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Update from the Office of the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade

January 26, 2021

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This afternoon, President Joe Biden signed a “Buy American” executive order. Please see below for Minister Ng’s response:

“Our government will always stand up for Canadian workers.  The Prime Minister raised this with the President on Friday, emphasizing that workers in the United States and Canada benefit from our integrated, secure, and resilient supply chains.

The Prime Minister and President agreed to consult closely, and discussions between our two countries are already underway.

Canada is the largest export market for the U.S., buying more goods from the U.S. than China, Japan and the UK combined. Canada is the number one customer for 32 U.S. states.

We will continue to work closely together to support sustainable economic recovery, create jobs, and grow middle class in Canada and the United States.”

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW

  • Last week, members from Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service took part in a Canada-USA adaawewigamig (Indigenous Business Export Dialogue) led by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Businesses (CCAB). This is the second Indigenous export mission led by the CCAB, designed to support Indigenous economic recovery during the COVID-19 challenges and present good ways to support the growth of Indigenous exports and the development of resilient international Indigenous supply chains. For more information, please contact the CCAB at: pwatson@ccab.com.
  • It’s a New Year and Minister Ng has some advice for businesses as we enter 2021! Read her article here.
  • We were thrilled to see that on a list of 100 global leaders in Cleantech, 11 of the companies selected were Canadian. Canada is a global leader for cleantech and sustainable growth. Congratulations to these excellent businesses, you can read more about what they do here.

Tuesday, January 19th 

Local chambers of commerce have been crucial to supporting businesses during this pandemic. On Tuesday, Minister Ng virtually toured British Columbia, meeting with businesses and local chambers of commerce, as we continue to look for their input and feedback. She also met with Black business owners in Vancouver to discuss ways our government can best support them – including through the Black Entrepreneurship Program.

Also on Tuesday, Minister Ng had her first call with her BC counterpart Ravi Kahlon, to discuss how the federal government and BC can best work together to support businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister Ng joined the Breaking Barriers Podcast, to discuss how our government is supporting women during this pandemic & to offer advice to women business owners. Listen up!

Wednesday, January 20th 

Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, and Prime Minister Trudeau was the first world leader to speak with the new President — our government looks forward to continuing our strong relationship with our closest neighbor and pursuing policies for an inclusive, sustainable recovery that benefit both of our countries.

On the President’s decision regarding the Keystone XL pipeline, please read the Prime Minister’s statement here.

Thursday, January 21st

On Thursday, Minister Ng spoke with the Guelph Chamber of Commerce for a virtual fireside chat about how our government is supporting and workers and small businesses in Guelph.

WHERE TO START:

To get the help you need: 

  1. To help slow the spread of COVID-19 and safely reopen our economy, download the COVID Alert App.
  2. Visit our government’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan website for information about supporting your employees and your business.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety – for a free online course to provide businesses with all the information they need to reopen safely.

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.

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