Waterloo region business owners frustrated with Ontario's lockdown relief grant

When Will Peterson heard about the Ontario Small Business Relief Grant early this year, applying for the $10,000 offered seemed like an obvious move.

The co-owner of Foundation Fitness in Waterloo had to shut down his gym's operations when the province brought in renewed public health restrictions in January. The government introduced the grant to help businesses affected by the sudden closures, and eligible businesses included restaurants, gyms and those in the performing arts.

Peterson has struggled to keep his business afloat in the COVID-19 pandemic, but thanks to a number of federal and provincial government support programs, he's been able to keep Foundation Fitness alive.

One of those programs was the Ontario Small Business Support Grant in 2021. Business that had received it would automatically be pre-screened for the new grant money under the relief grant, the government said. That made Peterson optimistic and he applied for the relief grant on Jan. 24.

But after months of waiting and phone call after phone call to the program's help line, Peterson had yet to see the funds — or get any help from the befuddled voices on the other end of the line.

"I bet you I've called in a dozen times to this number," Peterson said. "And every time I call in, I essentially get a different answer from the employee that's working there ... It sounds like students that are answering the phone — they really don't have any answers."

Finally, on April 1, Peterson got an answer through email — a denial. The reason cited was that his business had no indoor seating and is takeout only.

This struck Peterson as odd, because he runs a gym and personal training business, not a restaurant. What's more, he appeared to meet all the eligibility criteria.

His experience with the relief grant was a stark contrast to the other federal and provincial COVID-19 support programs.

"[The programs] were not perfect, but they were something and they were put out immediately and they were fairly easy to apply for," he said.

"But with this one, this just seems like the government's really dropped the ball."

Soon after CBC News made inquiries to the Ontario government, Peterson received an email that his grant application had been approved and that he could expect to see the funds within 10 business days.

In a statement to CBC, a spokesperson for Nina Tangri, the associate minister of small business and red tape reduction, said the government is working on making sure businesses get the money they're eligible for.

"Our goal is to ensure all eligible businesses receive the grant, and as a result some applicants were asked to contact the ministry to initiate a further review of their application," the statement reads.

"The ministry will work with businesses and inform them of any outstanding documentation, incomplete or missing information required to establish their eligibility. We encourage all businesses with questions about their eligibility to contact the ministry at the email address provided for additional information."

Other businesses report issues

The relief grant is a familiar topic at Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife. Her office is receiving around five complaints per month about the program, including five already this month.

Fife, who is also the NDP's finance critic at Queen's Park, has pressed the government on the issue, but so far has only been able to get one case resolved.

Fife says the stories she hears from business owners are similar to Peterson's.

"Their major concern is, one, they've never heard back once applying, two, that they've been denied access to the small business grant, and are not given any sort of reason why they've been denied," she said in an interview.

Fife says she's also heard from businesses who were told they would receive the money, but haven't gotten it yet.

Like Peterson, Fife's office has had confusing calls to the support number. In one case, the person on the other end of the line did not appear to understand what an MPP is, she said.

Fife says the government's communications made it seem the process would be smoother.

"I really feel like the press releases that the government put out did not reflect the reality of the application of the grant," she said. 

"The communication has been inconsistent, the lack of transparency is concerning, and really these business are looking to the government for some leadership here."

James Skarnikat is another business owner confused by the program's messaging. His Hanover, Ont.-based business, "Jimmy's Old Time Radio Show," specializes in concerts for senior living facilities. He's seen a drastic reduction of bookings since the start of the pandemic.

Skarnikat received the Small Business Support Grant last year and says the funds kept his business going.

But he feels the government's communication on the Small Business Relief Grant misled him.

 "I was expecting to be eligible this year, in 2022. I even received an email saying that I could apply for it," he said.

Skarnikat often has difficulty performing in-person at long-term care and retirement homes because he's considered a "general visitor" and not a contractor. 

However, he says he was denied the grant because the government considers him a health-care contractor. As such, the province says his business operations were not affected by the lockdown earlier this year — even though Skarnikat says they were.

"I was very disappointed to learn at the end of March that they had changed the requirements," he said.

Skarnikat added he lost more than 45 concerts he had booked between December 2021 to March of this year because of COVID-19 restrictions and was hoping the funds from the small business grant would carry him over to the pandemic's finish line.

 "I needed the grant just as much this year as I did last year, of course," he said.