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Update / Mise à jour: Small Business Week and COVID-19 / la Semaine de la Petite Entreprise et COVID-19

October 19, 2020

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Good morning / bonjour,

(le français suit)

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 is the start of Small Business Week 2020! Thank you all who have shared stories of small business resilience with Eleanore already, and please feel free to continue to do so: eleanore.catenaro@international.gc.ca.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Monday, October 12th

On Monday, the Minister spoke with her Israeli counterpart Amir Peretz to highlight the successes of the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement and talk about how our two countries can continue to work together to grow our trade relationship to benefit our businesses and workers.

Wednesday, October 14th 

Details are now available the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, learn more about how the wage subsidy can support your business through to next summer!On Wednesday, the Minister attended a virtual roundtable with Black business owners in Toronto, to discuss the recent announcement of Canada’s first-ever Black Entrepreneurship Program and how we can better support Black entrepreneurs.

On Wednesday afternoon the Minister attended the BIDEM conference, to highlight the support we have available to all our entrepreneurs, including Canada’s large and vibrant Caribbean diaspora, and those who want to expand into the Caribbean market.

The Minister also spoke with Mexico’s Secretary of Economy, Graciela Márquez Colín on Wednesday, to discuss the implementation of the new NAFTA and how we can work together on a sustainable global recovery for people in both countries.

Thursday, October 15th

On Thursday, Minister Ng announced she will lead a virtual trade mission to South Korea at the end of this month – you can apply before October 23rd! This mission will help Canadian entrepreneurs take advantage of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement and opportunities in the dynamic Asia-Pacific region. This builds upon the recently announced first-ever virtual trade mission for women entrepreneurs to South Korea, hosted by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

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 here.
  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. 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.

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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