The Ontario government has announced the establishment of a new Winery Agri-Tourism COVID-19 Relief Initiative to aid agri-tourism companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This one-time grant will be available to Ontario wineries and cideries with on-site retail locations whose business was disrupted by COVID-19 safety measures to stop the virus from spreading. The Winery Agri-Tourism Relief Initiative (WATRI) grant was announced on July 20th.
Businesses who have seen a revenue drop in at least one aspect of their business, such as decreased tourism, tours, events, and tastings, or have had to incur more costs to comply with public health safety measures for COVID-19, may be eligible to receive support.
The province has provided a one-time $10 million grant to offset a decline in winery and cidery's on-site store sales and increased COVID-19 safety measure costs during the pandemic.
The funds will be distributed by the Winery Agri-Tourism Relief Initiative in September 2021.
This new relief initiative builds on government programs that aim to protect jobs and support local producers, including extending the VQA Wine Support Program and the Small Cidery and Small Distillery Support Program to 2022-23.