CANADA – Winnipeg businesses furious over $500K grant given to online delivery service at height of pandemic lockdown
Some Winnipeg small businesses say they are outraged that online delivery service Good Local received a huge chunk of provincial funding at a time in the pandemic when they were struggling the most, and are questioning whether the money could have done more good if it was distributed more equally.
But the head of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce is defending the decision to give Good Local a $500,000 grant to support shop-local efforts at the end of 2020, saying they had to act quickly to help keep businesses afloat.
The online delivery service was co-founded by Obby Khan, who is now running for office for the Progressive Conservatives — the same government that provided him the cash through a chamber of commerce.