What else?

(Jocelyn Williams Bamford, vice-president of Automatic Coating Ltd., gives a tour in the compressor room in Toronto on  Jan. 12, 2017. (Mark Blinch/Globe and Mail)

Arthur Leal is concerned about how 2017 is shaping up for his family business, which uses large amounts of electricity to finish and corrosion-proof aluminum for his clients.

In recent years, his Toronto company, Progressive Anodizers Inc., has seen its electricity bills soar to over $50,000 a month. Mr. Leal is also dealing with the impact of Ontario’s new climate change plan, which will boost the price of natural gas for his plant by an extra $24,750 this year.

While Ontario has brought in relief measures to help small and large businesses, mid-sized manufacturers like Progressive Anodizers, Copper Core Ltd. and Automatic Coating Ltd., feel left out because they’re either too big or too small to qualify for government rebates and incentive programs.

“The middle businesses are falling through the cracks on these programs. It’s like they’re forgotten,” said Julie Kwiecinski of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Click here to read the original story published by The Globe and Mail.