Vital updates:

• The Ontario government, in partnership with the federal government, is helping small businesses reach more customers through the Digital Main Street platform. It is a $57-million program which will help up to 22,900 Ontario businesses create and enhance their online presence and generate jobs for more than 1,400 students. Through the $57-million contribution to the Digital Main Street platform, businesses will be able to take advantage of three new programs to support their digital transformation:
  • shopHERE powered by Google will leverage Ontario’s strengths by hiring highly skilled and trained students to build and support the launch of online stores for businesses that previously did not have the capacity to do so themselves. The core goal will be to help small businesses compete and grow, in a world that is increasingly online, and help them recover as quickly as possible following COVID-19.
  • Digital Main Street Grant will help main street small businesses be digitally more effective. Through a $2,500 grant administered by the Ontario BIA Association, small businesses will be able to adopt new technologies and embrace digital marketing. Municipalities, Chambers of Commerce, and Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) can apply for a Digital Service Squad grant, which will allow them to establish teams to provide personalized, one-on-one support.
  • Future-Proofing Main Street will provide specialized and in-depth digital transformation services and support that helps existing main-street firms adapt to changes in their sector and thrive in the new economy. By leveraging teams of digital marketing professionals and talented students, these firms will be able to create new online business models, develop and implement digital and e-commerce marketing strategies, and maximize digital tools, platforms and content.
• The Government of Canada and the Business Council of Canada have launched the POST (People Outside Safely Together) Promise program. The POST Promise is a training & education platform which results in a voluntary declaration from a business to its customers and employees. It is intended as a means of showing that a business is taking steps to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Reading recommendations:

• Is the worst of the pandemic behind us? Here’s what scientists know, Devi Sridhar, The Guardian
• How to support kids’ and teens’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, Javeed Sukhera, The Conversation
• The Biggest Psychological Experiment in History Is Running Now, Lydia Denworth, Scientific American