Timmins bar owner welcomes $10K COVID-19 grant
Word of the Ontario government's $10,000 small business grant for those closed due to COVID-19 restrictions is a relief to Randy Gattesco, owner of the Victory Tavern in Timmins.
Gattesco said relief funding has kept the bar afloat through each closure during the pandemic.
"That's the only reason it's still open, because of the government support," he said, adding he'll be applying for this latest grant.
"The $40,000 that (the province) gave us at first, then they gave us another $20,000. Without that, I probably wouldn't be open anymore."
Timmins Chamber of Commerce president Rob Knox said the new small business grant is welcome.
However, Knox said it should have been offered as soon as the latest restrictions took effect, rather than several days later.
Moreover, he said the province should have given businesses more notice of the restrictions and the supports that would be offered so that they could better prepare.
Two years into the pandemic, he said the government should have a clearer plan and better communication.
"Clearly, the government does have the time and resources on their hands to develop greater communication and planning," Knox said.
"Relief is important for these businesses. We're talking about businesses who've already paid the rent and have had a tough Christmas and reduced sales and revenues."
That said, Knox acknowledged the supports offered to this point have been critical in helping small businesses survive.
He's hoping that once the current restrictions lift, the province will have a better plan in place, if they have to be imposed again.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.