As the city continues opening and more COVID-19 cases are reported daily, this is the perfect time to prepare your business to handle changing conditions. Emery Village BIA is the proud sponsor of SkillsPass’ FREE COVID-19 Work Safe Course.

View a CTV feature on the course HERE.

View a Toronto.com feature on the course HERE.

The course is the first program in Canada, free to all Emery BIA business owners and all of their employees. We strongly encourage as many employees as possible to take advantage of this, from management to skilled trade workers. The course will cover crucial information about safe working conditions which is important for all employees to know. Register today for this exclusive opportunity!

Please find the latest updates on vaccinations in the Province of Ontario here:

https://covid-19.ontario.ca/covid-19-vaccines-ontario

To find out how to get the COVID-19 vaccine and detailed information about the three-phase plan for rolling out the vaccine, visit this page:

https://covid-19.ontario.ca/getting-covid-19-vaccine-ontario

If you are unsure about your public health unit, you can find it here:

https://www.phdapps.health.gov.on.ca/phulocator/

COVID-19 Vaccine safety information:

https://covid-19.ontario.ca/covid-19-vaccine-safety

The City of Toronto is preparing to oversee the safe restart of some services and partial reopening of many businesses. Resources have been developed to help support business through this time. For guidance on safely reopening, business operators can reference the Toronto Public Health Planning Guide, and visit the COVID-19: Reopening Guidelines for Businesses & Organizations to view sector specific resources.

Decisions about when and how businesses can begin operating will be made by the Government of Ontario in accordance with its framework to reopen the province after COVID-19.

FedDev Ontario and the Province have provided funds to expand Digital Main Street’s services and resources across Ontario. You can see the overview here:  https://www.feddevontario.gc.ca/eic/site/723.nsf/eng/02590.html?OpenDocument

What this means for municipalities and BIAs is that the following resources will be available to help you support your main street businesses over the coming months:

• Digital Main Street Grant – there will be $2,500 grants available to main street businesses to support their purchase of technologies. These will be available July 1^st.
• Future-Proofing Program – Digital Main Street will be launching a new program focused on helping future-proof businesses. More details will follow on this in the coming weeks.

In addition, this also means the ShopHERE program, which builds an online store for small businesses and artists at no-cost, is also available across Ontario. You can find the details about the program here: www.digitalmainstreet.ca/shophere.

Emery Village BIA hosted a tele-town hall to address members’ questions about the impacts of COVID19 and the steps being taken by our governments to provide assistance to the business community. The one hour town hall featured commentary from local Humber River-Black Creek government representatives including Toronto City Councillor Anthony Perruzza, MPP Tom Rakocevic and Honourable MP Judy Sgro. Based on the feedback received in the discussion, the BIA is issuing a letter to Mayor Tory and the City’s Economic Support & Recovery Task Force outlining recommendations for a responsible approach to reopening the economy. If you were not able to make it to the tele-town hall, you may listen to a recording here: