Todd Smith, MPP for Bay of Quinte, is encouraging businesses negatively impacted through the COVID-19 pandemic to apply for the new Ontario Small Business Support Grant.
The grant, first announced last month, provides a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $20,000 to eligible small businesses who have had to restrict operations due to a province-wide shutdown enacted to stop an alarming rise of COVID-19 that could threaten health-care system capacity.
“We’ve asked our business owners to make sacrifices in the interest of protecting the public’s health and safety during the global pandemic,” said Smith. “Our government must do what it can to support these businesses through this challenging time. I’m pleased to see the portal is now open at ontario.ca/covidsupport and I encourage small business owners to visit, learn about the funding available, and apply.”
Small businesses who have been required to close or significantly restrict their services under the current province-wide shutdown will be able to apply for a one-time grant. They will be able to determine the best use of the funding, whether it be used to pay for employee wages, rent, inventory, or promotions and logistics.
Eligible small businesses include those that:
- Were required to close or significantly restrict services due to the province-wide shutdown imposed across the province as of 12:01 a.m. Dec. 26.
- Have fewer than 100 employees at the enterprise level.
- Have experienced a minimum 20-per-cent revenue decline in April 2020 compared to April 2019. New businesses established since April 2019 will also be eligible if they meet other eligibility criteria.
Businesses that were required to close prior to the introduction of the province-wide shutdown and businesses currently permitted to open for in-person retailing with capacity restrictions will not be eligible.
