Our government has made supporting Canadians a priority during the global COVID-19 pandemic. We are supporting workers and the businesses that employ them.
The reality is many local businesses have had their operations negatively impacted due to COVID-19 related closures or have observed a significant reduction in revenues. They have also had to make challenging decisions related to staff lay-offs and possible business restructuring.
Our favourite local restaurants, salons, home goods stores and other small- and medium-sized businesses in a multitude of sectors are the backbone of our local economy. We enjoy the unique choices they give us as consumers and find confidence and assurance in the friendly faces who own the businesses around us in our Northern communities.
These employers provide the jobs, goods, and services that our communities have come to rely on. Recognizing the urgency and answering the many calls for help, our government rolled out an emergency economic response plan to help business owners navigate through this crisis.
Many businesses might soon face the process of reopening. Some are already operating or moving ahead with curbside pick-up or tailored their shopping experience to cooperate with COVID-19 public health measures and best practices. It is important to remember these owners and their teams are navigating unchartered territories and your patience and support is sincerely appreciated.
More than ever we need to commit ourselves to shopping local when possible. Business owners are our friends, our family, our neighbors and we’ve counted on them to provide what we need and now we can play a role in helping them through this challenging period. I encourage you to spread the word about local businesses who are open and offer them a word of encouragement.
As we move forward, we will continue to support workers and businesses. I encourage employers and businesses to keep the line of communication open with their local Chambers of Commerce, their provincial MPPs and with my office. My team and I continue to work hard to support Nickel Belt – Greater Sudbury.
I will continue to be there to provide you with the information you need and to answer your questions and advocate for you. We will get through this together.
The emergency economic response plan offers the following measures to support small- and medium-sized businesses:
• Announced yesterday; Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) $962 million in aid nationally, including $49.5 million to FedNor to address gaps and help support Northern Ontario businesses who do not qualify for other federal economic response measures;
• Introduced and extended the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) to help employers keep their staff on payroll, rehire those previously laid off, ensure workers can access an income, and position themselves to rebound when the pandemic has passed;
• Expanded eligibility of the $2,000 monthly Canada Emergency Response Benefit to include self-employed individuals;
• Created the Canadian Business Resilience Network in partnership with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce to provide latest information, tools and resources businesses need to make it through pandemic;
• Allowed businesses, including self-employed individuals, to defer until June 30, 2020 payments of the GST/HST;
• Extended the maximum duration of the Work-Sharing program from 38 to 76 weeks;
• Established a Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP) to provide additional support through the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Export Development Canada (EDC);
• Reached an agreement in principle with all provinces and territories to implement the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses which will lower rent by 75%;
• Created the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) that provides interestfree loans of up to $40,000 to eligible businesses and not-for-profits;
• $287 million to support rural businesses and communities by providing them with much-needed access to capital through the Community Futures Network;
• $20.1 million in support for Futurpreneur Canada to continue supporting young entrepreneurs
• Made temporary changes to the Canada Summer Jobs program to allow employers to receive increased wage subsidy and extend their dates of employment, and;
• Established the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) to provide bridge financing to Canada’s eligible largest employers.
Marc Serré is the Liberal MP for Nickel Belt.
