COVID-19 Resources for Businesses

Guidelines for businesses

• Restricting the sale of alcohol after 10 p.m. and the consumption of alcohol on-premise in businesses or settings after 11 p.m. with delivery and takeout, grocery/convenience stores and other liquor stores exempted.

• Retail settings, including shopping malls, permitted at 50 per cent capacity. For shopping malls physical distancing will be required in line-ups, loitering will not be permitted, and food courts will be required to close.

• Personal care services permitted at 50 per cent capacity and other restrictions. Saunas, steam rooms, and oxygen bars closed.

• Closing indoor sport and recreational fitness facilities including gyms, except for athletes training for select professional and elite amateur sport leagues. Outdoor facilities are permitted to operate but with the number of spectators not to exceed 50 per cent occupancy and other requirements.

• Closing indoor concert venues, theatres, cinemas, rehearsals and recorded performances permitted with restrictions.

• Limiting capacity at organized public events to five people indoors.

• Closing indoor meeting and event spaces with limited exceptions but permitting outdoor spaces to remain open with restrictions.

• Limiting capacity at indoor weddings, funerals, and religious services, rites and ceremonies to 50 per cent capacity of the particular room. Outdoor services are limited to the number of people that can maintain 2 metres of physical distance. Social gatherings associated with these services must adhere to the social gathering limits.

• Requiring businesses and organizations to ensure employees work remotely unless the nature of their work requires them to be on-site. 

Local businesses are encouraged to carefully review the sector-specific requirements outlined by the Province of Ontario to understand how they can safely operate. A Plan to Safely Reopen Ontario and Manage COVID-19 for the Long-Term includes information to help businesses prepare for the next stages of re-opening when permitted.

Extension of patio policy for licensed premises

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has extended the patio policy, which allows for the temporary physical extension of liquor licensed premises until January 1, 2023. The policy was previously set to expire January 1, 2022.

Under the patio policy, all eligible liquor sales licensees and holders of a By-the-Glass endorsement may add or temporarily extend their licensed premises without having to apply to the AGCO, provided that they meet certain criteria. One of the criteria is that the municipality in which the premises is located has indicated it does not object to an extension.

This patio policy extension will continue to provide flexibility and support to businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 Indoor 

You must provide your enhanced vaccine certificate with official QR code along with a piece of identification to enter indoor areas of:

• restaurants, bars and other food and drink establishments without dance facilities
• food or drink establishments with dance facilities, including nightclubs, restoclubs and other similar establishments, and outdoor areas of these establishments
• meeting and event spaces (with limited exceptions)
• facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities and personal physical fitness training (with limited exemptions), including:
  • gyms
  • fitness, sporting and recreational facilities
  • pools
  • leagues
  • sporting events
  • waterparks
  • indoor areas of facilities where spectators watch events

• concert venues, theatres and cinemas
• horse racing tracks, car racing tracks and other similar venues
• commercial film and TV productions where there is a studio audiences

 Outdoor

• any of the following outdoor areas that have a normal capacity of 20,000 or more people:
  • outdoor meeting and event spaces (with limited exemptions)
  • outdoor facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities, including waterparks and personal physical fitness training (with limited exemptions)
    • Includes gyms, fitness/sporting/recreational facilities, pools, leagues, sporting events, waterparks, and indoor areas of facilities where spectators watch events
  • outdoor concert venues, theatres and cinemas
• outdoor horse racing tracks, car racing tracks and other similar venues
• outdoor areas of food or drink establishments with dance facilities, including nightclubs, restoclubs and other similar establishments, and indoor areas of these establishments

 Exceptions

You do not have to show your proof of vaccination certificate, proof of medical exemption or proof of participation in a vaccine trial if you are:

• 12 years and (84 days) 12 weeks of age or younger
  • Beginning December 20, 2021, proof of vaccination will be required for anyone 12 years of age and older participating in organized sports at recreational facilities.

• entering a business temporarily to:
  • use a washroom
  • access an outdoor area that you can only get to by going indoors
  • make a retail purchase
  • place, pick up or pay for an order
  • make a bet or pick up winnings at a racing track
  • purchase admission
• entering the business for health and safety purposes

Aligned with current public health measures, indoor masking policies will continue to remain in place. 

Vaccine certification process

Should an individual choose not to share the required information then, unless the Reopening Ontario Act otherwise exempts them from this requirement, they will not be permitted to enter those businesses or organizations that require proof. In order to enter the business and organization, with limited exceptions:

• The patron must provide the required proof of identification and proof of being fully vaccinated, and;
• The business and organization must review and confirm the proof.

Workplace guidelines

Businesses must follow local public health measures and workplace guidelines published by the Province of Ontario. At minimum, all businesses that are permitted to open must:

• actively screen employees (COVID-19 screening tool)
• post signs at all entrances informing people how to screen themselves for COVID-19 before entering (COVID-19 Signage Questions for Businesses and Organizations)
• limit capacity so guests can stay at least 2 metres apart
• make sure anyone indoors wears a mask or face covering, including workers who have to come within 2 metres of anyone else (with some exceptions)
• make sure workers use personal protective equipment (PPE) that protects their eyes, nose and mouth when they have to come within 2 metres of anyone who is not wearing a mask or face covering or separated by plexiglass
• clean and disinfect often-touched surfaces
• manage line ups to make sure customers are at least two metres apart wearing face coverings or masks
• create a safety plan, post it in a place where workers and patrons will see it  and have it available upon request

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) has launched an online customizable tool kit resource to help workplaces across Canada operate safely and prevent the spread of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anchored by the COVID-19: Workplace Health and Safety Guide, the online hub provides one-stop access to more than 40 free resources to reduce the spread and protect everyone in the workplace.

