Chefs working at a restaurant

Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program now open

The federal government’s new Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program, a COVID-19 relief measure designed to help businesses operating in hard-hit sectors such as hospitality and tourism, is now accepting applications. The program provides loans—fully guaranteed by the Business Development Bank of Canada—of between $25,000 and $1 million to qualifying businesses. Loans of as much […]

Ontario launches Small Business Support Grant to aid COVID-19-impacted organizations

The application window for the Ontario Small Business Support Grant is now open. The provincial COVID-19 relief measure is intended as yet another lifeline to aid struggling small to medium-sized businesses across Ontario that have been forced to close or reduce services due to the most recent province-wide lockdown. Qualifying businesses—including corporations, partnerships, charities, non-profits and […]

Fall Economic Statement 2020 Parliament buildings Centre Block

Fall Economic Statement predicts record deficits, extends COVID-19 relief measures for business

The federal government’s Fall Economic Statement 2020 delivered few surprises. As expected, it did not provide a clear fiscal anchor for the year ahead. Nor was there a plan to return to fiscal balance in the near future. Ottawa hasn’t delivered a formal budget since March, 2019, well before the coronavirus pandemic sent the country’s […]

2020 Ontario budget posts record deficits, offers major spending to support business

In tabling the 2020 Ontario Budget yesterday, the provincial government reminded us that the path to fiscal stability will be long and arduous as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic—and that new COVID-19 lockdowns could still inflict major economic damage. In doing so, Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives scrapped plans to balance the budget in […]

Office workers

COVID-19 Update: Ottawa extends CERB, overhauls Employment Insurance program

As the fall approaches, federal COVID-19 relief measures are slowly wound down and the economic recovery plods along at a glacial pace with a potential pandemic second wave looming large, Ottawa understood that Canadians would need additional financial assistance in the months ahead. It delivered a costly new aid package last week that includes significant […]

Construction workers and Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy extended

COVID-19: Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy extended and expanded

As the federal government takes steps to slowly wind down COVID-19 relief measures such as the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit, its economic recovery strategy is becoming clearer after it was announced on Friday that the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy  would be extended to November 21st, 2020 (or nine claim periods) and possibly to December 31st, […]

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What USMCA means for Canadian businesses doing cross-border trade with the U.S.

  U.S. President Donald Trump has gotten his way. The new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was put into effect as of July 1—the earliest date possible following the agreement’s ratification in April. Modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement (the USMCA’s predecessor) was a key part of Trump’s campaign in 2016 and the pressure was on […]

CECRA Toronto skyline

COVID-19: A primer on the CECRA rent relief program for SMEs

We’ve blogged extensively in recent weeks about the much-maligned Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program (CECRA) and its undue complexity—even though the initiative is intended to relieve the burden on small and mid-sized businesses struggling due to COVID-19. We’ve been fielding countless calls from entrepreneurs who are still confused about the program and how it […]