Ontario has several initiatives in place for employers to help them stay afloat
Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade has described the recent employment drop in the province as a "setback" that shows the fight against COVID-19 is not yet over.
The province saw a decrease of 145,700 in employment, according to the monthly employment release by Statistics Canada.
"Today's news of a setback is a reminder that, despite the boom in job creation we'd experienced as a province since September, the fight against COVID-19 is not over. There is still plenty of work left to do," said Minister Vic Fedeli in a statement.
According to the minister, however, the province's successful vaccination efforts have slowed down the transmission of the Omicron variant to show some signs of stabilisation in health system indicators.
This resulted to a gradual easing of public health and workplace safety measures there, according to the provincial government.
Read more: Ontario announces three-step plan to loosen restrictions
Assistance to employers
To help businesses remain afloat amid the pandemic, Ontario has announced several comprehensive initiatives for employers so they can support their businesses and workers.
This includes the Ontario COVID-19 Small Business Relief Grant, which is expected to help small businesses that were shuttered from January 5 to January 26 after the province returned to the modified version of its Step Two of the Roadmap to Reopen.
They may qualify for a grant of $10,000, according to the provincial government.
Eligible businesses include those that were required to close starting January 5, have fewer than 100 staff as of December 31, 2021, and is an active business as of January 14.
"Newly established and newly eligible small businesses will need to apply once the application portal opens in the coming weeks," the government's guidelines read.
The province also recently launched its Ontario Business Cost Rebate Programme, which seeks to support businesses that were also required to close or reduce capacity in response to the Omicron variant.
"Eligible businesses required to reduce capacity to 50%, such as smaller retail stores, will receive a rebate payment equivalent to 50% of their costs, while businesses required to close for indoor activities, such as restaurants and gyms, will receive a rebate payment equivalent to 100% of their costs," the province's guidelines read.
Payments will be retroactive to December 19, 2021, when public health measures were first enforced, according to the provincial government. To apply, businesses will need to submit online their proof of costs associated with property tax and energy bills.
Worker benefits
Canada also has in place several subsidies to assist employers amid the outbreak of the Omicron variant. One of them is the Local Lockdown Programme, where businesses subjected to qualifying public health restrictions are made eligible for wage or rent support through the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Programme.
For hard-hit businesses, a targeted support was initiated for them through the Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Programme.
Another support initiative is the Canada Recovery Hiring Programme, where eligible employers are provided subsidies to cover part of wages as they hire new employees and increase existing wages. Aside from this, another wage subsidy programme is the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy scheme, while for rent, the government has the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy.
