An organization representing small and medium businesses across the country, is calling on the Ontario government to expand their supports for struggling companies.
The new small business grant was announced by the province earlier this month, and so far tens of thousands of business owners have applied for the up to $20,000 in funding.
But the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses is calling for a broader approach to this grant, to include as many businesses as possible.
"While the new program has been well-received by many small firms, it is only designed to include those businesses that were locked down by new rules that went into effect on December 26," said Ryan Mallough, CFIB director of provincial affairs for Ontario. "Any business that has been locked down since spring of last year, and those still open but severely affected by the 'stay at home' order because of much lower customer traffic are not eligible."
The CFIB says it's received a number of calls and messages from owners who haven't been able to access this new money. Mallough says they fall into three main categories - including essential businesses that aren't required to shut down but have been drastically impacted by the lockdown.
"A good example of this is like a drycleaner in downtown Toronto. They're still allowed to be open but because all of the office towers are working from home, their business is just gone," Mallough says.
Businesses like amusement parks or oxygen bars that haven't been able to open since last spring, and businesses that were impacted by previous lockdowns but not the current one are also ineligible for this money according to Mallough.
He says the province has gotten a lot right with this grant, but it needs to be expanded to more of a blanket approach - since only a select number of companies have not been severely impacted by COVID-19.