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COVID-19 self-assessment

COVID-19 self-assessment

Impacted Township Services

The following Township Facilities are CLOSED to the public until further notice:

None

Information

Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan –

The Government of Canada is taking immediate, significant and decisive action to support Canadians and businesses facing hardship as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

This response plan is looking to continue to provide information and resources to help with:

    • Support for individuals
    • Support for businesses
    • Support for sectors
    • Support for organizations helping Canadians
    • Support for provinces and territories

For a full list of federal resources, please click HERE

Government of Ontario –

    • www.ontario.ca/coronavirus – The Ontario Ministry of Health reports on the status of cases in Ontario each morning at 10:30 am.
  • Thunder Bay District Health Unit –
    • www.TBDHU.COM/coronavirus – The Health Unit’s website contains links to credible sources of information for both the public and local health care providers.

Avoiding Layoffs

Work-Sharing Program – Work-Sharing (WS) is a program that helps employers and employees avoid layoffs when there is a temporary decrease in business activity beyond the control of the employer. The program provides Employment Insurance (EI) benefits to eligible employees who agree to reduce their normal working hours and share the available work while their employer recovers. Work-Sharing is an agreement between employers, employees and the Government of Canada. The maximum duration of the work sharing program has been extended from 38 weeks to 76 weeks.

This program is not limited to one specific industry and is running from March 15th 2020 to March 14th 2021. For more information, you can visit https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/work-sharing/notice-covid-19.html#h2.02

Wage Subsidy – As a Canadian employer who has seen a drop in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be eligible for a subsidy to cover part of your employee wages, retroactive to March 15. This subsidy will enable you to re-hire workers, help prevent further job losses, and ease your business back into normal operations. For more information on the most up to date rate changes and claim periods, please visit  https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan/wage-subsidy.html

Access to Credit

Canada Emergency Business Account –

The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) provides interest-free, partially forgivable, loans of up to $60,000, to small businesses and not-for-profits, that have experienced diminished revenues due to COVID-19 but face ongoing non-deferrable costs, such as rent, utilities, insurance, taxes and wages.

The CEBA has recently been expanded to include an additional interest-free $20,000 loan, 50% of which would be forgivable if repaid by December 31, 2022.

This means the additional loan effectively increases CEBA loans from the existing $40,000 to $60,000 for eligible businesses, of which a total of $20,000 will be forgiven if the balance of the loan is repaid by December 31, 2022.

Business owners can apply for support until March 31, 2021 through their banks and credit unions.

For additional details and information on more Canadian programs you can visit https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html#businesses

Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) COVID-19 Supports –

Ontario Small Business Support Grant –

The Ontario Small Business Support Grant is intended to help small businesses (excluding sole proprietorships) in Ontario that are required to close or significantly restrict services under Ontario's provincewide shutdown effective December 26, 2020.

Eligible businesses can receive between $10,000 and $20,000. Starting at $10,000 for all eligible businesses, the grant will provide businesses with funding up to a maximum of $20,000 to help with revenue losses expected as a result of the provincewide shutdown. Businesses will be able to use the support in whatever way makes the most sense for them.

Applicants must demonstrate that they experienced a revenue decline of at least 20% when comparing monthly revenue in April 2019 and April 2020.

For a complete breakdown of this program, including Application Requirements, Payment, Eligible Businesses, Calculating Revenue Loss, and more details, click HERE

Application Deadline: March 31, 2021

Loan Guarantee for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises –

Through the Business Credit Availability Program, Export Development Canada (EDC) is working with financial institutions to guarantee 80% of new operating credit and cash flow term loans of up to $6.25 million to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

This financing support is to be used for operational expenses and is available to both exporting and non-exporting companies.

This support is available until June 2021. This program is now available at various banks and credit unions.

For more information, please visit https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html#businesses

Co-Lending Program for SME’s —

Through the Business Credit Availability Program, Business Development Canada (BDC) is working with financial institutions to co-lend term loans of up to $6.25 million to SMEs for their operational cash flow requirements.

The program offers differing maximum finance amounts based on business revenues.

