We are living through extraordinary times. A time of great challenge being met through front line health care workers and first responders to whom we already owe a tremendous debt of gratitude; federal and provincial government initiatives; collaboration between and within businesses and of course the individual efforts of everyone determined to stay in their own bubbles and not burst anyone else�s.
We all have available to us an overwhelming array of information sources related to the state of the pandemic, the difficulties facing our health care workers and systems, a wide array of government programs at all levels aimed at every corner of Canada�s GDP.
Of particular interest to us and our clients, we believe, are the specific programs aimed at relieving the financial pressure on small businesses. The rules around these programs are being established on the fly and many of them announced do not yet have the practical steps laid out to detail availability. Many others, however, do not require any action on the part of the business owner. We expect that all levels of government will continue to take the steps necessary to ensure, to the extent possible, the economy remains �frozen in place� until this first wave of COVID abates. All that to say that the programs announced to date may be supplemented over time.
On the next page is a short list of key federal small business programs with associated links that we believe will be of interest to you.
Please note, changes are being announced by federal and provincial governments on an ongoing basis. These are current as of March 30th.
In addition in Ontario, the Provincial Government has established the following key initiatives:
| 1 | Proposed temporary increase to the Employer Health Tax (EHT) Exemption | ||||
| 2 | Electrical Cost Relief including time of day reduction for 45 days | ||||
| 3 | Filing and payment deferral for most provincially administered taxes to August 31, 2020 | ||||
| 4 | Deferral of education component of property taxes from municipalities | ||||
| 5 | Deferral of WSIB payment for up to 6 months. | ||||
And in Alberta
| 1 | Deferral of Electrical and Natural Gas bill payments for 90 days | |||||
| 2 | Filing and payment deferral for most provincially administered taxes to August 31, 2020 | |||||
| 3 | Deferral of education component of property taxes from municipalities | |||||
| 4 | Deferral of WCB payment to 2021s. | |||||
Please feel free to call us to discuss how these programs may apply to you.
| EI | Employment Insurance | EI waive wait under certain circumstances | ||||||||||||||
| CERB | Canada Emergency Response Benefit | $2,000 per month for four months for those no longer receiving income for their employer | ||||||||||||||
| CEWS | Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy | coverage of up to 75% of payroll cost to CPP max for businesses that have experienced >30% reduction in revenue | ||||||||||||||
| BCAP | Business Credit Availability Program | New loans/deferral reduced rates for qualifying businesses | ||||||||||||||
| CEBA | Canada Emergency Business Account | Up to $40,000 loans from small businesses available through financial institutions (with payroll between $50K – $1M) 25% forgivable | ||||||||||||||
| Tax collection and filing deferrals | GST/HST and income tax filing and payment deferrals | |||||||||||||||
| Federal Gov. | https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2020/03/canadas-covid-19-economic-response-plan-support-for-canadians-and-businesses.html | |||||||||||||||
| Ontario Government | https://news.ontario.ca/mof/en/2020/03/ontarios-action-plan-responding-to-covid-19.html | |||||||||||||||
| Alberta Government | https://www.alberta.ca/covid-19-support-for-employers.aspx | |||||||||||||||
| CRA | https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/campaigns/covid-19-update.html | |||||||||||||||
| CERB | https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2020/03/introduces-canada-emergency-response-benefit-to-help-workers-and-businesses.html | |||||||||||||||
| BCAP | https://www.bdc.ca/en/pages/special-support.aspx | |||||||||||||||
| CEBA | https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan/covid19-businesses.html#business_credit_availability_program | |||||||||||||||
| CFIB | https://www.cfib-fcei.ca/en/small-business-resources-dealing-covid-19 | |||||||||||||||