Algoma and Manitoulin businesses to receive funding for COVID-19 building upgrades

The Ontario government will be helping 74 local businesses in the Algoma and Manitoulin regions meet COVID-19 public health guidelines.

They are providing $1.5 million in funding through the Northern Ontario Recovery Program.

The money will go toward building renovations, safety upgrades and installation of safety equipment.

For more information, please see the Ontario government press release included below.

The Ontario government is providing more than $1.5 million to help 74 local businesses adapt to COVID-19 public health guidelines in the Algoma and Manitoulin regions. The funding is being delivered through the Northern Ontario Recovery Program (NORP) and will support building renovations, installation of safety equipment and health and safety upgrades.

"Our government is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with northern business owners, entrepreneurs and workers in the Algoma and Manitoulin regions," said Greg Rickford, Minister of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry. "COVID-19 has fundamentally changed our day-to-day lives and how we do business. With this funding, our government is supporting small and medium-sized businesses and providing a significant and welcome boost to the local economy.”

Funding for businesses includes:

• $25,000 for Happy Day Lodge and Prairie Bee Camps, a cabin and boat rental business for hunting and fishing in Chapleau, to reconfigure cabins and build additional docks so that guests can safely distance, and to purchase personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies.
• $25,000 for Kensington Point Marina, a full-service marina in Desbarats, to build four customized docks, install shields and reconfigure the service, parts and work spaces to ensure staff and customers can safely distance.
• $25,000 for Missanabie Cree Business Corporation, a First Nation business in Garden River with joint venture partnerships within the mining, forestry, transportation and tourism sectors, to upgrade the air filtration system by installing a roof top HVAC unit, purchase personal protective equipment and install plexiglas barriers to make the building safer for tenants.