The Province of Ontario has released a list of businesses classified as essential that are able to remain open during the COVID-19 Pandemic and updates the list as needed. To view the Essential Services List please click here.
The Government of Canada has developed an Economic Response Plan to support businesses facing hardships during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The Ontario Government has taken substantial steps to support Ontario businesses. Ontario has implemented programs to assist businesses economically during COVID-19.
The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) is a program developed by the Government of Canada to assist businesses with payroll. For more information or to apply for CEWS please visit the link below.
Ontario has launched a new framework for the re-opening of our province. The government will take a careful, stage-by-stage approach to loosening emergency measures and reopening Ontario’s economy. Public health and workplace safety will remain the top priority, while balancing the needs of people and businesses. Public health officials will carefully monitor each stage for two-to-four weeks, as they assess the evolution of the COVID‑19 outbreak to determine if it is necessary to change course to maintain public health. The government will also continue to issue guidelines for workplace safety.
In a move to further support local small and medium-sized business, the
County of Simcoe has joined ShopHERE powered by Google, a collaboration between Digital Main Street,
Google, Shopify, Mastercard and Microsoft, to build and optimize online stores in a matter of days.
The ShopHERE program compliments the County’s investment in Digital Service Squads which
provides up to 10 hours of free one-on-one coaching to businesses from a team of highly trained
professionals. The investment in Digital Service Squads was based on staff recommendations from the
analysis of the County’s Business Impact Surveys completed by local businesses in relation to urgent
COVID-19 needs.
The ShopHERE program is now available to small businesses across the County of Simcoe. Interested
parties can apply for the program by visiting www.digitalmainstreet.ca/shophere for an opportunity to
have their online store built at no-cost.
For more information about Digital Service Squads please visit https://edo.simcoe.ca/Pages/COVID-19-Government-Supports.aspx
2020-06-18 News Release Simcoe County Business Support
