True to form (which is to say, consistently formless and unpredictable) the Ontario government on Friday announced restaurants and bars could open their patios. With no warning.

First of all, in my opinion, we shouldn’t be opening up anything right now. There were 1,791 new COVID-19 cases in Ontario yesterday, and 18 people died. There’s a “growing consensus among medical experts that the province has entered a third wave of COVID-19 cases” in Ontario. (source) I get that businesses, especially small businesses, want to re-open. But re-opening early just prolongs the pain of this half-measure. Is it really worth it?

Breaking: Ontario Government is leaving your safety in the hands of people who really miss going out for wings with their buddies.

— déjà brü • June 02/22 save the date (@_MiphasGrace_) March 19, 2021

Second, if you’re going to make this decision, you don’t drop it on all these beleaguered business owners with less than 24 hours notice.

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Lol sorry but they gave us 24 HOURS NOTICE to open patios tomorrow…WHAT!!??? I am not surprised as there have been MANY fumbles fundamentally rooted in gov having ZERO understanding of how restaurants work but wow. Honestly fucking RUDE. And no. We wont be panicking to open.

— Jen Agg (@TheBlackHoof) March 20, 2021

I don’t know why I expected anything else from this clown car of a government who is clearly prioritizing the economy over lives — as if the economy doesn’t count on alive-ish people.

Meanwhile, in Canada’s New Zealand: