The Government of Canada has developed an online tool to help businesses navigate the different federal supports available to businesses.
On March 27 the Government of Canada made an announcement with several new supports for Canadian businesses, including the increase of the previously announced 10% wage subsidy to 75%, to be backdated to March 15, 2020. The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy is designed to allow employers to keep employers on the payroll, or to rehire those who have been laid-off already.
Since March, a number of updates have been made to the CEWS as the situation has evolved.
VIEW LATEST DETAILS ON THE CANADA EMERGENCY WAGE SUBSIDY
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has put together a short document to help inform organizations on the CEWS, with information on eligibility, making calculations, and more.
When applying for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), you will be asked to enter amounts such as the number of eligible employees and gross payroll. To get ready, you can determine these amounts and preview your subsidy claim based on the information you enter. The below CEWS calculator is a tool to help you estimate the amount of your wage subsidy.
VIEW DETAILS ON CALCULATING THE CEWS FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION
The Canada Revenue Agency is adapting its Liaison Officer service to support small businesses and self-employed individuals during COVID-19. Liaison Officers will be available exclusively by phone to provide the key information that small businesses and self-employed individuals need most urgently, including filing and payment deadlines and proactive relief measures.
The Government of Canada has announced the $962 million Regional Relief and Recovery Fund to address gaps left by other support measures. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and the Atlantic Association of Community Business Development Corporations (CBDCs) are distributing the RRRF in Atlantic Canada, which will include just over $110 million to be allocated in the region:
The RRRF is complementary to existing federal programs, you must first apply for other federal support measures such as the Canada Emergency Business Account benefit, the Wage Subsidy benefit and the Commercial Rent assistance for small businesses, among others.
The Government of Canada is offering bridge financing for big Canadian businesses across all sectors through the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF). The following details are available:
The Government of Canada has announced that it will provide $15 million in additional funding to support women entrepreneurs through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES). This money will go directly to select organizations that are currently WES Ecosystem Fund recipients and will help women entrepreneurs through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Government of Canada has announced up to $306.8 million in funding to help small and medium-sized Indigenous businesses, and to support Aboriginal Financial Institutions that offer financing to these businesses. The funding will allow for short-term, interest-free loans and non-repayable contributions through Aboriginal Financial Institutions, which offer financing and business support services to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis businesses. These measures will help 6,000 Indigenous-owned businesses get through these difficult times.
The Government of Canada introduced temporary special measures that extend the maximum duration of Work-Sharing agreements from 38 weeks to 76 weeks across Canada for those businesses affected by the downturn in business due to COVID-19 and for the forestry and steel and aluminum sector. Businesses should access the Work-Sharing temporary special measures page for eligibility.
The Canada Summer Jobs Program provides opportunities for youth to develop and improve their skills within the not-for-profit, small business, and public sectors, and supports the delivery of key community services.
The federal government is making temporary changes to the program to allow employers to:
In response to the current challenges, ESDC will introduced the following changes to the Canada Student Work Placement Program:
The Government of Canada has announced $350 million in emergency funds for community groups and national charities that help seniors, the homeless and others made more vulnerable by the pandemic. The funds will support such activities as:
The Government of Canada is taking immediate, significant and decisive action to support Canadian businesses facing financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the Government has announced and compiled a number of supports for Canadian businesses.
As of July 3, people will be able to travel freely between the four Atlantic Provinces (Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick) without the need to self-isolate. All visitors will still be expected to adhere to social distancing and other health protocols as per each province’s required rules, and each province has specific rules that dictate how travellers can enter their province. See below for each province’s rules:
NOVA SCOTIA ATLANTIC BUBBLE RULES
NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR ATLANTIC BUBBLE RULES
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND ATLANTIC BUBBLE RULES
NEW BRUNSWICK ATLANTIC BUBBLE RULES
Nova Scotia is preparing to reopen the province safely. As more businesses, organizations, services and public spaces reopen, we need to work together to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and help keep everyone safe. The Province of Nova Scotia has developed an online portal to provide information that businesses and individuals can use to prepare as the province moves toward re-opening and easing restrictions.
The online portal includes information for:
The Province of Nova Scotia has announced the next steps toward reopening the province. Effective June 5, most businesses required to close under the public health order can reopen. Businesses must follow protocols in the plan that is tailored to their sector. This includes following public health protocols to ensure physical distancing, increased cleaning and other protective measures for staff and customers.
The following can open if they are ready and choose to do so:
Other health providers can also reopen on June 5, provided they follow protocols in their colleges’ and associations’ plans, as approved by public health. These include:
Existing public health directives around physical distancing and gathering limits remain in place. People must keep two metres apart and not gather in groups of more than five.
Eligible businesses, non-profits, charities and social enterprises will be able to access the new Small Business Reopening and Support Grant, a $25 million fund that will provide grants to help them open safely and business continuity vouchers for advice and support to become more resilient in the coming months.
The Small Business Reopening and Support Grant provides funding for small businesses, non-profits, charities and social enterprises that were ordered to close or greatly reduce operations because of the Public Health Order or were greatly impacted by orders to stay home.
The program helps small businesses affected by COVID-19 by providing a grant and a business continuity voucher for advice and services from a business consultant. Funding includes a:
The grant is intended to help businesses reopen and adapt to COVID-19, not to replace lost revenues.
July 2020 Update: The application deadline for the Small Business Reopening and Support Grant has been extended to Friday, July 17. To date, the program has supported over 3,200 small Nova Scotia business across the province to safely reopen, with grants of up to $5,000 totaling more than $9.7 million.
The Province of Nova Scotia has made a number of announcements to help Nova Scotia businesses as they deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, including:
The province is investing $750,000 to help startup businesses seize opportunities emerging from COVID-19. Business incubators Volta, Ignite and the Organization for Nova Scotia Innovation-Driven Enterprise (ONSIDE) will receive funding to help new businesses get off the ground. $100,000 of funding through Innovacorp will support startup activities in Cape Breton, including an entrepreneur in residence, acceleration programs, training opportunities, a makerspace, mentorship and networking events.
The Nova Scotia Community College is leveraging their experience working with small and medium size businesses, social enterprises, not-for-profits and a network of provincial partners to connect you with the resources you need. Their team of Community Innovation Leads located across the province will:
VIEW MORE DETAILS OR SUBMIT A REQUEST
Nova Scotia Business Inc. is taking applications for the Productivity Innovation Voucher Program. The program helps small and medium sized companies access direct assistance to help make their business more productive and innovative. The program helps businesses find expertise within post-secondary institutions to improve productivity, develop a new product, service, or process, and create growth.
Nova Scotia Business Inc. has also developed a form and tool to connect businesses with independent consultants across the province to address your immediate business challenges as a result of COVID-19 and beyond.
Nova Scotia Office of Regulatory Affairs and Service Effectiveness Business Navigators are available to help businesses with any questions you may have. They can be reached Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm at 1-844-628-7347, or by email at BusNavigation@novascotia.ca.
LEARN MORE ABOUT NS BUSINESS NAVIGATORS
Nova Scotia Works Centres are very much operational and available to provide services to Cape Breton Employers and Job Seekers through virtual platforms.
VIEW NOVA SCOTIA WORKS CONTACTS
The Centre for Women in Business has launched the Women in Business Implementation Fund (WiBIF) to assist women entrepreneurs in Nova Scotia to access business supports to navigate COVID-19. The funds will help source supports for small-scale projects related to business operations, business transformations, and recovery measures. The WiBIF will be used to support at least 30 women business owners in Nova Scotia.
This initiative is supported by the Government of Canada through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). Applications will be available from July 13 – September 15, 2020 or until the funds are fully spent.
As businesses prepare to reopen or revamp their operations amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there are numerous issues and challenges to consider. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Canadian Business Resilience Network has developed a toolkit designed to provide guidance, or access to guidance, for business owners and senior managers responsible for re-establishing their operations while ensuring the health and safety of operators, staff, customers and the general public is at the forefront.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Canadian Business Resilience Network has also developed a collection of rules and regulations that are in place according to federal and provincial/territorial jurisdictions. Information includes when and which businesses are allowed to open, an array of health and safety measures, social distancing standards, occupancy limits and more.
The Retail Council of Canada has developed a Road to Retail Recovery Playbook document to provide members with a perspective on global practices from retailers around the world on operating their business during the COVID-19 pandemic. These materials were compiled through a scan of practices observed from companies in countries that have started to emerge from the government-imposed restrictions on the essential, non-essential and restaurant sectors. These materials are intended to provide retailers with a framework for key considerations and relevant global practices as they operate businesses in today’s challenging environment.
These are not intended to be legal advice or to replace local health and government guidelines. The COVID-19 crisis is rapidly evolving and there are different considerations for retailers in different regions and sub-sectors of the retail industry. Readers should consult the applicable laws & regulations, and guidelines issued by federal & provincial health and labour authorities, to make the best decisions for their respective businesses.
VIEW ROAD TO RETAIL RECOVERY PLAYBOOK
VIEW RETAIL RECOVERY CHECKLIST TEMPLATES
Informed by lessons learned from those operating during the pandemic so far, Restaurants Canada has developed a Reopening Best Practices document to provide information that restaurants and similar establishments can implement to comply with requirements from government in Physical Distancing, Cleaning and Sanitation, and Health & Personal Hygiene.
A number of active forums have been created by local organizations to showcase and provide information on businesses that remain open and/or offering delivery, promoting their products and services and letting the public know what their current open-status and details are. Businesses interested in participating in these forums are encouraged to visit each of the following resources:
DESTINATION CAPE BRETON – CAPE BRETON TAKEOUT AND DELIVERY
STRAIT AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE – BUSINESSES THAT DELIVER SOUTHERN CAPE BRETON
STRAIT AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE – BUSINESSES THAT DELIVER NORTHERN CAPE BRETON
CABE BRETON REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE – OPEN FOR BUSINESS IN THE CBRM
HUDDLE TODAY – OPEN FOR BUSINESS IN THE QUAD COUNTIES EASTERN MAINLAND AND WESTERN CAPE BRETON
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has created a guide to help businesses prepare for, and manage through, a potential COVID-19 escalation in Canada.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses has compiled a list of frequently asked questions to help small business owners prepare for a potential crisis.