A new iteration of property expense relief will be more bountiful for many recipients than recent payouts of the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidiary, but fewer commercial tenants or owner-occupiers will qualify.

Former Ontario Premier Bill Davis was an honorary member of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Greater Toronto.

Removing landlords from the application process hasn’t necessarily made the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) more accessible for commercial tenants experiencing pandemic-related financial stress.

A proposed amendment to the Commercial Tenancies Act, included in Ontario's budget bill, would allow the Minister to impose future COVID-19-related prohibitions on commercial evictions via regulation.

As announced in the provincial budget, the Ontario government plans to equalize the business education tax (BET) rate at 0.88 per cent for 2021, equating to a $450-million tax cut province-wide.

With the August 31 deadline for first-time applications for Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) now passed, the three-month program that evolved into five months of relief is closed to new recipients.

The move was announced in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, but additionally opens a window to adjust the mechanics of the assessment process itself.

An illogical quirk in the apportionment of business education tax continues to undermine competitiveness for some of Ontario's major cities, advocates for the commercial real estate sector maintain.