The federal government has rejected almost half the claims made by downtown businesses for losses incurred as a result of last summer’s G20 summit.

Of the 367 claims submitted by Toronto business owners, 169 have been accepted, though not necessarily for the amount owners were seeking.

The government budgeted $10 million to help Toronto businesses recover losses from the summit weekend but has so far awarded less than one-fifth that amount.

The claims totalled more than $11 million, but less than $2 million has been handed out. Another 161 claims were wholly rejected; 37 more are still awaiting decision.

“Basically, they’ve blown me off,” said celebrity chef Mark McEwan, owner of Bymark restaurant in the TD Centre on Wellington St. W.

McEwan said he boarded up his restaurant for 10 days — a full week before the summit — and lost $170,000 in revenue. But he only filed a claim for $26,500, the cost of disassembling and storing the 140-seat patio, along with fortifying the restaurant, which he says he was “forced” to do by security officials. The government rejected his claim.

“They told me I didn’t have to close. What do you mean I didn’t have to close? They basically closed the whole neighbourhood down.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade set up the compensation process after the summit to lessen the financial burden caused by the summit’s extraordinary security measures, which effectively shut down parts of the downtown core for an entire weekend last June.

The weekend also saw unprecedented vandalism in the city. The compensation program, however, only covers lost revenue, not repair or renovation costs.

In order to be eligible for compensation, a business had to stay open for the duration of the summit, provide at least three years of financial records and be located within the security perimeter or the “external affected areas” — hot spots of unrest, such as Queen St. W. between Yonge and Spadina, parts of Bay St. and University Ave., and sites near the Eastern Ave. detention centre.

Critics argue that many businesses were unfairly disqualified as a result, and the compensation process itself has been criticized as costly and cumbersome, leaving many small businesses to abandon their applications entirely because they couldn’t afford the accounting.

“It was nothing short of a nightmare,” said Justin Taylor, spokesman for the Canadian Restaurants and Foodservices Association.

Some restaurants spent thousands of dollars in accounting, only to receive compensation that amounted to a fraction of their claims.

“It’s barely even worth it for them to go through the expense of filling out the paperwork,” Taylor said.

A survey by the CRFA found 93 per cent of downtown restaurant owners saw revenues decline by half in the week leading up to the summit and the weekend itself. Even outside the core, 54 per cent of surveyed owners said they saw a marked decline in business.

Claims, however, were restricted to losses incurred on the weekend itself.

Even those whose applications were accepted have been left dissatisfied with the process.

Kevin Parker, manager of Steve’s Music Store on Queen St. W., just east of Spadina Ave., filed a claim for $80,000 but was only offered $22,000. The store has not yet accepted.

“The process was very difficult; they made it difficult.”

The money is awarded on an “ex gratia” basis, meaning the government is offering compensation without admitting any liability. To accept the compensation, the owners must agree to not seek further damages from the government and sign a nondisclosure agreement barring them from speaking publicly about the amount they receive.

“It’s unfair and it’s bureaucratic, opaque, stingy and very slow,” said Olivia Chow, MP for Trinity-Spadina, the federal riding most affected by the summit. “The long and short of it is that it was basically set up to fail.”

G20 compensation

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By the numbers

367

Claims made by Toronto businesses

169*

Claims accepted

$11,093,518.20

G20-related losses claimed by Toronto businesses

$1,989,490

Compensation awarded by federal government

$44

Lowest compensation award

$241,271

Highest compensation award

*37 claims still awaiting decision.