Lockdown without Shutdown: The New Ontario Small Business Support Grant
To prevent the province’s already-inundated hospitals from becoming further overwhelmed by the forecasted spike in COVID-19 cases due to holiday gatherings, the Ontario government has announced yet another province-wide lockdown, effective December 26, 2020 at 12:01am. Nearly all non-essential businesses in southern Ontario will be required to close their doors until January 23, 2021, and […]
New Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Subsidy (CERS) – updated March 2, 2021
Applications are now open through the Canada Revenue Agency for CERS, which has replaced the previous Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program. The new CERS program provides up to 65% rent support to eligible charities, businesses and non-profit organizations. To be eligible for CERS, organizations must: Meet one of the following conditions: (i) have a […]
Ontario Government to Provide Further Economic Relief to Restaurants and Small Businesses (updated November 17, 2020)
Last week, Premier Doug Ford announced the Ontario government’s plan to provide $300 million in relief funds to restaurants which have been further effected by the recent 28-day emergency order prohibiting restaurants from offering indoor dining. Such relief funds are intended to assist restaurants in offsetting fixed costs such as property taxes and utility bills. […]
Temporary Ban on Evictions of Commercial Tenants Extended
An updated version of this blog was posted on March 2, 2021. On October 1, 2020, the Helping Tenants and Small Businesses Act, 2020 (the “Act”) came into force. The Act amends the Commercial Tenancies Act to prohibit landlords from taking certain actions against their commercial tenants if the landlord is or would be eligible […]
Extended Security Blanket: Enhanced Support Updates for Regular and Special EI Benefits
COVID-19 In early 2020, the federal government was forced to create an economic action plan to assist the influx of individuals whose employment was negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. A major component of this plan was the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) – a flat $2,000 monthly payment for those who qualified. Effective September […]
Franchise Disclosure Documents During COVID-19
In Ontario, franchisors are required to provide a disclosure document to each potential franchisee before the franchisee signs a franchise agreement or makes a payment towards the franchise. The legislation sets out what must be included in a franchise disclosure document such as the business background, litigation history, bankruptcy or insolvency information of the franchisor; […]
Ontario Government Introduces the COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program for Small Business
The Government of Ontario is making funding available to support small business and registered charitable organization customers who are having difficulty paying their energy bills due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program for Small Business (CEAP-SB), eligible small businesses and registered charities will receive a one-time, on-bill credit to help them […]
What To Do When One Parent Wants to Homeschool during COVID-19 But the Other Does Not?
In our previous blog, Olivia Koneval outlined strategies for parents thinking about sending their children back to school in the fall. Since that time, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued Chase v. Chase, 2020 ONSC 5083. In this decision, the Court outlined for the first time what should happen when parties disagree about in […]
Buying a Condominium in Today’s Market ? Think Twice Before Making an Unconditional Offer
COVID-19 has certainly not prevented the real estate market to rise. In fact, since the pandemic, the real estate market has been hotter than ever. However, a hot real estate market, comes with a larger price. Properties are being sold way above the listing price and Purchasers are making unconditional offers without conducting any due […]
