Some gyms are able to stay open Wednesday under an exception

There is an exception that allows some gyms to remain open in Ontario come Wednesday. 

Ryan O'Connor is a lawyer who represents about 30 gyms across the province including several in Waterloo Region. 

He said those who have a medical note for physical therapy that they can't get elsewhere or those who have a disability that's defined under Ontario law are able to patronize gyms who are allowed to remain open.

“Gyms and indoor recreational facilities have been maligned during the pandemic for no reason,” said O'Connor, “they were never a source significantly of outbreaks or viral spread yet they've borne the brunt of restrictions, borne the brunt of lock downs and borne the brunt of the shut down through no fault of their own.” 

O'Connor said he's been busy answering questions from the clients he represents on what they are able to do under the province's latest announcement of going back to a modified stage two. 

“It's been pretty non-stop,” said O'Connor, “it's very busy and I'm seeing a lot of increase of gyms who didn't open under the exception last time who did shut down in response to the last set of lock downs who are looking to open.” 

He said that gyms are places where we can all go to preserve our mental and physical health.

“It's extremely important in the context of a pandemic and it's certainly important in the context of COVID where we know the science tells us those who have better health have better outcomes if God forbid they contract COVID-19,” he said, “this is a community of businesses that have been unfairly targeted through no fault of their own, shut down for approximately a year of the pandemic.”

He hopes that gyms can take advantage of that exception. 

“We're making sure that those gyms can stay open under the rules that exist. Gyms that cater to those that have a medical note for physical therapy that they cannot get elsewhere and those who have a disability that's defined under Ontario law can go and patronize their local gyms if they wish to remain open. Hopefully gyms are going to be able to take advantage of that and there's going to be a lot of gyms that are not going to be closed in the province and they will be operating legally under the exception.” 

He said that any gym that does open under the exception won't be defying the order by the provincial government.

“I want to be clear that gyms are not en masse required to close as of Wednesday,” he said, “there's no defiance of any order with this exception. It will be completely legal for The Toronto Maple Leafs, the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Raptors to operate their gyms. It's a misconception that all gyms en masse are going to close tomorrow. Private gyms that aren't operated by professional sports leagues that have to only open under the exception as I've described. There will be gyms in Waterloo Region that I'm aware of that will be open to serve the needs of the community where we all need to be working on our health and focused on it.”