OTTAWA—With businesses clamouring for more help from government to survive the COVID-19 crisis, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unwrapped a new program Friday to lower commercial rents by 75 per cent.

The emergency assistance didn’t come with an overall price tag, but Trudeau said it will help many small and medium-sized businesses forced to shut down and take steep revenue losses during the coronavirus pandemic that has throttled economic activity around the world.

“This is an extremely difficult situation for Canadians, for businesses right across the country,” Trudeau told reporters outside Rideau Cottage.

“We are trying to help as many people as possible.”

The rent-relief plan was welcomed by business associations that have broadcast stark warnings about the pandemic’s economic devastation of local shops and restaurants across the country. But several were also quick to question whether the program goes far enough.

To qualify, businesses must pay less than $50,000 per month in rent and report lost revenue of at least 70 per cent. Their landlords must also agree to suspend evictions, to cover 25 per cent of their tenants’ rent and then apply to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) for a forgivable loan that would cover 50 per cent of the rent. The other 25 per cent would be covered by the tenant business, Finance Minister Bill Morneau explained Friday.

Sarah Chown is a managing partner at the Metropolitain Brasserie, a restaurant near Parliament Hill that shut down in March and has had no revenue since. With no money coming in, she said it would also be difficult for restaurants to cover even a quarter of their usual rent when they still have other fixed costs like insurance and Employment Insurance payments.

“We haven’t been paying rent, and we can’t afford to. Does it help us? I suppose, if our landlord applies,” Chown said. “But our runway’s done. We’ve already gone into those savings from before, they’re already gone. They’re dried up.”

Laura Jones, executive vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Business, said the aid will help a “significant number” of businesses that have seen revenues drop by more than 70 per cent. The federation estimates 40 per cent of small businesses have seen that rate of decline, she said.

But she said some small businesses — like independent theatres — won’t qualify because they pay more than $50,000 per month in rent. “For those falling through the eligibility cracks ... it’s very challenging,” she said.

Morneau said he believes landlords will be quick to apply for the commercial rent relief because it guarantees they will get 75 per cent of their rent at a time when payments are in jeopardy. If they agree to cover a quarter of their tenants’ payments, the government will forgive the loan from the CMHC said that covers half the rent, Morneau said.

“That will enable the landlord to have confidence that, in their situation, they’ll get 75 per cent of the rent paid, and the small business to know that they’re going to get a 75 per cent reduction,” he said.

Mark Kaluski is a landlord for a dry-cleaning business in Ottawa, and represents the Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement areas. He predicted “huge uptake” from commercial landlords like him, who were not sure whether their tenants would be able to keep paying rent.

“I think this is great for landlords,” he said. “It’s great for the peace of mind for the smaller business. I just hope the people who need it are the ones who can take advantage of it.”

Ottawa is rolling out a $73-billion program to cover up to 75 per cent of wages for businesses that have suffered revenue declines because of the pandemic. And it is guaranteeing $40,000 loans to businesses with payrolls ranging from $20,000 to $1.5 million so they have credit to survive the downturn.

But many industry groups are calling for additional aid that is designed to meet the specific needs of their sectors. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association wants a special program from Ottawa to help cover losses as food processing plants slow production and shutter because of COVID-19 outbreaks.

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Andrew Oliver, chief executive of Oliver and Bonacini Hospitality, said Friday that the government needs to shift from providing broad-based relief and find “surgical” ways to help specific sectors. The loan program, for example, will cover the entire payroll of some smaller businesses for two years while covering just a few weeks of wage costs for bigger firms at the higher end of eligibility.

“I’m hopeful they will do the right thing and start being more surgical and get industry-specific solutions for industries that are our size,” he said.

Trudeau said Friday the government will “have more to say in the coming days about rent support for larger businesses.”

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