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Thank you for following along with our updates. As always, please let us know if you would like to be removed from our list, or if you have contacts that should be added.
Today, our government announced that the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) will be available to businesses that have been operating out of a non-business banking account, as early as today.
To be eligible, businesses must have been operating as a business as of March 1, 2020, must successfully open a business account at a Canadian financial institution that is participating in CEBA, and meet the other existing CEBA eligibility criteria. The deadline to apply for CEBA is December 31, 2020.
CEBA is part of our economic response plan to help Canadians and Canadian businesses deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The measures under this plan are helping businesses keep their doors open, keep their employees on payroll, protect the jobs that Canadians depend on, and recover quickly when the time comes.
Get the details here!
WEEK IN REVIEW
Last week was Small Business Week 2020! We celebrated resilient small businesses in every corner of the country. By working together, we will help our businesses emerge from this crisis even stronger and more resilient.
Tuesday October 20
Minister Ng announced $12 million through the Canada United Small Business Relief Fund to provide grants of up to $5,000 to thousands of small businesses to help them cover the costs of PPE, make physical modifications to their businesses to meet local health and safety requirements, and enhance their digital or e-commerce capabilities. *Applications for these grants OPEN TODAY at 1pm!*
Wednesday, October 21
On Wednesday, the Minister virtually attended the Milken Institute’s 2020 Global Conference, where she spoke on how to help businesses take advantage of the opportunities in e-commerce and digital trade, which will be essential to economic recovery as well as future business growth.
Thursday, October 22
Our government is focused on giving young entrepreneurs financial relief, as well as mental health support. On Thursday, the Minister spoke with young entrepreneurs at Futurpreneur Canada’s Trailblazers: Mental Health & Entrepreneurship event where young business owners shared their stories of struggle, strength, and resilience.
On Thursday evening, Minister Ng participated in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial meeting on small and medium-sized businesses. Ministers discussed the best way to support businesses amid COVID-19, and advancing digital trade and e-commerce to help businesses succeed in the economy of the future.
Friday, October 23
On Friday, our government announced an investment of $214 million for made-in-Canada vaccines. We also announced an agreement with Medicago to secure up to 76 million doses of their vaccine candidate. As we continue to address the impacts of COVID-19, our government is actively pursuing the purchase and development of vaccines, treatments, and related supplies to protect Canadians.
WHERE TO START:
To get the help you need:
- Visit our government’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan website for information about supporting your employees and your business.
- Contact your local financial institution. Since we know most small businesses have a relationship with their local financial institution already, we’ve worked with the financial sector to increase their lending capacity to support you in this challenging time. They are an excellent first resource.
- Consult the Canadian Business Resilience Network, a partnership between our government and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce to help your business prepare, persevere and prosper through this crisis.
- Check out the new PPE Supply Hub – Canadian businesses in need of personal protective equipment, and businesses looking to sell these supplies can go to this hub to connect.
- Make the POST Promise to show employees and customers that you take COVID-19 prevention seriously by practicing key health and safety steps and maintain a safe workplace.
- Consult the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety – for a free online course to provide businesses with all the information they need to reopen safely.
- To help slow the spread of COVID-19 and safely reopen our economy, download the COVID Alert App here.
THE TEAM:
For assistance at any time, please reach out to the team member below who represents your region. Based on the current volume of email, if you reply to this email directly without copying the appropriate regional team member, my response may be significantly delayed.
- Ivana Spasovska, Senior Special Assistant, Regional Affairs and Stakeholder Relations – ivana.spasovska@international.gc.ca
- Zach Nixon, Special Assistant, Regional Affairs (Ontario, Atlantic) – Zachary.nixon@international.gc.ca
- Youmy Han, Press Secretary and Special Assistant, Regional Affairs (West and North) – youmy.han@international.gc.ca
- Arevig Afarian, Special Assistant, Regional Affairs (Quebec) – arevig.afarian@international.gc.ca