Good Afternoon All, This is quick notice but.... the City is hosting a webinar tomorrow (Friday) at 2pm to review the guidelines for mandatory mask wearing which begins on July 7th. Please see the email below for further information and to register to join the webinar. Thanks, Susan On 30 June 2020, Toronto City Council voted to make wearing non-medical masks or face coverings mandatory in indoor spaces. This by-law will come into effect on Tuesday 7 July 2020. Anyone…

Good Morning All, It is week 16 and the last day of the month of June - I have to admit that some days it feels like we've been in this situation for a lifetime. Here are the updates for today: 1. CECRA Extension The Federal government has announced their intention to extend the CECRA program by one month - so it will now cover July's rent. This program was due to end today. A one month extension is better…

Good Morning All, A quick reminder that there are 2 application deadlines to note as follows: 1. CafeTO - today (Friday, June 26) is the deadline for any restaurant/bar/cafe to apply. This is a hard deadline - it will not be extended. I think most everyone who wanted to apply has done so but.... if you are interested and haven't applied please do so today. 2. Commercial Facade Improvement Grant - the deadline for this City grant program is Thursday,…

OMG Folks - finally the news we've been waiting for.... Toronto will be in Stage 2 starting this Wednesday, June 24!!! This means that our hair and nail salons can reopen and our restaurants, bars and cafes with existing patios can reopen with 2 metres between tables. All new businesses opening will have to have their PPE in place and maintain strict social distancing rules. For those opening patios - you can only use your patio space, no inside customers,…

Good Afternoon All, I have two items for you this afternoon as follows: 1. Moratorium on Commercial Evicitions Last night the Provincial government passed the bill to ban commercial evicitions on a limited and temporary basis. Below is a note from our MPP Peter Tabuns - please take a minute to read: Last night the Provincial government passed a bill that provides eviction protection for small businesses that qualify for the Federal/Provincial commercial rent subsidy program, the CECRA. As most…

Good Morning Again, The PM just completed his morning briefing and announced that the CERB program will be extended for 8 more weeks. So this will take the program through July and August. I know that for our BIA members who haven't been able to reopen yet this will provide some help. We will continue to push to see if we can get the Wage Subsidy and the CECRA programs extended as well. Thanks, Susan