The Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP) Guarantee is a new COVID-19 relief program to help hardest-hit businesses from all sectors with additional financing.
Business Development Bank of Canada will provide a 100% net loss guarantee to increase these businesses’ ability to access additional liquidity. Proceeds of the loan (up to $1 million) are exclusively meant to fund the operational cash flow needs of the business and ensure a degree of continuity of operations.
The Government of Canada has developed an online tool to help businesses navigate the different federal supports available to businesses.
A number of changes have been made the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) since its first announcement. The latest updates include:
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.
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:
It was later announced that the deadline would be extended to June 2021, and that a proposed additional $500 million in new funding is being explored.
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 will provide up to $306.8 million in interest-free loans and non-repayable contributions for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis businesses. This measure is part of the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan. Financial support will be provided through Aboriginal Financial Institutions and administered by the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association, as well as the Métis Capital Corporations in partnership with Indigenous Services Canada.
Up to $40,000 will be available to small and medium-sized Indigenous businesses hat are current or former clients of an Aboriginal Financial Institution:
Work-Sharing (WS) is a program that helps employers and employees avoid layoffs when there is a temporary decrease in business activity beyond the control of the employer. The program provides Employment Insurance (EI) benefits to eligible employees who agree to reduce their normal working hours and share the available work while their employer recovers. Work-Sharing is an agreement between employers, employees and the Government of Canada.
The Program allows employers to:
The Program allows employees to:
Effective March 15, 2020 to March 14, 2021, and not limited to one specific sector or industry, the Government of Canada is introducing temporary special measures:
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.
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:
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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.