Whereas Members of Burlington’s small business community have identified “plummeting consumer confidence” as a key concern through Phase 3 of Halton Region’s re-opening; and
Whereas The City of Burlington recognizes the need for local interventions to assist and incentivize the successful reopening of Burlington’s small business community; and
Whereas The City of Burlington is committed to a main street support program that will provide immediate and timely support to Burlington’s most vulnerable corporate citizens; and
Whereas The City of Burlington recognizes the value that programs like Provincial Safe Restart and Digital Main Street can provide to assist Burlington’s small businesses with supports; and
Whereas The City of Burlington, in partnership with Team Burlington and BERN will lead an advocacy campaign to request that Halton Region and other upper-tier governments commit matching funds to Burlington’s local business supports interventions; and
Whereas Team Burlington and its member organizations are committed partners with the City in the promotion and communications of a Burlington Small Business Supports program which ensures ensure broad equitability and clearly defined eligibility requirements; and
Whereas The City of Burlington is supportive of a delivery model for local Small Business Supports that is compliant and does not interfere with the intent of Section 106 of the Municipal Act, 2001. However, this provision in The Act is currently a barrier to the crafting and implementation of a locally sensitive support program that is responsive to both the local business community’s and the municipality’s priorities and needs. This constraint is not unique to Burlington; it currently affects all municipalities across Ontario who are looking to target financial relief to businesses to mitigate the adverse economic impacts of COVID-19; and
Whereas Municipalities must be able to effectively direct relief to their business community members to support recovery and now require additional flexibility to tailor economic relief and funding programs to those businesses most in need. A commitment on the part of the Government of Ontario to relax the current Section 106 Municipal Act, 2001 (“Anti-bonusing”) restrictions is an essential pandemic response and will be key to the successful re-opening and economic recovery of the province’s economy;
Now therefore be it resolved that the Province of Ontario provide flexibility to lower tier levels of government at the municipal and regional level to support local businesses through the economy recovery and restart associated with Covid-19 via emergency support programs measures such as grants or other financial aid to local business without violating of anti-bonusing provisions of the Municipal Act; and
That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, Stephen Clark the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, along with MPPs Jane McKenna, Effie Triantafilopoulos and Parm Gill, Halton Region, Association of Municipalities of Ontario AMO, Ontario Big City Mayors OBCM (formerly LUMCO), Burlington Economic Recovery Network (BERN) and Team Burlington.