Today, Rocco Rossi, President & CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce released the following statement in response to the federal government’s announcement on expanding access to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and proposing a new wage boost for essential workers:

“Today’s news is welcome relief for seasonal workers, self employed individuals, and businesses employing essential workers. We commend the federal government for continuing to respond and adapt: the transfer to cost-share a temporary top up will help support job creators in keeping their employees on staff while also providing essential workers on the front lines with much needed financial support.

“Next, we hope the government will soon take action to provide commercial rent relief and expand loan criteria.

“Many landlords are themselves small business owners and the burden can’t simply fall to them.

“Our concern with the federals loans is that the criteria is quite narrow, specifically the requirement of payroll between $50K and $1M. This excludes a lot of companies that would otherwise be categorized as a small business. Access to this loan would be a key support for small businesses trying to stay in operation but who fall short of or exceed the narrow payroll criterion.

“We are committed to working with all levels of government to respond and adapt to challenges facing Ontario business.”