Good Afternoon All,
Here we are again - I believe this is the start of week 7 of the shut down.
Here are the updates from the PM's briefing this morning:
75% Wage Subsidy
- This portal opened this morning so employers can apply to get the subsidy for their workers.
- This program will pay up to $847.00 per employee per week ($3,388 per month)
- To be eligible to apply the employer needs to show a minimum revenue decrease of 15% in the month of March 2020 and you can use your Jan. and Feb. 2020 revenue figures as a reference.
- Go to canada.ca to access the application; you can set up direct deposits and should receive payments starting on May 7/20
- This program is retroactive to March 15/20
Emergency Response Benefit
- This is for people who have lost their jobs. If you have any employees who have registered for this benefit they need to reconfirm that they are still unemployed in order to get their May payment.
- People can NOT receive both of these benefits - it will need to be one or the other - either the 75% wage subsidy or the Emergency Response benefit. So if you plan to bring an employee back through the wage subsidy then they can't collect the emergency benefit.
Commercial Rent Relief Program
- The PM didn't provide any further information today on this program.
- Julie - if you have any further details that you can provide that would be appreciated and I will share with our business members. One of the big questions is the term "rent" - does this refer to just base rent or the full rent that includes taxes, insurance etc.
- For those BIA members who have had a chance to discuss this rent relief program with your landlords/tenants please let me know if this is going to be a workable solution for the issue of April, May and June rent payments.
The question of reopening...
- The PM is working with all provinces to create science based guidelines and checklists that will be used to make decisions on when and how to reopen different parts of the country. Each province is at different stages of the virus so it won't be a blanket reopening and it will be a careful, staggered reopening in each province when it's deemed safe to do so.
- There is a question about ensuring that there is enough ppe for businesses to use when reopening. This is something that we will need to keep track of.
- At the moment the Province of Ontario is still in Emergency shut-down until May 13. This is based on the Premier's statement made on April 14 - he extended the shut-down at that time for an additional 28 days.
City of Toronto programs for small businesses
- The City's BIA office has asked that I circulate the information below to all of our BIA members should you wish to use any of the services listed.
1) BusinessTO Support Centre – businesses can request to book an appointment and speak directly with a Business Advisor. Please see link:
2) Weekly Webinars for Small Businesses. We have retained accountants to facilitate these – they will run through the various Government programs available and will answer direct questions for anyone who registers. Here is the Eventbrite link for the next one - April 29:
Susan