470 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

Yes that’s a great idea. All of the measures and programs are getting confusing.

[spanky123]

Does anyone have a compiled set of links to Provincial and Federal financial aid programs? Maybe we should start a “Financial Aid” thread where we can gather and share this type of information.

It could be helpful to some.

 

BDC Webinar How to cope with the impacts of COVID-19 on your business - Watch the webinar on YouTube / Comment faire face aux impacts de la COVID-19 sur votre entreprise - Visionnez le webinaire sur YouTube

English: https://www.bdc.ca/e...72&elqcsid=9995

French: https://www.bdc.ca/f...72&elqcsid=9995

 

EDC support announced March 24, 2020 / Appui EDC annoncé le 24 mars 2020

English: https://www.edc.ca/e...s-covid-19.html

French: https://www.edc.ca/f...s-covid-19.html

 

Canada Revenue Agency - Helping Canadians with the economic impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic / l’Agence du revenu du Canada - Aider les Canadiens avec l'impact économique de la pandémie de COVID-19

English : https://www.canada.c...-19-update.html

French: https://www.canada.c...r-covid-19.html

 

Exemptions to travel restrictions to protect Canadians and support the economy / Exemptions aux restrictions de voyage afin de protéger les Canadiens et d’appuyer l’économie

English : https://www.canada.c...he-economy.html

French: https://www.canada.c...-leconomie.html

 

Prime Minister announces support for farmers and agri-food businesses under Canada’s response to COVID-19 / Le premier ministre annonce un soutien pour les agriculteurs et les entreprises agroalimentaires dans le cadre de la réponse du Canada à la COVID-19

English : https://pm.gc.ca/en/...food-businesses

French: https://pm.gc.ca/fr/...culteurs-et-les

 

Expedited access to disinfectants, hand sanitizers and personal protective equipment to help limit the spread of COVID-19, as well as swabs for testing / Accès accéléré aux désinfectants, aux antiseptiques pour les mains et à l'équipement de protection individuelle pour aider à limiter la propagation de COVID-19, ainsi qu' aux écouvillons pour les tests

English: https://healthycanad.../72623a-eng.php

French: https://canadiensens.../72623a-fra.php

 

BDC Webinar (March 25^th) How to cope with the impacts of COVID-19 on your business / Comment faire face aux impacts de la COVID-19 sur votre entreprise

English: https://www.bdc.ca/e...72&elqcsid=9995

French: https://www.bdc.ca/f...72&elqcsid=9995

 

Business Credit Availability Program/ Programme de credit pour les entreprises

EN: https://www.canada.c...ty-program.html

FR: https://www.canada.c...ntreprises.html

 

Resources for Canadian businesses: COVID-19 / Ressources pour les enterprises canadiennes: COVID-19

English: https://www.canada.c...businesses.html

French: https://www.canada.c...anadiennes.html

 

Call to Action: Canadian manufacturers needed to help combat COVID-19 / Appel aux fournisseurs canadiens: Aidez à combattre la COVID-19

English: https://www.canada.c...ers-needed.html

French: https://www.canada.c...facturiers.html

 

COVID-19 Economic Response Plan Announcements/Annonces sur le plan économique face au COVID-19:

Prime Minister announces more support for workers and businesses through Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan / Le premier ministre annonce un soutien supplémentaire aux travailleurs et aux entreprises grâce au Plan d'intervention économique du Canada pour répondre à la COVID-19

English : https://pm.gc.ca/en/...inesses-through

French : https://pm.gc.ca/fr/...ux-travailleurs

 

Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan / Plan d'intervention économique du Canada pour répondre à la COVID-19

English : https://www.canada.c...ponse-plan.html

French: https://www.canada.c...economique.html

 

Stay Connected/Soyez informés

Canada Business App – Appli Affaires Canada : www.canada.ca/business-app.

 

COVID-19 subscription for Public Health Updates/Inscription pour les mises à jour sur la santé publique:

English: https://www.canada.c.../subscribe.html

French: https://www.canada.c...abonnement.html

 

Business Supports/ Appui aux entreprises :

Department of Finance - Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan: Support for Canadians and Businesses / Ministère des Finances : Plan d'intervention économique du Canada pour répondre à la COVID-19

English: https://www.canada.c...businesses.html

French: https://www.canada.c...a-covid-19.html

 

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Resources for Canadian businesses / Maladie à coronavirus (COVID-19) : Ressources pour les entreprises canadiennes

English : https://www.tradecom...s.aspx?lang=eng

French: https://www.delegues...s.aspx?lang=fra

 

Work-Sharing Program - Temporary special measures / Programme de travail partagé - Mesures spéciales temporaires:

English: https://www.canada.c...try-sector.html

French: https://www.canada.c...-forestier.html

 

Canada Revenue Agency - Helping Canadians with the economic impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic / l’Agence du revenu du Canada - Aider les Canadiens avec l'impact économique de la pandémie de COVID-19

English : https://www.canada.c...-19-update.html

French: https://www.canada.c...r-covid-19.html

 

