TORONTO — Mike Schreiner released the following statement regarding the start of Step 3:
“While many small businesses are finally reopening today, they won’t immediately recoup lost revenues overnight.
According to CFIB, only 34% of small businesses in Ontario are actually making normal sales volume, with many experiencing massive debt levels as high as $208,000.
That’s why I continue to call on the Premier to provide a third round of funding from the Small Business Support Grant and expand the criteria for who is eligible to access the grant.
The Premier also needs to increase the availability of rapid tests to small businesses so they can operate more safely and stay open.
As Ontario continues to reopen, it’s vital to ramp up testing and tracing capacity in the community to mitigate and manage COVID outbreaks. That means making testing more accessible, routine and convenient.
We can’t risk closing small businesses back down again right after they reopened. We can’t risk a fourth wave. We have to get this right.”