ONTARIO SMALL BUSINESS HAVE SUFFERED

Ontario small business have suffered. Almost to the point where many are not going to be able to continue if they have not already closed. It is rumoured that we are heading into a fourth wave with covid-19 which means very likely businesses will be forced to close once again or be limited to a capacity of operation.

The Ontario provincial government has attempted to provide financial assistance and has helped over the past 18 months assisting small businesses with financial support to get through these lockdowns. The first wave of grant funding for small businesses forced to close was $10,000 which came in January 2021. A second closure continuation was announced and small businesses were told anyone who received the first round of funding would receive the second round of funding to get through this next closure process.

14,000 ONTARIO SMALL BUSINESS LEFT WITH NO 2ND ROUND OF HELP

There are always stipulations and many small businesses on the second round received an audit. They were required to describe their business in more detail before they were allowed to receive the second round of funding. This resulted in over 14,000 businesses waiting patiently for another 2 months thinking they were going to be receiving some compensation for being forced to close.

Friday August 13, 2021 over 14,000 businesses received an email from the Ontario government explaining that there is no additional funding coming. In addition there will be no appeal process. However they will not be required to pay down the initial $10,000 they would have received at the beginning.

WAVE 4 OF COVID IS COMING

In this unfortunate turn of events, the fourth wave is getting announced for covid-19 in Ontario which means there is a very likely chance once again of small businesses, 14,000 of them will be still forced to close and not be able to serve customers or operate. This is an unfortunate situation that is making it extremely difficult for small businesses to put food on the table, cover the cost of their operations but even more so they’re livelihoods.

Below is a sample of the email that many of these businesses are receiving:

ONTARIO EMAIL TO ONTARIO SMALL BUSINESS

“The Ontario Small Business Support Grant was created to help small businesses that have been hardest hit by the restrictions needed to protect people from COVID-19. This program was launched soon after the Emergency Provincewide Shutdown Order took effect on December 26, 2020. The grant provided payments to businesses that were required to close or significantly restrict services as required by law.

An audit of the program has now been completed. We regret to inform you that, despite your attestation, and after several reviews of your file, it has been determined that your business is not eligible for the Ontario Small Business Support Grant. We therefore won’t be sending you a second payment under this program.

Under normal circumstances, the government would collect payments that it had made to ineligible businesses.

But these are not normal circumstances. We understand that small businesses are facing acute challenges due to the pandemic. And we believe that businesses that the audit has found were ineligible applied to the program in good faith. The government has therefore decided that it would be unreasonable to collect payments made to ineligible businesses.

The program is now closed. We will not consider any changes to applications or conduct any further reviews about eligibility.

We continue to be there for small businesses as they cautiously and safely reopen. Please visit ontario.ca/smallbusiness to learn more about other recovery resources for small businesses. If you had additional questions, please contact Service Ontario at 1-855-216-3090.

Kind regards,

Ontario Small Business Supports Grant Team”

Small business owners  are the backbone of the Ontario economy and as such needs to be built and grown in the Province to regain all that is lost. Small business like Vacu-Man furnace and duct cleaning, Yoga studios, small cafe or retail are now forced to accept the latest answer.