Federal Subsidy for Ottawa Businesses Affected by Freedom Convoy Came 36 Percent Under Budget

A person crosses the street beside a big rig parked on Metcalfe Street in downtown Ottawa during the second week of the Freedom Convoy protest against federal COVID-19 restrictions, on Feb. 7, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)

A federal agency mandated to give out $20 million in subsidies to downtown Ottawa businesses that it said suffered losses due to the truckers’ Freedom Convoy protest earlier this year struggled to find applicants for the money, Access to Information records show.

The records show that the final payment given out by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) was $12.9 million—36 percent under budget—according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

The subsidy allowed small businesses in downtown Ottawa to apply for “non-repayable contributions of up to $10,000 for non-deferrable operational costs not covered by other federal programs,” said a Feb. 19 FedDev Ontario statement.

“We have heard the growing concerns and frustrations from many of the Business Improvement Associations and small businesses in Downtown Ottawa that were forced to close, or have seen their business drastically impacted due to the illegal blockades in Ottawa. Our government’s investment of up to $20-million to Invest Ottawa will help local businesses get the support they need to recover,” Helena Jaczek, minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, said in the statement.

The number of claimants, however, fell short of the program’s expectations, and FedDev Ontario extended the deadline for application from April 30 to May 15. Organizers of the program were also instructed to “go door to door to boost awareness and increase applications from business owners,” reported Blacklock’s Reporter, citing the Access to Information records.

The aid targets businesses “directly and negatively impacted by the demonstrations” for any losses including “utilities, insurance, bank charges, loss of inventory (e.g. spoiled food), wages, rent and other extraordinary costs related to the repair or protection of a business due to the demonstrations,” according to the terms of compensation.

Businesses whose applications were initially rejected reportedly received phone calls with unsolicited help on how to fill out forms.

‘The Team Is Reaching Out’

“The team is reaching out by telephone to these applicants to move their file along as a deficiency in their application was noted,” one staff email said.

A grant guide, originally published in English and French, was later “translated to Arabic, Vietnamese, and simple Chinese to ensure those business owners for whom English or French is not their first language may understand the eligibility.”

The Freedom Convoy protest in the national capital, which began in late January, called for an end to federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other restrictions. A negotiator for the government, Dean French, told CBC last month that the convoy organizers had acknowledged their impacts on the downtown Ottawa citizens and agreed to relocate their vehicles, but that they weren’t given enough time before the Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act to quash the demonstrators.

The protesters had largely dispersed by Feb. 14, when the act was invoked to give the police special powers to clear the demonstrations in escalated operations over the next few days. The police was then able to compel towing truck companies to tow away the trucks and vehicles from the area. Financial institutions were also given a list of names of convoy supporters and the power to freeze their bank accounts without having to obtain a court order.

A similar subsidy program, announced on April 1 for businesses in the Windsor, Ont., area, was also overestimated, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

In early February, protesters blockaded the Ambassador Bridge that connects Windsor and the U.S. city of Detroit. It was one of several border blockades held in solidarity with the convoy protest in Ottawa.

The FedDev Ontario aid for Windsor budgeted $2.5 million in compensation for some 240 business owners. However, only 60 successfully applied, for a total payment of $462,469, according to a cabinet briefing note titled Support For Businesses In Ottawa And Windsor Impacted By Demonstrations, which was previously obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter.