Horwath calls for small business grants to open to all struggling local business

Horwath is in Durham Wednesday calling on Doug Ford to adopt her Reopen Stay Open plan

OSHAWA — Doug Ford denied grants to countless local Ontario businesses during the pandemic, and Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is now calling for help to open up to all local small- and medium-sized businesses that need support to reopen safely, and stay open for good.

“Doug Ford denied help to local mom and pops in droves – refusing to throw them a lifeline,” said Horwath.

“Jobs are on the line. Families’ livelihoods are on the line. The dreams of entrepreneurs and generations-old family businesses are on the line. And Ontario’s recovery is on the line. That’s why I’m proposing a new round of small businesses grants, and, this time, I’m calling for the program to be available to any small- or medium-sized local business that’s struggling as a result of the pandemic.”

Horwath was in Durham Wednesday, where NDP MPP Jennifer French (Oshawa) has been working with local businesses that have been turned away from the Ontario Small Business Support Grant program by the Ford government. French said local businesses have been denied access to the program because they had to retool during COVID to survive, because they have two small family businesses, and were told they have to pick one and let the other go under, because of typos in their applications, and, in many cases, for no apparent reason at all.

Horwath and French were at Hair Kandi in Oshawa just hours before it was finally able to reopen. Hair Kandi was initially denied access to the grant because of a typo in its application, until French went to bat for the salon.

“Doug Ford walked Ontario into the third wave, causing the longest shutdowns in Canada. He gave big box stores an advantage over local businesses again and again. But he denied help to the struggling little guys,” said French. “That’s wrong. Small and local businesses are job creators and the heart of our main streets. They don’t need a runaround — they need and deserve the province’s help, because the province needs them.”

Background

Horwath’s Reopen Stay Open plan includes:

• A vastly improved third round of Ontario Small Business Support Grant payments The NDP is calling for a round of small business grants that’s open to any business that’s experienced revenue decline in the third wave, compared to pre-pandemic.
• A $1,000 tourism and local restaurant tax credit The Travel Ontario Tax Credit bill from NDP MPP Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls) gives families a $1,000 tax credit to travel in Ontario, including at restaurants, hotels, outfitters and attractions.
• Targeted re-opening support for personal care and service-based businesses Personal care businesses like salons and service-industry businesses like restaurants need access to a Safe Reopening Grant to guarantee they can afford public health protections.
• Access to forgivable loans Businesses may need access to capital to re-open and drive economic recovery.

QUOTE

Kandi Knight, Owner and Hair Stylist, Hair Kandi
“I waited four months to receive one grant when it was suppose to only take 10 business days and now I wait for the second grant. This shouldn’t be happening. Some business are generations of families that passed down their legacies and imprints on our communities.”