What Canada’s Regional Development Agencies are doing to help business during the COVID-19 pandemic/ Ce que font les agences de développement régional (ADR) du Canada pour aider les entreprises pendant la pandémie de COVID-19

English : HTML - PDF version

French: HTML - Version PDF

 

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) – Employment and Social Development Canada/Emploi et développement social Canada – maladie à COVID-19

English: https://www.canada.c...oronavirus.html

French: https://www.canada.c...oronavirus.html

 

Export Development Canada COVID-19/Exportation et développement Canada

English: https://www.edc.ca/e...s-covid-19.html

French: https://www.edc.ca/f...s-covid-19.html

 

Business Development Bank of Canada – Banque de développement du Canada

English: https://www.bdc.ca/e...tiative=covid19

French: https://www.bdc.ca/f...tiative=covid19

 

Canadian Chamber of Commerce – Chambre de commerce du Canada

English: http://www.chamber.c...c-preparedness/

French: http://www.chamber.c...a-une-pandemie/

 

World Health Organization COVID-19 -  Business and Employees / Organisation mondiale de la santé – entreprises et employés

English: https://www.epi-win.com/advice-and-information/business-and-employees

 

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters COVID-19 Resources

https://cme-mec.ca/c...d-19-resources/

 

Council of Canadian Innovators – COVID-19 Slack Channel (you must create an account)

English: http://bit.ly/COVID19SlackChannel

 

Facebook

English: Business Resource Hub: https://www.facebook.../boost/resource

 

Canadian Federation of Independent Business – Fédération canadienne de l’entreprise indépendante

English: https://www.cfib-fce...avirus-business

French: https://www.cfib-fce...rus-entreprises

 

Uber Eats

Tweet: https://twitter.com/...523442556391425

Blog post: https://www.uber.com...od-not-finances

Press release: https://www.business...ort-U.S.-Canada

 

Innovative Medicines Canada

COVID-19: Working Together on a Solution: http://innovativemed...d-19-lowres.pdf

 

Innovative Medicines Canada: Statement on Canada’s Drug Supply / Déclaration portant sur l’approvisionnement en médicaments : IMC

English: http://innovativemed...as-drug-supply/

French: http://innovativemed...as-drug-supply/

 

Save Small Business.ca

English: https://savesmallbusiness.ca/

 

The Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) is providing regular Coronavirus (COVID-19) updates and resources for the CFA member community to stay informed and be prepared.

English: https://www.cfa.ca/covid-19/

[Sparky]

^ WOW Spanky. That is a fantastic list.

[Mike K.]

Wow. Thank you.

I’ll spin this off into its own thread.

[Victoria Watcher]

can we make the list smaller? who’s got all day?

[spanky123]

New announcements about to be made include a $40K interest free loan guaranteed by the Feds, 75% wage subsidy (cap and term unknown at this time), and indication that the $2,000 emergency benefit will be tax free.

 

May be too late for some businesses, especially those force shut, but may help others in areas that are still open but are suffering from a drop in demand.

[Matt R.]

The BCRFA is a good resource for this. Check their webpage. They are also sending daily “end of day” emails to recap what has happened during the day.

Matt.

[Redd42]

New announcements about to be made include a $40K interest free loan guaranteed by the Feds, 75% wage subsidy (cap and term unknown at this time), and indication that the $2,000 emergency benefit will be tax free.

 

May be too late for some businesses, especially those force shut, but may help others in areas that are still open but are suffering from a drop in demand.

 

Both of these sound like something I can use. Still doing business online. Not enough that would keep us going for long though.

[spanky123]

Both of these sound like something I can use. Still doing business online. Not enough that would keep us going for long though.

 

Happy to help out.

 

Bottom line though is that at the moment there is very little detail on these programs. More info is coming next week.

 

I think Trudeau made the announcement to try and stem the tide of layoffs and business shutdowns while the details were being worked out. Adam Stirling today said that 40% of BC'ers had been laid off or had hours reduce so far. In Ontario and Quebec that would even be higher due to forced shutdowns. 

 

In two weeks we have surpassed the depths of the great depression in terms economic collapse and back then it took 2 years to get to the bottom and 25 years to fully recover economically (although there was a world war in between).

Edited by spanky123, 27 March 2020 - 01:27 PM.

[Sparky]

Somebody has to help me here. I am confused.

These stimulus packages sound great on paper but what is a 75% wage subsidy going to do for an employer or an employee if there is no safe work for the employee to do?

I thought we were supposed to stay at home?

I am at home. Our employees are at home. As soon as everyone else stays home we can put a plank on this bastard and get past it.

How the hell is a 75% wage subsidy supposed to put an end to this chaos?

Isn’t that just an encouragement to keep everyone doing what we used to do before the virus hit the fan?

I can’t wait to see what the Easter Bunny brings.