This support is available until June 2021. This program is now available at various banks and credit unions.

For more information, please visit https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html#businesses

Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) — 

The Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) provides a direct and easy-to-access rent and mortgage subsidy of up to 65% of eligible expenses to qualifying businesses, charities and non-profits. The subsidy rates are in effect until December 19, 2020. This support is available directly to tenants.

Lockdown Support: Qualifying organizations that have been significantly restricted by a mandatory public health order issued by a qualifying public health authority can receive an additional 25% of rent support through the Lockdown Support.

The combined effect of the rent subsidy and the Lockdown Support is that hard-hit businesses, non-profits and charities subject to a lockdown can receive rent support of up to 90%.

The rent subsidy and the Lockdown Support are available until June 2021.

For more information, please visit https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html#businesses

Canada- Regional Relief and Recovery Fund – Northern Ontario (RRRF)

In Northern Ontario, the program is being delivered through FedNor with a total allocation of 49.5M for Northern Ontario.

This program is intended to support a) businesses, including Indigenous businesses, that have not qualified or been rejected from other Canada- COVID support programs and b) not-for-profit organizations that support businesses in Northern Ontario. There are clear eligible and non-eligible costs in the eligibility document and maximum funding will not normally exceed $250,000.

Program Press Release: https://www.canada.ca/en/fednor/news/2020/05/covid-19-fednor-launches-regional-relief-and-recovery-fund-to-support-local-economies.html

Eligibility Requirements and Application Information: https://fednor.gc.ca/eic/site/fednor-fednor.nsf/eng/fn04592.html#6

Important: The program opens May 13 2020, with applications being accepted until the funds run out, once the funds are fully allocated, applications will no longer be accepted.

Ontario and Canada Helping Businesses Go Digital

$57 million investment will be made in Digital Main Street in order to help businesses reopen, recover and grow long after COVID-19.

Through the $57 million contribution to the Digital Main Street platform, businesses will be able to take advantage of three new programs in order to support their digital transformation:

    • shopHERE powered by Google will leverage Ontario's strengths by hiring highly skilled and trained students to build and support the launch of online stores for businesses that previously did not have the capacity to do so themselves. The core goal will be to help small businesses compete and grow, in a world that is increasingly online, and help them recover as quickly as possible following COVID-19.
    • Digital Main Street Grant will help main street small businesses be digitally more effective. Through a $2,500 grant administered by the Ontario BIA Association, small businesses will be able to adopt new technologies and embrace digital marketing. Municipalities, Chambers of Commerce, and Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) can apply for a Digital Service Squad grant, which will allow them to establish teams to provide personalized, one-on-one support.
    • Future-Proofing Main Street will provide specialized and in-depth digital transformation services and support that helps existing main-street firms adapt to changes in their sector and thrive in the new economy. By leveraging teams of digital marketing professionals and talented students, these firms will be able to create new online business models, develop and implement digital and e-commerce marketing strategies, and maximize digital tools, platforms and content.

For more information on either of these three programs, please see Digital Main Street

Recovery Activation Program –

The Recovery Activation Program, operated through the Toronto Region Board of Trade, will help businesses grow and digitize their operations with custom consulting sessions, online resource sharing, learning webcasts and business planning. This program will be offered province-wide and will beat no cost to businesses.

About 60 percent of Ontario's small enterprises have a website, and only seven percent have an online payment solution. Digitally, Canadian businesses are estimated to be two years behind their U.S. counterparts.

In response to this, the Ontario government is going to be providing significant support to small business. Along with the Digital Main Street platform, the province is investing an additional $150 million in rural broadband which will help open the digital road for many Ontario small businesses. In addition, the province has proposed a ban on commercial evictions to help businesses that have been impacted by restrictions due to COVID-19.

WSIB

The Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB) has launched the Health and Safety Excellence Program: COVID-19 Support program. This program looks to assist employers financially and non-financially by recognizing the great efforts they have already demonstrated in keeping their employees and the public safe.

If you would like to join the Health and Safety Excellence Program or would like to know more information on the program, please contact an approved provider OR email WSIB