 Face coverings

Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP)

Electricity rate relief support

Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program (HHBRP)

Businesses, charities, or non-profits in Canada who do not qualify for the Tourism & Hospitality Recovery Program but have faced deep losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, may be eligible for a wage subsidy, a rent subsidy, or both through the Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program. 

To qualify for the HHBRP, businesses must meet the following two conditions:

• have a 12-month average revenue drop from March 2020 to February 2021 of at least 50%
• have a claim period revenue drop of at least 50%

Subsidy rates start at 10% for eligible organizations with a 50% current-month revenue decline to a maximum rate of 50% (for those with a current-month revenue decline of 75% or higher). Find eligibility requirements and calculate subsidy rates here.

Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP)

Ontario Business Costs Rebate Program (OBCRP)

Eligible businesses that were required to close for indoor activities, such as restaurants and gyms, will receive a rebate payment equivalent to 100 per cent of their costs. Those required to reduce capacity to 50 per cent, such as smaller retail stores, will receive a rebate payment equivalent to 50 per cent of their costs. 

A full list of eligible business types will be available through a program guide in mid-January 2022. Online applications for this program will open January 18, 2022. Learn more at ontario.ca 

Ontario COVID-19 Small Business Relief Grant

To receive the grant, a small business must:

• be required to close due to public health orders that took effect 12:01 a.m. on January 5, 2022
• have fewer than 100 employees

Eligible small businesses include:

• restaurants and bars
• facilities for indoor sports and recreational fitness activities (including fitness centres and gyms)
• performing arts venues and cinemas, museums, galleries, aquariums, zoos, science centres, landmarks, historic sites, botanical gardens and similar attractions
• meeting or event spaces
• tour and guide services
• conference centres and convention centres

Newly established and newly eligible small businesses will need to apply once the application portal opens in the coming weeks. Businesses that previously qualified for the Ontario Small Business Support Grant will be pre-screened to verify eligibility and will not need to apply for the new program. Find details at ontario.ca.

Ontario Together Fund (OTF)

Provincially administered tax deferrals 

• support businesses in the immediate term while capacity restrictions are in place
• provide the flexibility Ontario businesses will need for long-term planning

This measure will provide up to $7.5 billion in relief to help approximately 80,000 Ontario businesses. Businesses will have the option to delay their payments for the following provincially administered taxes:

• Employer Health Tax
• Beer, Wine & Spirits Taxes
• Tobacco Tax
• Insurance Premium Tax
• Fuel Tax
• International Fuel Tax Agreement
• Gas Tax
• Retail Sales Tax on Insurance Contracts & Benefit Plans
• Mining Tax
• Race Tracks Tax

The six-month period will begin on January 1, 2022 and end on July 1, 2022. Learn more at ontario.ca.

Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program (THRP)

Businesses, charities or non-profits in Canada who has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,  may be eligible for a wage subsidy, a rent subsidy, or both through the the Tourism & Hospitality Recovery Program.

Business that may qualify include:

• those that are part of the tourism, hospitality, arts, entertainment, or recreation sectors, or
• those affected by a qualifying public health restriction

The subsidy rate starts at 40% for eligible organizations with a 40% current-month revenue decline to a maximum rate of 75% (for those with a current-month revenue decline of 75% or higher). Find eligibility requirements and calculate subsidy rates here.

Those businesses that do not qualify under the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program but are still facing significant losses may be eligible for the Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program. 

Tourism Relief Fund

To be eligible for funding, applicants must be:

• A key supplier/operator in the visitor experience
• Part of a defined tourism cluster or tourism-dependent community
• An anchor product or service in a destination

Eligible projects include two themes:

• Product development/development and enhancement of tourism experiences 
• Destination development

Funding available for for-profit businesses could be either:

• non-repayable contributions under $100,000 (rate of assistance of 50% of eligible costs) or
• fully repayable contributions up to $500,000 (rate of assistance of 75% of eligible costs)

For not-for-profit organizations and Indigenous entities (not generating profits), contributions will normally be non‑repayable:

• project contribution amounts would not normally exceed $500,000
• the actual contribution amount will be based on the minimum amount required to carry out the project

Find full details, project examples, and application requirements at feddevontario.gc.ca.

Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP)

The Canada Recovery Hiring Program helps employers hire the workers they need so that the economy can fully recover more quickly. Eligible employers could receive a subsidy to cover part of their wages as they hire new employees and increase existing employees' wages or hours. Find eligibility requirements and apply online at canada.ca.

Jobs and Growth Fund (JGF)

Ontario COVID-19 Worker Income Protection Benefit

Recovery Benefits and Employment Insurance (EI)

The Government of Canada announced changes to the Employment Insurance (EI) program and new recovery benefits to support Canadians. Those not eligible for EI, may be eligible for one of these programs:

• Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit
• Canada Recovery Sickness Benefits
• Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit