Details on federal relief for Windsor businesses affected by blockade coming 'shortly'

Windsor businesses hoping for government support to help them recover from losses brought on by the Ambassador Bridge blockade and its aftermath may not have much longer to wait.

Anti-public health mandate protesters blocked access to the bridge for about a week in February, and access to businesses in the area was limited for about another month as police closed Huron Church Road to prevent further protests from popping up.

And while the federal government has so far only announced financial relief for businesses affected by a similar anti-mask protest in Ottawa, that may change soon.

"The government continues to monitor the impacts of the demonstrations that took place in Windsor," a spokesperson for Helena Jaczek, minister of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, told CBC News on Monday.

"We are engaging with the City of Windsor and other local partners on this matter. The minister will have more details related to support for businesses in Windsor impacted by the demonstrations shortly."

No further information was provided.

But any support would be welcome news, said Fred Bouzide, owner of Fred's Farm Fresh on Huron Church Road.

Bouzide said his business threw away about $5,000 worth of flowers due to the blockade, which ended just before Valentine's Day. The blockade, and the ensuing closure of Huron Church Road, saw the business lose between $35,000 and $40,000 in sales, Bouzide said.

"I didn't even think about the government coming back to give us anything, because really, we don't get much from the government," he said. "We give a lot to the government."

"The city of Windsor has been good to me, and we've had a good life working here ... for the last 50 years."

However, Bouzide said he was happy to hear about possible government funding for businesses in the Huron Church Road area.

"When I heard that on the news that there was talk about us getting some money, I said, 'my God, that's good,'" he said. "And myself, overall, during the pandemic as a business, we did OK because we were allowed to stay open."

"I feel bad for a lot of the restaurants and things that they couldn't do any business, or conduct business in their establishments. And I hope that they get something as well as myself."

Bouzide said he personally hasn't had any discussions with government representatives about financial support, but he's just looking to recover some of the losses incurred due to the blockade.

"I'm not looking to get rich on this," he said.

CBC News has reached out to the provincial government — which has also earmarked support for Ottawa businesses — about potential funding for Windsor, but did not receive a response.

Windsor West MPP Lisa Gretzky said Monday she's heard from business owners who are frustrated with the lack of support from the province.

"I know there's a lot of people I'm hearing just feel like the Ford government has really left them behind and is completely disconnected to what is going on in Windsor," she told CBC News.

Gretzky said she's raised the issue in the Ontario legislature, and urged the province to speak to the businesses and workers who were affected by the blockade.

"Look at how much they've lost, what kind of financial loss they suffered during the blockade and beyond after the blockade was cleared, because some people were still really concerned and nervous about going into that area," she said.

"They need to sit down and have that conversation with all the people impacted, sit down with our chamber of commerce, who represent businesses, and talk about what kind of losses we're seeing in our in our business sector locally, and then come up with the plan that does the best possible for all of those businesses."