Federal Government: 

The federal government has reached an agreement in principle with all provinces and territories to implement the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses. 

This program will lower rent by 75 per cent for small businesses that have been affected by COVID-19. 

The government is also providing further details on the program:

• The program will provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50 per cent of three monthly rent payments that are payable by eligible small business tenants who are experiencing financial hardship
• The loans will be forgiven if the mortgaged property owner agrees to reduce the eligible small business tenants’ rent by at least 75 per cent for the three corresponding months under a rent forgiveness agreement 
• Impacted small business tenants are businesses paying less than $50,000 per month in rent and who have temporarily ceased operations or have experienced at least a 70 per cent drop in pre-COVID-19 revenues. This support will also be available to non-profit and charitable organizations 

 

Newfoundland: 

• The province has amended the Credit Union Regulations, 2009 to allow credit unions to avail of the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) program 
• To support the province’s credit unions and their commercial members, the government has amended the regulations to provide all of the province’s credit unions with the ability to access federal commercial loan programs to help Newfoundland and Labrador businesses deal with the financial impacts from the COVID-19 public health emergency 

 

Nova Scotia: 

• The province announced the COVID-19 Small Business Credit and Support Program as a temporary stream for access to credit, cash grants and support delivered through participating credit unions 
  • The program will be available starting April 29, 2020 
  • To be eligible, small businesses must have a payroll less than $20,000 in the previous fiscal year and have experienced a decline in revenue from sales of at least 15 per cent in March or at least 30 per cent in April, May or June 
• As part of the package of supports for small businesses, the province is working with post-secondary education partners to deliver education, training and guidance to small businesses 
• A centralized hub hosted by the Nova Scotia Community College will connect businesses to support programs available from post-secondary institutions and other regional organizations 
• As well, Nova Scotia is partnering with the federal government to provide commercial rent relief for small businesses 

 

Quebec: 

• The province announced financial assistance of  $50,000 to the Association des Marchés public authorities of Quebec (AMPQ) for the deployment of a digital transactional platform for the purchase of local bio-food products 

 

Ontario: 

• The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $2.5 million to help the agri-food sector expand online, providing more opportunities for producers to grow their business 
  • The funding is being provided through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership 
• The Ontario government is partnering with the federal government to provide urgent relief for small businesses and landlords affected by the COVID-19 outbreak 
  • The province is committing $241 million through the new Ontario-Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program (OCECRA) 

 

Manitoba: 

• The Manitoba government has launched the Summer Student Recovery Plan, a new wage subsidy program to support high school and post-secondary students employed in the private and non-profit sectors 
  • Under the new program, up to $120 million is available for employers to access a $7 per hour wage subsidy, up to a maximum of $5,000 per student 
  • The program is open to Manitoba students aged 15 to 29, with an employment period from May 1 to Sept. 4 
  • Employers can be subsidized to hire up to five students 
  • Reimbursement will be provided at the end of the employment period, upon proof of payment of student wages 

 

Alberta: 

• The Site Rehabilitation Program – mainly funded by the federal government’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan – will provide grants to oilfield service contractors to perform well, pipeline, and oil and gas site reclamation work 
  • Starting now, the program is expected to create about 5,300 direct jobs 

 

Yukon: 

• The Government of Yukon has extended the deadline for property tax payments from July 2 to September 2, 2020 for citizens and businesses