Type of Intervention: Financial and Economic
Sectors Involved: Finance/Economy, Private Sector and Businesses
Intervention Categories: Finance policy and financial aid; Stimulus packages and financial support
Level of Jurisdiction: Federal, Ontario
Lead People/Agency: Rod Phillips, Minister of Finance; Federal Government; Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
Overview: The Ontario government, in partnership with the federal government, has launched the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses. All commercial landlords can now apply for rental assistance to help small business tenants impacted by COVID-19. Ontario is investing $241 million into the program, which will provide more than $900 million in support for small businesses across Ontario. This assistance is administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and provides forgivable loans to eligible commercial landlords to help cover 50% of rent for tenants for April, May, and June 2020. The tenant is responsible for 25% of the rent. Eligible commercial landlords will be required to enter rent reduction agreements with their impacted tenants. The intention of this investment is to keep more small businesses in operation through the pandemic and maintain employment for more individuals as the province begins to restart the economy.
Full details here: https://news.ontario.ca/mof/en/2020/05/support-for-small-business-tenants-and-landlords-now-available.html
Other links: 1 2
Type of Justification: Providing support
Source of Evidence or Justification: Sub-national, provincial response plan
Evidence/Justification: The government justifies this investment by its ability to provide support for people and businesses in Ontario. The investment intends to ensure that small businesses are ready and able to reopen when safe and possible to do so. This policy builds on Ontario’s actions to support small businesses during the pandemic as part of Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19.