Toronto, October 22, 2021 — The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is encouraged and relieved to hear that the Ontario government will finally lift all remaining capacity restrictions for businesses like restaurants, gyms, bowling alleys, and dance studios as of Monday. This is a crucial step towards economic recovery and levels the playing field between big and small business.
We hope this puts an end to government policies that favour large businesses, like big box stores or large sporting venues, over Ontario’s small businesses.
We appreciate that the government has provided a plan for the months ahead with the intention of keeping businesses open as we head into the holiday season.
We continue to urge the Ontario government to provide much-need provincial funding to support vaccine screening. Only 37 per cent of Ontario’s small businesses are at normal revenues and their average COVID-19 debt is an alarming $190,000.
Today’s news is a positive step forward, but we aren’t out of the woods yet. As the federal government begins to pull back its wage and rent supports from many businesses, the Ontario government needs to step up and help small firms if we want to see a rapid economic recovery.
-Dan Kelly, President, Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)
-Ryan Mallough, Senior Director of Provincial Affairs, Ontario
-Julie Kwiecinski, Director of Provincial Affairs, Ontario
For media inquiries or interviews, please contact:
Milena Stanoeva, CFIB
647-464-2814
public.affairs@cfib.ca
About CFIB
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is Canada’s largest association of small- and medium-sized businesses with 95,000 members across every industry and region, including 38,000 in Ontario. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.
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