The province is looking to help businesses affected by COVID-19 restrictions by covering up to 50% of their property taxes and energy costs.
The new Ontario Business Costs Rebate Program will also provide a six month interest free period for businesses to make payments on provincially administered taxes starting January 1, 2022.
But is this enough to get local businesses over the hump?
Former MP and city councillor Rick Limoges is co-owner of Sandy's Riverside Grill on the east side.
He says it'll be beneficial to some, but not all.
"Businesses are complex," he says. "Some of them are going to be helped by this and others are going to say it does nothing for me and in my case, our property taxes are included with the rent. So I don't gain anything there."
Limoges says, rebates or not, it's going to be a tough road ahead for many businesses.
"Later on, when things open up again, with all this inflation and so on, I don't know how a lot of businesses are going to survive because to try and pay that off at the same time as they're trying to overcome inflation is going to be very difficult," says Limoges.
He adds putting off payments only helps in the short-term.
"There's many businesses that are going to keep their nose to the grindstone and just try to do the best they can to keep up with those payments knowing that the alternative is going to be a real rough time next year," he says.
The Ontario Business Costs Rebate Program will start accepting applications in mid-January with rebates retroactive to December 19 when restrictions went back into effect.
— with files from AM800's Patty Handysides