Some business owners frustrated by Ontario COVID support grant program payment delays
Posted March 11, 2022 6:21 pm.
Last Updated March 11, 2022 6:43 pm.
As the deadline arrived for small business owners impacted by the COVID-19 Omicron wave-related restrictions to apply for another support grant, some of those affected are voicing their frustrations about the process.
“We really need the money to help pay our landlord and our suppliers off, and we’re doing our best to keep the doors open because we really love our customers,” Amalia Caschera, the manager of Mi Taco Taqueria on Bloor Street West, told CityNews on Friday, citing the importance of the grant.
She said there are signs of a rebound at the location with restrictions, including removing the requirement for checking vaccine certificates at the beginning of March. However, there’s still some concern.
“(It’s) slowly picking up, but it’s not going to be enough. It’s going to take longer before things start to go smoothly again,” Caschera said.
The Bloor Street West location opened in 2019. However, the company’s first location on Queen Street West near University is not so lucky. It’s closing on Sunday due, in part, to backed-up rent.
In January, the Ford government announced another round of payments tailored to those forced to close or have capacity restrictions to do the Omicron surge. The application portal opened on February 9.
RELATED: Ontario businesses impacted by modified Step 2 COVID restrictions can apply for $10K grants
Caschera said if things don’t change for the business, they only have three to six months left.
“Really worried. We really don’t want to close those doors. We just love this location. We love our customers. We’re just one big happy family,” she said.
In Little Italy, Kathryn Beet is trying to restart her yoga business at a cheaper location after closing her past establishment on Ossington Avenue in October. She said she had to lay off all of her staff.
Beet praised the grants offered by the government and said those had been a help, but she said the process has been problematic. Due to an email address typo on her initial application for the first round of grants, she said it meant she didn’t receive documentation to access energy and tax rebates also announced by the Ford government.
“Get organized… The mouth is not talking to the hand, you know. Whatever they’re saying on the TV to everyone who gets this message, everything thinks businesses are being taken care of. Guess what? They’re not,” Beet said, noting she’s called for several months to change it without luck.
Their cases were raised by Spadina–Fort York NDP MPP Chris Glover. He called on the government to get the money out and increase the offered support.
“They needed this support to get through. We’re losing businesses because of the delays in this relief grant,” he told CityNews.
“It’s not nearly adequate. $10,000 sounds like a lot and depends on where you are. If you’re a storefront location in downtown, $10,000 is maybe a month’s rent, maybe two weeks rent, and so the $10,000 can help, but it should be scaled according to the cost to businesses.”
CityNews took the concerns to Ontario Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction Nina Tangri’s office. She wasn’t available for an on-camera interview, but in a statement, a spokesperson said that approximately $132 million has been given out to more than 13,000 businesses in the past five weeks.
“We continue to process a high volume of applications and understand the extreme sense of urgency many small businesses are feeling during this difficult period,” Mary Perrone-Lisi wrote.
“We thank all applicants for their patience and understand the pandemic has had a tremendous impact on small businesses across the province.”
It wasn’t immediately clear how many businesses in total are still waiting for help.
Meanwhile, the deadline to apply for the small business relief grant is 11:59 p.m. EST on March 11. Click here to access the application website.
For business owners who applied and are having difficulties accessing the status of their application, ministry officials encouraged them to email OntarioSmallBusinessReliefGrant1@ontario.ca.
With files from Mark McAllister
