THUNDER BAY - Part of the COVID-19 recovery will be ensuring people continue to have job and financial security, but one of the hardest hit industries has been small business in communities across the province, and the Ontario NDP say they need more help.
The NDP has released a plan to Save Main Street by calling on the provincial government to do more to help small business owners affected by the pandemic.
“Save Main Street is a campaign we are doing to make sure businesses, workers are able to keep their jobs during this pandemic,” said Sol Mamakwa, MPP in the Kiiwetinoong riding. “And making sure women as well are able to work, especially when we talk about childcare services.”
The plan was first created last spring and has since been updated following meetings with business owners across the province throughout the summer, including the Northwest.
“I could hear how businesses and individuals lost their livelihood,” Mamakwa said. “I could hear the emotion, and how some of them were losing their homes and way of life. When the government does not respond to the calls of these businesses. That’s why we are here.”
The plan includes calls to action on a variety of issues, such as banning all evictions or lockouts by commercial landlords, a utility payment freeze for small businesses, and a stand-alone emergency 75 per cent commercial rent subsidy.
There are also calls to create a safe reopening and remote work setup fund for small businesses and bring in made-in-Ontario paid sick days, as well as an auto-insurance grace period, and calls to stop insurance gouging and mandate commercial vehicle insurance rebates.
The North is also facing its own unique problems, particularly outfitters and lodges.
“We have a lot of camp outfitters and resorts that really suffered because of the closure of the U.S. border and it is certainly having an impact on them and it is not acceptable,” Mamakwa said. “It’s not that they want a handout, but to be able to invest in their resorts in different ways.”
Judith Monteith-Farrell, MPP for the Thunder Bay-Atikokan, said the pandemic has also disproportionately impacted women and the plan calls for ways to keep kids safe so parents can keep working and create more childcare spaces.
“People have to stay home because of the situation and there’s no safe place to put their children or they are waiting for their COVID test,” she said. “They have a lot of issues and small businesses are dealing with.”
Both Mamakwa and Monteith-Farrell said the Ford government should be using federal money to help more people during the pandemic, like small business owners.
“One of the things we hear from this government is they are waiting for the federal government and talking with the federal government,” Mamakwa said. “Why can’t they just create a program, rent subsidies, commercial rent, even insurance?”
Monteith-Farrell said that many businesses have been finding new ways to stay afloat and it shows the innovation of small business owners. But there are costs that come with making those changes, and they need help to continue to survive.
“That’s part of our plan to have money set aside and funds so they can look at more of an online presence to augment their loss and giving them the money for actual structural changes that need to take place for their businesses,” she said.
“There are still small places where that is a struggle. We want to see those businesses thrive. Part of the recovery is to make sure people are not losing their businesses, plus all those workers losing their jobs. That’s important in a recovery.”
