The federal and provincial levels of government in Canada and Ontario have announced programs that will assist small business owners with paying rent.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated Friday morning the program that is being provided in partnership with the provinces and territories, called the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance, is expected to lower rent by 75 percent for affected small businesses.

Those are defined as small business tenants who are paying less than $50,000 per month in rent and who have temporarily ceased operations or have experienced at least a 70 percent drop in revenues since the start of the pandemic. 

Trudeau said the program will also provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50 percent of three monthly rent payments payable by eligible small business tenants experiencing financial hardship during April, May and June.

The loans will be forgiven if the mortgaged property owner agrees to reduce the eligible small business tenants' rent by at least 75 percent for the three corresponding months under a rent forgiveness agreement, which will include a pledge not to evict the tenant while the agreement is in place.

The small business tenant would cover the remainder, up to 25 percent of the rent.

Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced at his daily media briefing Friday that his government is committing $241 million to partner with the federal government and deliver more than $900 million in urgent relief to small businesses and their landlords through a new program, the Ontario-Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program (OCECRA).

This investment is part of Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19, a $17 billion response package to provide support to people and businesses.

Similar to the federal side, the province will provide forgivable loans through the program to eligible commercial property owners experiencing potential rent shortfalls because their small business tenants have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

The OCECRA will provide forgivable loans to eligible commercial property owners experiencing potential rent shortfalls because their small business tenants have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

Ford added that if you are currently able to work and bring in income, you must pay rent.

The government said OCECRA will provide forgivable loans to eligible commercial property owners experiencing rent shortfalls because their tenants have been impacted by COVID-19.