Vol. 10 - Issue 22
September 18, 2020
GLOBAL - INNOVATIVE - DISTINCT
Watch the video to see why Halton Hills is a great place to do business.

The Town of Halton Hills continues to take proactive, decisive and coordinated action to respond to COVID-19 and to support the local business community
  • Town Launches Digital Main Street Program to Help Small Businesses
  • Halton Hills Partners with Ritual to Provide Local Businesses with Access to Online Ordering Platform
  • Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program Extended to September
  • Halton Small Business Centre Announces Virtual Cohort of Starter Company Plus Program
  • New Funding Announced to Help Improve Competitiveness of Ontario’s Farms
  • Age for Youth Taxi Scrip Program in Halton Hills Changes to Support More Young People
  • Visit InvestHaltonHills.com for COVID-19 Business Support Programing and Information
Town Launches Digital Main Street Program to Help Small Businesses
The Town of Halton Hills has received a grant from Digital Main Street Ontario for the Digital Service Squad (DSS) program to help small main street businesses use digital technologies to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.

Digital Service Squads comprise trained specialists who meet with small businesses at no cost, to help them improve their online presence. The squads assist with a number of activities, including developing a ‘Google My Business’ profile, enhancing social media presence and providing support for basic website and e-commerce set-up. Squads will also assist qualified small businesses through the application process for a $2,500 Digital Transformation Grant.

Businesses interested in participating in the Digital Mail Street program and meeting with Halton Hills’ Digital Service Squad representative can email agraham@haltonhills.ca
Halton Hills Partners with Ritual to Provide Local Businesses with Access to Online Ordering Platform
Halton Hills has partnered with Toronto-based startup, Ritual, to offer local businesses an easy way to accept digital orders online. Ritual ONE is a platform that provides businesses – such as restaurants, grocers, retailers and coffee shops – with an easy way to accept commission-free digital orders directly from a ‘Google My Business’ page, website or social media account.

This initiative provides Halton Hills’ businesses with the opportunity to sign up for Ritual ONE and receive digital ordering and marketing services for free until the end of 2020, including:
  • Waived Ritual ONE subscription fees for the remainder of 2020 (normally $50/month)
  • Waived credit card processing fees for the remainder of 2020 (normally 2.8%)
  • Waived Ritual ONE setup fee for the remainder of 2020 (normally $100)

Businesses will also be provided with a dedicated expert to help support them during the onboarding process.

For more details contact the Economic Development team
Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program Extended to September
The Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) has been extended by one month to help eligible small business pay rent for the month of September. All provinces and territories continue to participate in this initiative and collaborate with the federal government to provide rent supports to those small businesses most in need.
Halton Small Business Centre Announces Virtual Cohort of Starter Company Plus Program
The Starter Company Plus program is a training and mentoring program for eligible, aspiring entrepreneurs looking to build their small businesses. There is also an opportunity to receive a $5,000 grant. The program is designed for new or existing main street businesses who have been in operation for 12 months or less.

Attendance at one of the two following information sessions, both held virtually via Zoom, is required in order to apply to the program:

Successful applicants will be announced by October 19. The Starter Company Plus cohort will start on November 9 and will run to the end of February 2021. The entire cohort will be delivered virtually via Zoom.
New Funding Announced to Help Improve Competitiveness of Ontario’s Farms
The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing more than $7.9 million through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership to help farmers improve their business operations and bring more safe, high-quality foods to markets. This funding will support more than 670 projects across Ontario for eligible farmers and agri-food businesses.
Examples of projects supported through this programming include:
  • Improving food safety systems on farms to meet or exceed international certification standards
  • Planting over-wintering cover crops to improve soil health and reduce soil erosion losses
  • Actions to help prevent pest damage at greenhouse operations
  • Developing a product that will open new sales markets for a farm business
  • Upgrades to animal-handling equipment and improved biosecurity measures
Age for Youth Taxi Scrip Program in Halton Hills Changes to Support More Young People
The Town of Halton Hills has increased the age of eligibility for the Youth Taxi Scrip Program in order to serve a greater number of young people in the community. The Youth Taxi Scrip Program will now provide registered riders between the ages of 13-24 with a 40 per cent discount on regular taxi fares with participating companies. Previously, eligibility for the program was up to 19 years of age.

“Until such time when we have a local transit system, it’s important that we continue to leverage opportunities to support easy and affordable means to travel throughout the community,” notes Mayor Rick Bonnette.
Visit Invest Halton Hills for COVID-19 Business Support Programming and Information
As part of its ongoing commitment to engage with and support the local business community, the Town continues to update and add to its COVID-19 Business Supports web page. We are continuously gathering information and supports to help you navigate through the resources being announced by all levels of government.
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