Federal Government 

• The federal government announced an investment of $100 million to improve access to food for Canadians facing social, economic, and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic 
• The Government of Canada will provide funding to national, regional, and local organizations across Canada that are able to reach people and communities experiencing food insecurity 
  • Including Food Banks Canada, Salvation Army, Second Harvest, Community Food Centres Canada, and Breakfast Club of Canada 

Newfoundland 

• The Department of Fisheries and Land Resources is extending the annual validation expiry date for all current existing aquaculture licences in Newfoundland and Labrador from March 31, 2020 to May 31, 2020 
• The Provincial Government has launched an online resource to provide accurate and timely information and data about the coronavirus pandemic. The COVID-19 Data Hub uses a geographical information system (GIS) to map daily COVID-19 information updates across the province
• The Provincial Government is asking all individuals and businesses that receive payments from the Provincial Government via cheque to transition to electronic payments as soon as possible 
  • This applies to all cheque payments issued by the Provincial Government including pensioner payroll, income support payments to individuals and landlords, as well as general accounts payable payments 

Prince Edward Island

• The province announced a $15 million increase to the Emergency Contingency Fund in anticipation of the evolving critical needs of Island families, workers and businesses 
• The province also outlined additional financial measures to help residents with property tax relief through amendments to the Real Property Tax Act regulations, including the option to defer property tax payment.  
  • The measures include:
    • Deferring provincial property tax and fee payments until December 31, 2020 
    • Extending property assessment appeal deadlines for assessment year 2020 to December 31, 2020 
    • Providing interest relief for tax year 2020, including all past due amounts 
    • Suspending tax sale processes for the remainder of 2020 
    • Delaying mailing of provincial tax bills for 2020 until June 

New Brunswick

• The Emergency Bridging Fund for Vulnerable Post-Secondary Students will support students who are directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic 
• The funds will be distributed by post-secondary institutions based upon eligibility criteria and will provide a one-time amount of up to $750 per student 

Ontario

• The Ontario government is reducing the list of businesses classified as essential and ordering more workplaces to close 
• The government is ordering all businesses not covered by the updated Emergency Order to close effective as of Saturday, April 4, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. 
• This closure will be in effect for 14 days, with the possibility of an extension as the situation evolves 
• Teleworking, online commerce and other innovative ways of working remotely are permitted at all times and are strongly encouraged for all businesses 
• The updated essential businesses list can be found here 
• Business-owners with questions concerning their essential business status are encouraged to call the Stop the Spread hotline at 1-888-444-3659
• The government is implementing additional measures to protect frontline workers in essential businesses by adding more than 60 special consultants and officers and doubling the number of phone agents at its Health and Safety Call Centre to 50 to make it easier for workers to report safety concerns 

Manitoba

As part of the Manitoba Protection Plan, the province is providing the following protections for the next six months until October 1:

• instructing Manitoba Hydro, Centra Gas and Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) to not charge interest or penalties in the event that Manitobans are unable to pay at this time 
• instructing MPI to relax ordinary practices on policy renewals and collections
• instructing Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries not to charge interest on receivables from restaurants, bars and specialty wine stores
• supporting Workers Compensation Board (WCB) to do the same and asking WCB to extend relief from penalties for late payments
• directing Manitoba Hydro and Centra Gas to not disconnect customers during these times 
• working with municipal partners to ensure municipalities do not charge interest on provincial education taxes and school division fees and the province is encouraging municipalities to do the same with respect to their own taxes and will start discussions to support implementation 

The government is also deferring provincial income tax and corporate income tax filing deadlines and payments to coincide with the current revised federal deferral of income tax to August 31. 

The new measures are in addition to the recently announced two-month deferral for small businesses that remit up to $10,000 in Manitoba payroll tax or $10,000 in sales tax.  This will result in $80 million in deferred remittance to the province. 

British Columbia 

• The government is providing an additional $1.5 million to supplement the Indigenous Emergency Assistance Fund, which assists Indigenous students who are experiencing an unexpected financial emergency that may affect their ability to finish their studies
• Students who access the emergency funding do not have to repay it