Toronto Mayor just asked landlords to give small businesses a break when it comes to rent

Mayor John Tory has put out a statement calling for commercial landlords in Toronto to cut their tenants some slack during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel Saturday, the mayor called for landlords to "try and make some arrangement" with restaurant- and shop-owners to ease the financial burden of rent during the closure of all non-essential businesses. 

"The idea here is that those shops and restaurants can open again when this nightmare is over, and be back in business with all the jobs they create." 

Tory suggests spreading rent over the rest of the year, to provide "some urgent, short-term relief." 

The City has already deferred all penalties on late property taxes and bill payments until mid-May, and Canadian banks have announced that they'll allow homeowners to defer their mortgage payments for up to six months. 

The Province has also banned residential evictions during this time, however, there are no protections against evictions for commercial tenants.

Residential rent strikes were organized on April 1, but there's been no word from the the Ontario government regarding what subsidies or deferrals have been arranged for commercial tenants facing the same financial woes.