City hall to waive interest, penalties on unpaid taxes for 30 days to help coronavirus hardship

London city councillors will introduce a motion on March 24 to provide economic relief for families so they can weather the financial hardships of the growing coronavirus pandemic. 

The measure was announced Wednesday by the mayor's office and comes on the heels of a relief package of at least $20 billion in federal aid set to be announced by Parliament. 

Councillors will meet in person next Tuesday to discuss the proposal, which will include:

• Waive all interest and penalties for unpaid March 31 2020 property tax instalments for at least 30 days.
• Waive all interest and penalties for unpaid water and wastewater billings for at least 30 days.
• Defer all Community Improvement Plan loan repayments on an interest-free basis for at least 30 days, starting March 25, 2020. 

The measures by the city follow additional financial aid from Canada's big banks, who have announced  they would let customers defer mortgage payments for up to six months. 

Many of the financial relief measures are aimed at making it easier for working people to stay at home in order to prevent the spread of the infection.

Many businesses have shuttered, as people stay at home en masse in order to try to curb the seemingly relentless march of an illness that sickened more than 200,000 and killed 8,000 wordwide.