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On high of the federal help, Ontario introduced $300 million in funding for companies within the impacted areas, together with reduction on property taxes and utility payments. Specifics on the brand new funding weren’t instantly accessible on Friday afternoon, with the federal government promising extra element “within the coming days.”
At a information convention Friday, a visibly shaken Ontario Premier Doug Ford repeatedly requested individuals within the province to order takeout.
“I didn’t sleep final evening,” he mentioned. “I do know what this may do to companies which might be already struggling.”
However takeout received’t be sufficient for a lot of companies, and so they might must tackle extra debt to outlive.
Donna Dooher, the proprietor of Mildred’s Temple Kitchen in Toronto’s Liberty Village, mentioned the overall she’s keen to tackle to maintain her in style restaurant afloat is $100,000, which might take 18 to 24 months of robust, post-pandemic gross sales to pay again.
Within the busy patio season this summer time, with 35 per cent of her workers again to work, Dooher would typically assume that possibly she may dwell with an even bigger debt as a way to get by means of the pandemic. However even in peak patio season, she was nonetheless working at a loss and depending on the federal wage subsidy to maintain open.
“I’ll admit, there are days after I go house and simply sit down and shake my head and say, ‘Possibly now could be the time to chop the losses,’” she mentioned. “You’ll be able to’t simply maintain digging.”
Dooher mentioned her plan as of Friday was to maintain going, keep under that $100,000 quantity and make it by means of the winter promoting takeout, pancake combine and frozen, ready-to-bake biscuits.
“We’re not near that quantity but,” she mentioned. “We additionally know we’re coming into our hardest months.”
— With information from the Canadian Press
