A former Kamloops restaurateur says restaurants and other small businesses need to hear details about government plans for financial and other assistance soon.

Frank D’Amore says its difficult to say how individual restaurants will be affected, as he says the situation is different for different types of businesses.

“You use the term war-chest, this is when the war-chest is going to have to come into fruition,” he told NL News.

“You have some businesses that have saved up a lot of money, especially ones that have been in business a long time and have some money in the bank. And they can withstand it a little longer, but lets remember that we just came through the winter season which is their most difficult.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Finance Minister Bill Morneau will make a major announcement today on supporting the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the restaurant business, he says money gets spent really quickly.

“They have large seating capacity so the rent per square foot is greater than most businesses. Then you have the labour, I mean the health tax, it all adds up,” D’Amore added.

“The end of the month comes rather quickly, and rent, wages, heating, all those fixed costs will add up.”

He was also hoping that restaurants would be allowed to stay open in some capacity, but noted even that wouldn’t be close to enough for some business owners.

“We can say well people can order in. Yes, absolutely they can. But the majority of profits don’t come from the food, it comes from the alcohol, and you are not ordering in alcohol,” D’Amore said.

On Tuesday, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced that bars and clubs would have to close, but restaurants would be allowed to stay open, if they can meet social distancing requirements.

On Wednesday,  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an $82-billion economic package which also includes a wage subsidy for small-business owners to help keep staff on the payroll during the slowdown.

As well any Canadians who owe taxes will now have until August 2020 to pay them.

The government is also planning to boost the Canada Child Benefit to help parents cover the cost of child care or other impacts of having to at home.

Other measures include a GST credit for low-income Canadians, boosting support for shelters to help those escaping gender-based violence and a six-month moratorium on student loan repayments.

Editors note: this story has been updated to include details on the announcement made by the Federal Government on March 18.