Hamilton businesses say Ontario's latest round of COVID grants is slow and confusing

Some Hamilton businesses say Ontario's pre-screening process for its latest round of COVID-19 grants is confusing, ambiguous and has left them waiting weeks for an answer. 

In January, the province released another round of $10,000 grants to support small businesses grappling with Omicron-era restrictions. The province told businesses that qualified last year not to reapply under the new program, saying it would pre-screen them to verify their eligibility instead.

But Ben Bowen, who runs music classes for preschoolers under his business name Mr. Ben's Music, said that process seemed "intentionally ambiguous." 

"It could mean pre-approved or pre-denied," he said.

There was also no way for him to track the status of his application, he said, as the portal always just said "processed." 

"I waited and waited.," he said. "I checked and checked." Eventually he tried his local MPP's office.

This is the third $10,000 grant following the previous two rounds of the Ontario Small Business Support Grant announced last year.

Suddenly ineligible despite getting the grant before

"Our government knows how important it is to support small business owners during such a difficult time," said Nina Tangri, Ontario's associate minister of small business and red tape reduction, in a press release.

But these words don't sound true anymore to Bowen, who was denied support this time despite his qualification in both rounds last year.

After a follow-up from the MPP's office, Bowen soon got a call from the ministry's small grant escalation team.

Bowen said the provincial employee mentioned that the Ministry of Economic Development and Job Creation had made the decision and the eligibility criteria for this round had changed.

"She was sorry that the eligibility criteria had excluded me and that there was no way to appeal it, and there was no way to reapply," he told CBC, mentioning that the conversation got heated due to his frustration.

"Why I was suddenly being ineligible even though I was affected just as much?" 

Mixed messages about eligibility

Emily Perry, owner of a vegan restaurant called Planted in Hamilton, received both previous grants. She also contacted the MPP's office for help.

For a month, she said, there was no communication from the government. So she reapplied, and the government said she was ineligible.

Before contacting the MPP's office, she said, she tried emailing and calling the help-line number on the grant website. "They said they can't discuss the specifics of any business," she said.

Perry later got an email at the end of February saying her business was approved and she had to confirm some details.

"Things had changed since my initial contact with my MPP," she said.

"Part of the problem is they told everybody it's going to be February, but they didn't say when, and I mean, it was seriously the last day of February when I got this email."

Perry said she received her grant on March 18, and "it's a big relief."

Some are still waiting 

Kwok Wong, spokesperson for the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, said there's a "high volume of applications," but the province thanks "all applicants for their patience." 

"We know the pandemic has a tremendous impact on small businesses across the province and understand the extreme sense of urgency they are feeling."

"As of Monday, March 14, the government of Ontario has provided more than $137 million to over 13,000 eligible small businesses across the province through the Ontario Small Business Relief Grant."

Anna Muzzin runs the Steeltown Ashtanga yoga studio. She's still waiting on a yes or no from the government after she lost "between 50 to 75 per cent" of her clientele during the lockdowns. 

She got both of the previous grants. With the first, she applied. With the second, "you didn't reapply or anything, they just awarded it to you."

Muzzin said she expected the same for this round, but it's March and she still hasn't heard anything.

"They need to be honest about what is going on and communicate that to businesses so that they can be prepared to make other arrangements," she said. "It's just so opaque."

In an email to CBC News, the ministry said it "(encourages) all businesses to check their spam or junk folders if they were expecting, but have not yet received an email from the ministry."

"Applicants with specific questions about their application can contact ServiceOntario at 1-855-216-3090 or [email protected]."