Granville Island receives $22 million in emergency funding from federal government

Granville Island (Shutterstock)

With visitation significantly down due to the pandemic’s impact, Granville Island is receiving a second round of emergency operating funding from the federal government.

The latest federal budget set aside $22 million in relief and subsidies for Granville Island, which is owned and operated by federal crown corporation Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

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Small businesses and performance arts venues at Granville Island have been hammered by the plummet in tourism and restrictions on large gatherings.

“This would allow Granville Island to support its tenants, many of whom are small businesses and non-profit arts and cultural venues, who continue to face significant economic duress from COVID-19,” reads the federal budget.

This is in addition to the $17 million in initial emergency operating funding received by Granville Island from the federal government in Summer 2020. The latest allocation brings their emergency operating funding to a total of $39 million.

Over the past weekend, Granville Island re-instated pay parking during the mid-day hours, which had previously been free as a pandemic measure to support businesses. However, CMHC claims a significant proportion of visitors using the parking are not supporting businesses, and are instead only making leisure trips in the area.

The City of Vancouver has also been calling on the federal government to provide emergency operating funding to Chinatown businesses and the PNE due to their unique circumstances that make them ineligible to receive funding from existing programs.

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