Amid another round of COVID-related closures and restrictions taking effect Wednesday, the Ontario NDP is advocating for greater supports for small businesses.
“Once again, here we are,” Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said during a conference call with media. “For small business owners, Doug Ford’s latest lockdown has put a lot on the line for these folks.”
The Official Opposition is advocating for grants to become available immediately, the deferral of HST payments and a ban on commercial evictions.
“Let’s not add insult to injury by putting padlocks on these local businesses,” Horwath said.
The province shifted to modified Step Two in the Roadmap to Reopen on Wednesday, at which time various measures came into play that affect businesses. Most notably is the imposition of 50 per cent capacity limits in retail settings, the closure of gyms and indoor dining.
Accompanying the announcement is a planned extension of the Ontario Business Costs Rebate Program to cover property tax and energy costs, though details on how to apply and who can do so have yet to be announced.
This promise of help down the line isn’t good enough, Nickel Belt NDP MPP France Gélinas told Sudbury.com by phone on Wednesday, adding that many business owners and employees have been left without any income, again.
“It’s just horrible to live through, and it seems that if you’re going to announce yet again another shutdown for businesses, the second words you say after should be, ‘Here’s how we’ll help you.’
For Gélinas, it’s more of the same, with the previous Ontario Small Business Support Grant proving a headache as businesses struggled to receive benefits.
“It is a program that is really hard to navigate for a lot of small businesses,” she said. “We are still working with a large number of small businesses who did not qualify because of a typo.”
Meanwhile, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk announced late last year that the program lacked controls to weed out ineligible applicants, which resulted in $210 million going to 14,500 ineligible recipients.
Business owners were already having a really tough time, Gélinas said, adding that in addition to longer-term impacts that come with this latest round of restrictions they are also dealing with the last-minute nature of the announcement.
Premier Doug Ford announced the restrictions on Monday, and they came into effect on Wednesday.
“The main ones that have reached out to me are restaurants, giving 48 hours for restaurants who have already bought all sorts of lettuce and produce and things that cost a lot of money right now and they have nothing they can do with it,” Gélinas said.
On Monday, a post on the Hardrock42 Gastropub’s Facebook page indicated that they’d placed a large food order that day in anticipation of remaining open longer than two days.
There have already been numerous business closures throughout Nickel Belt, she said, pointing to various largely vacant shopping areas as examples.
Some businesses that have been around for generations are no more, and Gélinas said that more will be affected unless the government takes immediate action.
“I know more of them will close, I have no doubt, and more people will find themselves without an income,” she said. “Right now, small businesses need access to grants to stay open and they need a ban on eviction so the landlord can’t come and put a lock on their business.”
In response to Sudbury.com’s inquiry, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy’s office issued a written response in which they cite a couple measures intended to help business owners. These include the new Ontario Business Costs Rebate Program and $7.5 billion for a six-month interest- and penalty-free period period for Ontario businesses to make payments for most provincially administered taxes, “supporting businesses now and providing the flexibility they will need for long-term planning.”
They noted that the government is also “exploring options for providing further targeted and necessary supports for businesses and workers impacted by the province’s move into a modified Step Two of the Roadmap to Reopen, including grants.”
Similar to what the Ontario NDP is advocating, Bethlenfalvy’s office noted that they’re calling on the federal government to allow eligible businesses to defer HST and to enhance supports available to workers affected by current public health measures.
The Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Sudbury Business Improvement Area are also advocating alongside local businesses for the government to do more to help business owners through this latest round of restrictions.
