The B.C. Green Party is promising to create a $300-million rent-subsidy program for small businesses and roll out programs to support tourism operators, many of whom fear they won’t survive the pandemic.
Party leader Sonia Furstenau announced Wednesday that a six-month rent-subsidy program would be aimed at small businesses who pay $50,000 or less in monthly rent.
Qualifying businesses would see 25 per cent of rental costs covered if the party is elected, she said. “The goal would be to keep the criteria simple and straightforward.”
It would provide immediate support so businesses have the certainty they need as they face the winter, she said.
The Canada emergency commercial rent assistance program ended last month, but Furstenau said that program had a flawed design and limited uptake, with confusing application criteria and a requirement that landlords apply.
B.C. has abdicated its responsibility when it comes to helping with commercial rent, she said. “It is astonishing that we have not been able to build a meaningful program to help businesses with their rent.”
The B.C. Liberals have said they would ensure businesses receive tax relief and financial support, eliminating the provincial sales tax for one year and shaving it to three per cent in the second year until the economy starts to recover from the pandemic.
The NDP has announced a $1.5-million economic recovery plan, including allocating more than $100 million for tourism businesses and marketing. The plan includes a $300-million small- and medium-sized business grant program for all sectors, and a new tourism task force to work on short and long-term strategy.
Many Victoria-area small tourism operators are worried for their survival after borders closed and business plummeted amid the pandemic.
Furstenau said the Greens would work with the federal government to set up a repayable loan program for members of the hospitality sector and large tourism operators unable to meet the criteria for small business support. She said she has not discussesd the proposal with the federal government.
Large operators have been among the hardest hit, she said, and will be among the last to recover due to the travel restrictions and border closures.
Any support would be contingent on employers agreeing to re-hire staff laid off during the pandemic, Furstenau said. Unite Here, the union representing hospitality workers, has been campaigning for that kind of protection for its members.
Furstenau said she plans to work with small tourism operators to develop a support strategy, but she did not have details or a budget.
She took aim at B.C.’s grant program within the economic recovery plan, saying financial support might come too late for many small and local operators.
She said the Greens would retool the provincial grant program to focus on supporting small tourism operators. “We would immediately get to work with industry to establish criteria that makes sense and accelerate the timeline to ensure that grant money can flow immediately.”
A separate grant program would also be set up for non-profit tourism operators, such as the Shaw Discovery Centre for the Salish Sea in Sidney, she said.
