COVID-19: Help for businesses in Ontario

• Property tax and energy cost rebates

  Businesses that are, or were, required to shut down or significantly restrict services due to provincial public health measures can apply for rebates, provided in the form of grants, to help with their fixed costs. Find out if your business is eligible.

• COVID-19covid 19 Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) and COVID-19covid 19 Energy Assistance Program for Small Business (CEAP-SB)

  We are providing an additional $23 million to help residential, small business and charitable organization customers who are struggling to pay their energy bills as a result of COVID-19covid 19.

  Starting in January 2021, available credit amounts increased, and more families, small businesses and charitable organizations became eligible to access funding.

  Residential consumers may be eligible for up to $750 towards their electricity and natural gas bills.

  Small business and charitable organization customers may be eligible for up to $1500 towards their electricity and natural gas bills.

  You can apply for CEAP and CEAP-SB through your electricity and/or natural gas utility. Contact your utility to find out how to apply.

  More information is available from the Ontario Energy Board.

• Pausing commercial evictions

  We are temporarily stopping or reversing evictions of commercial tenants and protecting them from being locked out or having their assets seized during COVID-19covid 19. This applies to businesses that were eligible for the previous Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses program or who have been approved for the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS).

  Learn more about temporary eviction rules.

• Employer Health Tax relief

  We increased the Employer Health Tax (EHT) exemption from $490,000 to $1 million starting in 2020.

  Along with doubling the exemption, we doubled the instalment threshold from $600,000 to $1.2 million starting with the 2021 tax year.

  What this means for you

  As an employer, this means additional EHT relief of up to $9,945 per year, for a total of up to $19,500 in annual EHT savings per eligible employer.

  The annual tax return form is not changing. Only the amount that you enter for the exemption claimed will change. Tax rates and eligibility criteria for the tax exemption remain the same.

  In 2021, all employers will begin remitting monthly instalments when their annual payroll exceeds $1.2 million.

  If your business no longer needs to make instalment payments or file an EHT return as a result of the increased exemption amount or instalment threshold, you do not need to notify the Ministry of Finance.

  Learn more about the EHT changes for 2021.

• Regional Opportunities Investment Tax Credit

  If your corporation is building, renovating or acquiring an eligible commercial or industrial building in a designated region in Ontario, you may be eligible to claim a tax credit of up to $90,000 in a year.

  In the 2021 Budget, Ontario announced that it will temporarily enhance this tax credit by investing an additional $61 million, resulting in total tax credit support of about $155 million by 2022–23.

  The tax credit will be available to claim on your corporate income tax return.

  Learn more about the tax credit and if your project qualifies.

• Jobs Training Tax Credit

  The temporary Ontario Jobs Training Tax Credit will help workers get the training they need.

  It will provide up to $2,000 to individuals with eligible training expenses in 2021. This measure would provide about $260 million in support to 230,000 Ontario individuals.

  Learn more about the tax credit.

• Your responsibilities and employee protections

  Learn about employers' responsibilities, and get information about job protections available to employees including:

  • leaves of absence
  • taking vacation time
  • temporary layoffs
  • filing a claim

• Show your commitment to safety

  Consider making the POST Promise – a self-declaration that your business is working to help prevent the spread of COVID-19covid 19. Once completed, you’ll get tools to help educate employees on workplace safety. You can also display the POST Promise logo, which is a nationally recognized symbol of a business’s commitment to doing their part.

• Find PPE suppliers

  Access the Workplace PPE Supplier Directory to find personal protective equipment for your business.

• Sector-specific guidance and posters

  Get sector-specific guidelines and posters to help protect workers, customers and the general public.

  We have also developed guidance for transit agencies and passengers to help stop the spread of COVID-19covid 19.

• Develop your COVID-19covid 19 workplace safety plan

  Learn how you can create a plan to help protect your workers and others from COVID-19covid 19.

• Other helpful resources

  • Learn how to organize a private COVID-19covid 19 testing campaign at your workplace for asymptomatic individuals who are ineligible for testing under the COVID-19covid 19 Provincial Testing Guidance.
  • From the Government of Canada:
  • managing your business during COVID-19covid 19
  • support for businesses
  • Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses: COVID-19covid 19 Small Business Help Centre
  • Ontario Chamber of Commerce: Pandemic Preparedness Toolkit for COVID-19covid 19 (PDF)
  • Retail Council of Canada: Road to Retail Recovery Playbook

The Canadian government has made available supports for business during COVID-19covid 19.

If you or your employees are feeling anxious, experiencing other mental health or addiction challenges or you can’t access your regular in-person counselling support, there are services you can access online or by phone, including self-led support, peer support and internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy.

If you are currently receiving mental health and addictions services and supports, please contact your current service provider, including community-based mental health and addictions agencies. Many of these providers are modifying their services to move towards virtual care, meeting clients by phone or secure video-conferencing.

• Setting up an onsite workplace clinic

  To supplement publicly run vaccination clinics, employers may open onsite clinics in hot spot communities to vaccinate:

  • employees aged 18 and older who cannot work from home
  • members of the local and neighbouring communities

  To make sure employer-run onsite clinics are consistent with local vaccination plans:

  • they can only be set up with the support of local public health units
  • local public health units will determine who can be vaccinated at onsite clinics

  Criteria

  If you are an employer interested in hosting an onsite clinic, you must meet the following criteria.

  Your workplace

  • is in designated hot-spot community
  • has had a previous COVID-19covid 19 outbreak or is at risk of one

  The clinic

  • will vaccinate employees who cannot work at home
  • will vaccinate people in the local community, either at the onsite clinic or an alternative location set up in consultation with the local public health unit
  • must have the local public health unit’s support

  You

  • will take on the responsibility of setting up, operating and funding the onsite vaccination clinic and any community clinics

  Learn more

  If you meet the criteria, email covid19vaccinetaskforce@ontario.ca to learn more about hosting an onsite clinic at your workplace.

• Ontario Together: Help fight COVID-19

  Get free rapid tests, access funding, sell supplies to government, or search for PPE suppliers and testing services through our Ontario Together initiative.

• Help stop the spread by promoting the COVID Alert app

  Download the COVID Alert app and get free marketing materials for your website, print promotions, social media and more.