Several Chamber of Commerces in Canada, including Burlington’s Chamber, are asking the government to extend and enhance small business support programs.
Recently, Halton’s Regional Council proposed a motion of sending a letter to both the federal and provincial governments to improve these services for local businesses. Milton Councillor Colin Best says the motion was shot down due to the job already being taken care of by the Chambers.
Milton Chamber CEO Scott McCammon commends the Ontario government’s work so far – there just needs to be more help moving forward.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard for local businesses. According to McCammon, some of the support programs put in place by the federal and provincial governments have been better than others. He says a big one he’s heard great things about is the Wage Subsidy Program, as well as the CEBA benefit. On the other end of the scale is the Rent Assist Program. Businesses have said that while it is “good natured”, it hasn’t been particularly helpful. They’d like to see that one improved moving forward.
McCammon adds that the Town of Milton is already facing a lot of financial restrictions due to COVID-19. That’s why these requests are falling on the higher levels of government.
As the pandemic picks back up across Ontario and the country, the fear of a second shutdown remains strong. McCammon feels that while a second lockdown could be bad for local businesses, he thinks the provincial government has evolved its plan to make the shutdown more targeted. He says that would mean that restaurants and other local businesses that are treading water could remain open.
The Milton Chamber of Commerce President adds that they have been fortunate because not many of their businesses have closed during the pandemic. He says one or two have shut their doors, either temporarily or permanently.
He says if the subsidies end, that’s when Milton’s businesses could really start to be impacted.
