Small businesses ask for rent relief as pandemic closures continue

On April 16, commercial landlords in Ontario can lock the doors on any tenants who were unable to pay rent on April 1.

Small businesses are asking for more support - from the government and from regular Canadians - to help them keep their stores so they'll be there to reopen when the time comes.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) is asking provinces to help small businesses with their rent with grants of up to $5,000, as well as a 25 per cent reduction in property taxes during the pandemic, to help them stay afloat until they can reopen.

"We're heading into May, and businesses are looking at months, not weeks, of being deprived of sales, being shut down or having dramatic drops in sales," said Laura Jones, the CFIB's executive vice-president.

Jones said the CFIB's most recent survey of national businesses found that six per cent don't think they'll reopen at the end of the tunnel, and another 40 per cent aren't sure.

She said the 75 per cent wage subsidy and the $40,000 loan for businesses - $10,000 of which is forgivable - are great, but they aren't enough. For one, the wage subsidy only helps businesses that are open, she said, and many businesses don't qualify for the loan.

Philip Kocev of Toronto's Danforth Business Improvement Area (BIA) said smaller "mom and pop" businesses can't get the loan because it requires at least a $50,000 payroll. For shops that are run by families, or stores such as hair salons that rent out their chairs, the loan is not available.

The BIA is also asking for rent relief for small businesses, as well as an eviction freeze similar to the one many provinces have enacted for residential tenants. The CFIB is also asking for an eviction freeze.

"There has to be some kind of rent bailout for small businesses," said Kocev, adding that almost a third of Danforth businesses had trouble paying their full rent in April. In May, he said, that number will only increase.

Earlier in April, the BIA's "Save Main Street" campaign asked the government for a 75 per cent commercial rent subsidy up to $10,000 a month for three months, a utility payment freeze and other funds or grace periods to help small businesses weather the pandemic.

Kocev and David Watson, managing partner of Eastbound Brewing on the Queen Street East restaurant strip, urged the provincial government Wednesday to address the cash-flow crisis, warning of mass closures unless the Ontario government quickly fills gaps in federal supports.

At a video news conference Wednesday, hosted by local city councillor Paula Fletcher, the merchants noted landlords could legally start padlocking storefronts Thursday for missed March rent.

Watson said fellow Riverside district merchants are reporting revenue losses of between 50 per cent and 100 per cent. They are "terrified" fixed costs will kill them.

"Having to still pay rent is something that is going to put businesses under," triggering mass unemployment and blighting neighbourhoods, he said.

"Both landlords and tenants are in some cases in the same situation and are waiting and nothing is happening yet - we need to see some action."

Ontario's opposition NDP is urging Premier Doug Ford to impose a four-month moratorium on commercial evictions and pay 75 per-cent rent subsidies up to $10,000 a month, at an estimated cost of between $850 million and $1.15 billion.

Jones said two provinces, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, are providing one-time grants for small businesses up to $5,000. She wants to see other provinces follow a similar model.

"Deferrals just aren't enough," she said.

Meanwhile, some groups are taking matters into their own hands and starting campaigns to help keep their favourite small businesses afloat.

For example, the Yonge and St. Clair BIA has introduced a $25,000 gift card stimulus fund to encourage local gift card purchases. The BIA is matching gift card purchases by the dollar if they're made through its website, meaning purchasers get twice the value they paid for.

And a group of volunteers has created a website called Save Your Faves, which allows people to browse restaurants by neighbourhood and links directly to their gift card pages.

Jones said the average small business pays around $10,000 in rent, with a wide variation. She urged everyone with the financial ability to buy gift cards or order online from their favourite small businesses, as well as support them when they reopen.

"Everybody's going to take a hit," she said.

With files from David Rider