to the number of people in a facility able to maintain at least two meters (six feet) distance from every other person in the facility
• Signs posted to state capacity limits for the facility
• Test drive restrictions

1. members of the public must be actively screened
2. all participants in the test drive must wear a mask or face covering in a manner that covers their mouth, nose and chin

For more detailed and sector-specific guidance please visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/enhancing-public-health-and-workplace-safety-measures-provincewide-shutdown

Weekend and Evening Search Office Hours Set to Resume

We’re happy to announce that Saturday and Weekday Evening phone and fax searches are set to resume soon.

Saturday search office hours will resume Saturday, June 19 during our regular Saturday hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Evening search hours will resume the following Monday, June 21. Searches will once again be available from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

We appreciate your patience during these current closures necessitated by the lockdown orders issued by the Ontario Government.

The UCDA Search Team