Ontario considering cash grants for shuttered businesses as industry slams delay

Ontario is considering new financial supports, including cash grants, for businesses hit by the latest wave of pandemic closures but industry advocates say the emergency aid plus a plan for the future should have been announced sooner.

Premier Doug Ford announced another round of public health measures to combat the explosion in Omicron cases on Monday, including a 21-day ban on indoor dining, the shuttering of gyms, theatres and other attractions, and cuts to capacity for personal-care services and shops.

Along with the new restrictions, the government said it would expand eligibility for a property tax and energy cost rebate program it announced last month (it has not yet opened applications or finalized the details of that program).

On top of this, we are actively exploring options for further financial supports for businesses, including looking at options for grants for those businesses impacted by yesterday's announcement," Emily Hogeveen, a spokesperson for Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, said on Tuesday.

Dan Kelly, CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said he's sympathetic to the government but that it should have acted faster.

It is shameful that we don't have the financial supports up and ready to go the very day that restrictions are announced," he said. In March 2020 that would have been impossible, but that's not impossible for wave five of the pandemic."

Kelly said the government should have quickly reopened the admittedly imperfect" grant program that funnelled cash payments of $10,000 to $20,000 in two rounds to small businesses last year. (Ontario's auditor general has criticized the province's administration of the program, which she said handed out $210-million to ineligible businesses.)

The CFIB also wants the federal government to expand wage and rent subsidies for businesses and restart a loan program but make a larger portion of the money forgivable.

Without immediate action to get cash into the hands of debt-laden business owners, Kelly said permanent closures are imminent. Based on polling of the CFIB's members conducted before the Omicron variant, the average Ontario small business owner had $190,000 in debt incurred during the pandemic and 18.5 per cent were considering bankruptcy.

We didn't see that in the early stages of the pandemic," he said, noting that some zombie" businesses continued without officially shutting down while others were sustained by federal and provincial support. Now, I expect many businesses will be throwing in the towel ... because there's nothing left. Many businesses are hanging on a hope and a prayer at this stage."

Restaurants in Ontario have been unable to offer indoor dining for more than 400 days, according to the CFIB, which said gyms have also been closed for almost 400 days.

A version 2.0" of Ontario's small business grant program would be a huge huge help," said Erik Joyal, president of Toronto-based restaurant and event company Ascari Hospitality Group.

But he added that businesses like his need both a predictable model of support during public-health restrictions plus a clear plan for how various levels of government will help address the capital costs of reopening, including restocking, hiring and retraining workers.

The long-term effect of these multiple closures over two years have had such a seismic impact on how our industry operates. And I don't feel like there are a lot of people in government who are looking beyond three or four or five weeks. They just want to get through this and say, The doors are open, you guys are good, be on your way,' " Joyal said.

But it's like getting into a car crash. You go to the hospital and they bandage you up but you can't walk properly for six months. So what's the aftercare program? Where's our physio?"

James Rilett, vice-president of Restaurants Canada, said cash on hand" is key right now and that he hopes Ontario will restart the grant program and that the federal government will consider measures such as an HST holiday for restaurants.

He said many restaurant owners who have sacrificed their retirement savings or remortgaged their homes to get through the pandemic are also struggling with their mental health.

People are concerned about survival. They're tired of the roller coaster," Rilett said. That's one of the biggest concerns right now, more than any other time we've closed, is the toll that all of this has taken."