[Sparky]

South Island doctors plead with public to stay home.

https://www.timescol...home-1.24107292

[Rob Randall]

Virtually all the retailers on Johnson street have either papered over their windows or at least removed items from their windows. I've been Downtown every day this week and seeing the streets so empty is really disorienting. It really hits hard how serious this is. It's too much to comprehend sometimes--like a dream. Then I go home to the suburbs where things seem more or less normal. Downtown is the heart of our community.

[Matt R.]

Somebody has to help me here. I am confused.
These stimulus packages sound great on paper but what is a 75% wage subsidy going to do for an employer or an employee if there is no safe work for the employee to do?
I thought we were supposed to stay at home?
I am at home. Our employees are at home. As soon as everyone else stays home we can put a plank on this bastard and get past it.
How the hell is a 75% wage subsidy supposed to put an end to this chaos?
Isn’t that just an encouragement to keep everyone doing what we used to do before the virus hit the fan?
I can’t wait to see what the Easter Bunny brings.

I’ll happily bring some people back just to hang out, do a little cleaning and make sure the windows don’t get smashed.

Matt.

[Mike K.]

Forced shut down or not, the lack of a tourism season this year will be the undoing of businesses that are to fall this year, not COVID’s self-isolation measures directly which are being met with financial aid.

The volume of visitors that so many of downtown Victoria’s businesses rely on won’t be there this year and it’s that that will have the most profound impact, I believe.

[rjag]

Local governments will have to reconsider their budgets in a massive scale

[Victoria Watcher]

Local governments will have to reconsider their budgets in a massive scale

 

i'm not really sure that's the case.  most revenue is from property tax.  that should remain relatively unchanged.  CoV is a bit of an anomaly with parking revenue and fines.  

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 28 March 2020 - 08:55 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Forced shut down or not, the lack of a tourism season this year will be the undoing of businesses that are to fall this year, not COVID’s self-isolation measures directly which are being met with financial aid.

The volume of visitors that so many of downtown Victoria’s businesses rely on won’t be there this year and it’s that that will have the most profound impact, I believe.

 

that's really why we need to defeat the virus or all get it/be vaccinated and be immune.  if all we do is suppress it for 3 or 6 or 12 or 24 or 36 months it's reasonable to think that people will not travel to any potential active spots nationally or internationally. 

 

so it could hurt leisure travel for years.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 28 March 2020 - 09:12 AM.

[spanky123]

Somebody has to help me here. I am confused.

 

The programs announced yesterday were, in my opinion, a desperate measure to keep companies from continuing to lay off employees. Even after the announcement though, YVR announced that almost 14,000 folks were losing their jobs.

 

You are quite right, if a business has zero revenue because the Government has forced them to close then paying 75% of wages likely isn't going to make a difference. The owners are still being asked to pay 25% of salaries with no idea of for how long or having any control over when they can re-open. And lets face it, even if the forced closures are lifted in 4-6 months, is there going to be a rush of people wanting to sit side by side in a restaurant, bar or venue?. 

 

Now there are businesses that have had revenue reduced, where employees can still do work from home and a wage subsidy may prevent some people from being laid off or having salaries reduced. I think that this program may be of benefit to them. There are also some companies doing very well (ie grocery stores, pharmacies, some ecommerce, etc) but they are also going to be able to collect a 75% wage subsidy and will actually profit from this program.

 

Hopefully over the weekend the Feds will think through the various scenarios and refine these programs so they make more sense.

Edited by spanky123, 28 March 2020 - 09:35 AM.

[spanky123]

i'm not really sure that's the case.  most revenue is from property tax.  that should remain relatively unchanged.  CoV is a bit of an anomaly with parking revenue and fines.  

 

A lot of CoV revenue come from sources other than property taxes. Bear in mind that the CoV has already budgeted for new assessment revenue and the 2020 surplus so any reduction in revenue has to be offset by a reduction in spending. 

[Greg]

The programs announced yesterday were, in my opinion, a desperate measure to keep companies from continuing to lay off employees. Even after the announcement though, YVR announced that almost 14,000 folks were losing their jobs.

 

You are quite right, if a business has zero revenue because the Government has forced them to close then paying 75% of wages likely isn't going to make a difference. The owners are still being asked to pay 25% of salaries with no idea of for how long or having any control over when they can re-open. And lets face it, even if the forced closures are lifted in 4-6 months, is there going to be a rush of people wanting to sit side by side in a restaurant, bar or venue?. 

 

Now there are businesses that have had revenue reduced, where employees can still do work from home and a wage subsidy may prevent some people from being laid off or having salaries reduced. I think that this program may be of benefit to them. There are some companies doing very well (ie grocery stores, pharmacies, some ecommerce, etc) but they are also going to be able to collect a 75% wage subsidy and will actually profit from this program.

 

Hopefully over the weekend the Feds will think through the various scenarios and refine these programs so they make more sense.

 

This is where the uncertainty is so problematic. You might choose to keep people and eat 25% of their wages if you knew you were going to be closed another 2-4 weeks, because the cost of filling those positions later is not insubstantial. But if you're worrying things may go 8-10 weeks, then the math is different.