Hi Folks,
My apologies for the delay in sending this info to you - yesterday our BIA members on Broadview south of Danforth had a horrible day with the watermain construction - they were without water from 9am until almost 8pm. So they were a priority.
Yesterday afternoon the Federal government released their 2021 Economic & Fiscal Update and it contains some information that is important for small businesses. Please take some time to read through the following. I will provide more specific details as they become available.
Click here for the full Economic and Fiscal Update and for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance's speech.
Key Items:
- Extending the deadline for repayment of Canada Emergency Business Account loans.
- Extending the Canada Recovery Hiring Program
- The Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program would provide support through wage and rent subsidies to organizations in the tourism and hospitality sectors such as hotels, tour operators, travel agencies, restaurants and organizations that plan and host festivals or live performances, with a subsidy rate of up to 75 per cent.
- The Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program would provide support through wage and rent subsidies to organizations that have faced deep losses, with a subsidy rate of up to 50 per cent.
- Extending Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP) to March 31, 2022.
- The Local Lockdown Program would provide organizations that face new local COVID-19-related lockdowns with up to the maximum amount available through the wage and rent subsidy programs including the
- Worker Lockdown Benefit: if a worker has a personal revenue decrease of 50% due to lockdown measures, they are eligible to receive $300 a week.
- To help strengthen supply chains and address bottlenecks, in 2021-22, the government will launch a new, targeted call for proposals under the National Trade Corridors Fund to assist Canadian ports with the acquisition of cargo storage capacity and other measures to relieve supply chain congestion. The Fund will dedicate up to $50 million to support eligible priority projects. Further details on the targeted call for proposals will be announced in the coming weeks.
- Small Businesses Air Quality Improvement Tax Credit of 25 per cent on eligible air quality improvement expenses incurred by small businesses to make it more affordable for them to invest in safer and healthier ventilation and air filtration.
- Proposing $1.7 billion to Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada to continue supporting provinces and territories in securing the rapid testing supplies they need to keep Canadians safe and healthy, including through expanded school and workplace testing programs.
Susan Puff