Waterloo region business owners frustrated with Ontario's lockdown relief grant

When Will Peterson heard about the Ontario Small Business Relief Grant early this year, applying for the $10,000 offered seemed like an obvious move.

The co-owner of Foundation Fitness in Waterloo had to shut down his gym's operations when the province brought in renewed public health restrictions in January. The government introduced the grant to help businesses affected by the sudden closures, and eligible businesses included restaurants, gyms and those in the performing arts.

Peterson has struggled to keep his business afloat in the COVID-19 pandemic, but thanks to a number of federal and provincial government support programs, he's been able to keep Foundation Fitness alive.

One of those programs was the Ontario Small Business Support Grant in 2021. Business that had received it would automatically be pre-screened for the new grant money under the relief grant, the government said. That made Peterson optimistic and he applied for the relief grant on Jan. 24.

But after months of waiting and phone call after phone call to the program's help line, Peterson had yet to see the funds — or get any help from the befuddled voices on the other end of the line.

"I bet you I've called in a dozen times to this number," Peterson said. "And every time I call in, I essentially get a different answer from the employee that's working there ... It sounds like students that are answering the phone — they really don't have any answers."

Finally, on April 1, Peterson got an answer through email — a denial. The reason cited was that his business had no indoor seating and is takeout only.

This struck Peterson as odd, because he runs a gym and personal training business, not a restaurant. What's more, he appeared to meet all the eligibility criteria.

His experience with the relief grant was a stark contrast to the other federal and provincial COVID-19 support programs.

"[The programs] were not perfect, but they were something and they were put out immediately and they were fairly easy to apply for," he said.

"But with this one, this just seems like the government's really dropped the ball."

Soon after CBC News made inquiries to the Ontario government, Peterson received an email that his grant application had been approved and that he could expect to see the funds within 10 business days.

In a statement to CBC, a spokesperson for Nina Tangri, the associate minister of small business and red tape reduction, said the government is working on making sure businesses get the money they're eligible for.

"Our goal is to ensure all eligible businesses receive the grant, and as a result some applicants were asked to contact the ministry to initiate a further review of their application," the statement reads.