'I hope they help us out' Windsor business owner pleased with Ottawa investment

The Ford government announced Friday they will be offering grants to businesses impacted by the occupation in the nation’s capital.

“The last month, two months or so we did get hurt and hopefully they’re going to compensate us,” Fred Bouzide, owner of Fred’s Farm Fresh tells CTV News.

Bouzide says any support is helpful to businesses that were forced to close, or were too difficult for customers to get to.

His grocery and greenhouse business is down $30,000 in February this year versus last.

The blockade at the Ambassador Bridge, which started Feb. 7, first led to a long lineup of transport trucks stuck on Huron Church Road.

Then, after the blockade was cleared the weekend of Feb. 12 Windsor police barricaded the cross streets to protect the border from future protests.

One of them was the intersection of Northwood Street and Industrial Drive.

“Valentine’s Day we got hurt quite a bit because nobody could come to our store. So we’ve dumped quite a few dozen roses,” says Bouzide.

That intersection was the first one to be cleared, and Bouzide says business has been picking up the last few days.

But admits, customers are unsure about the evolving situation.

“We’re still getting phone calls, like today and yesterday, ‘is it okay to come down? Are you open?’” says Bouzide.

He’s hopeful an announcement is forthcoming, from both upper levels of government, for support for businesses like his.

According to a news release, each Ottawa business will be eligible for a $5,000 grant for "non-deferrable operating expenses incurred during the blockade.”

The province is spending a total of $11.5 million, with $1.5 million of it going to Tourism Ottawa.

The funding will "reinforce its brand as a world-class city while encouraging visitor and tourism spending" in the national capital region.

Bouzide says he’d have to look at the fine print, if it was offered to him, to decide if $5,000 is enough to help his business rebound.

But one thing is for sure he says, “I hope they help us out.”