Prabmeet Sarkaria, associate minister of small business and red tape reduction, today announced Ontario’s Main Street Recovery Plan and said the provincial government plans to introduce the Main Street Recovery Act, 2020.
The proposed legislation, if passed, would support small businesses and modernize rules to allow them to innovate and meet the challenges of today.
The act, according to a release, will remove hurdles faced by small businesses and allow them to pursue new opportunities, while maintaining or enhancing protections for public health, safety and the environment.
The plan includes:
- A one-time grant of up to $1,000 for eligible main street small businesses — in retail, food and accommodations, and other service sectors — with two to nine employees to help offset the unexpected costs of personal protective equipment (PPE). Total amount of the grant is $60 million.
- Ontario’s Small Business COVID-19 Recovery Network, which links 47 Small Business Enterprise Centres across the province as places where small businesses can access tailored advice and information on local, provincial and federal programs.
- Digital Main Street Squads to help small businesses grow online.
- Mental health supports for families, frontline workers, young people, children, and Indigenous communities.
- Ontario’s Small Business Recovery Webpage to provide single window access to small business supports.
“Small businesses are the backbone of Ontario’s economy, and our government will always be in their corner,” Sarkaria said.
“Through more than 100 virtual roundtables and discussions with small business owners, their employees, local leaders and economists from all over Ontario, I’ve heard directly about the extraordinary sacrifices small businesses have made to keep their employees safe, their customers confident, and their communities strong.”
The plan’s regulatory and legislative changes, if passed, will:
- Commit to exploring options to permanently allow licensed restaurants and bars to include alcohol with food as part of a takeout or delivery order before the existing regulation expires.
- Permanently allow 24/7 deliveries to businesses that include retail stores, restaurants, and distribution facilities.
- Support the distribution of local food and food products by increasing the range of products sold at the Ontario Food Terminal.
- Enable Community Net Metering demonstration projects to help support local communities to develop innovative community projects like net-zero or community micro-grids.
- Modernize the Assistive Devices Program
- Support Ontario’s Taxi and Limousine Industry by increasing fines for illegal operators.
“Small business owners and entrepreneurs have overcome significant challenges and made extraordinary sacrifices to continue contributing to our communities through these unprecedented times,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, president of the treasury board and minister responsible for digital and data transformation.
Providing tools such as the Small Business Recovery Webpage, he added, will give them the information they need to reopen safely and rebuild better in one central location.
Additional information is available at Workplace PPE Supplier Directory, which provides businesses with information on personal protective equipment (PPE) suppliers, and ontario.ca/smallbusiness.
