WINNIPEG – At the urging of business leaders, the province has announced a temporary ban on commercial evictions.

It’s an attempt to get more landlords to sign up for the Canadian Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program.

“We know this has been a tough time for many businesses and it should not be made worse through an eviction if a business does not have the ability to pay rent on time,” said Finance Minister Scott Fielding. “It is our hope that this temporary measure will protect businesses, and at the same time spark increased participation in the federally and provincially cost-shared CECRA program.”

Manitoba has only received 145 applications totaling $1.5 million. A total of $64 million is available.