BUSINESS SMARTS WEBINAR THIS WEEK!
Thursday April 30, 2020 @ 9:30 am - 10:30 am
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PUSHOR MITCHELL INSIGHTS:
Employment and Labour Law in the wake of COVID-19
- Layoffs
- Employment Contracts
- Health and Safety
- Transition Plans
Guest Speaker
Mark Grabas,
Associate Counsel, Pushor Mitchell LLP
No charge to participate but registration required.
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Did you miss our conversation with Mayor Basran?
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No problem, we recorded it and it's available for viewing at anytime on our COVID response page on our website along with our other webinars we're doing to help businesses through these challenging times.
To check out the Mayor's session or the other webinars
CLICK HERE
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BC PULSE CHECK #2: Almost half of BC businesses that are temporarily closed are not confident in their ability to reopen
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The COVID-19 crisis is deepening for BC businesses with four-in-ten (43%) of those surveyed in the most recent
Chamber Pulse Check
stating they can only continue to operate for up to 60-90 days under current restrictions. For businesses temporarily closed, the future is similarly dire, with only half (53%) expecting to reopen once the restrictions are eased on workplace operations, while 38% are unsure, and 8% will not reopen.
There is a small window to support the survival and eventual recovery of a significant number of businesses and it is, to a great extent, reliant on the scale and speed of government support, including the recently announced Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program.
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Canada Announces Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Details
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The Government of Canada has announced it has reached an agreement in principle with all provinces and territories to provide rent relief for small businesses. The program will see tenants receive a 75% reduction in their rent payments for April, May and June.
The program is for small businesses, non-profits and charities that:
- Pay less than $50,000 per month in rent.
- Have temporarily ceased operations or have experienced at least a 70% drop versus pre-COVID-19 revenues.
The program will provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50% of the eligible rent payments. The loans will be forgiven if the property owner agrees to reduce the eligible small business tenants’ rent by at least 75% and agrees not to evict the tenant. It is expected that CECRA will be operational by mid-May, and further details will be announced soon. More details to come shortly.
READ THE FULL RELEASE
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Step-By-Step Guide: Get Ready For CEWS Payments
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The Canada Revenue Agency opened the application window for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) on Monday April 27, with payments beginning next week. Review steps here if you're waiting to apply.
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BRANDT Fralick
started his career as an athletic performance coach based out of Kelowna. He was previously an internationally ranked sprinter and has represented Canada multiple times, competing on the European circuit as well as the World Junior Championships. Brandt began his athletic performance company, Nitro Velocity in 2008, adding PRIME Physiotherapy and Performance in 2014. Brandt sponsors several local youth athletes/teams.
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MELANIE Breitkreutz
leads more than 1000 participants worldwide in daily fitness routines through her website. She is passionate about encouraging women to not give up, be positive and to make health and an active lifestyle a regular part of their lives. Melanie has supported the community with fitness and nutrition classes at local schools and by participating in food drives and fundraisers for the food bank.
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ALYSSA Farr's
passion for entrepreneurship and system creation led her to pursue a career in business ownership, with a focus on contracting business strategy and operational efficiency.
Alyssa owns a small remedial construction company servicing brands such as Prospera Place, Sun-Rype, and Andrew Peller. She also focuses her practice on coaching non-profits and charities as an Entrepreneur-In-Residence with local social enterprise accelerator, Purppl. Further, she has started a tech company called Taste Advisor, making product recommendation algorithms for the alcohol industry.
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OKANAGAN BUSINESS MAKING A DIFFERENCE
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Frontline KGH Staff receive donation of Bauer PPE equipment courtesy of Chevy’s Source for Sports
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While out walking with his wife in early March, Chevy Evtushevski, owner of
Chevy's Source for Sports
in Kelowna, received a call from a friend at Bauer Hockey.
Without Chevy’s knowledge, his son Brandon Evtushevski (who is in his first year of residency in emergency medicine) reached out to Bauer in regards to the new face shields they were making in Blainville, Quebec.
Chevy and his wife Beate figured that if Brandon was inquiring about the face shields, they were probably in need. So Chevy made some calls to Bauer and placed an order for the face shields.
On April 17th he and his wife dropped off the Bauer face shields at KGH.
“The appreciation and smiles we got from frontline staff were amazing,” says Chevy. “Thanks again to all the staff at KGH for your courage.”
Thank you, Chevy and Beate from the Kelowna Chamber. Way to step up and use your unique expertise to help make a difference!
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Green Step Solution offering free consultations
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GreenStep is offering free support (via telephone) to local businesses to help identify no-cost ways to reduce energy consumption while operating at reduced hours or even experiencing a temporary closure. By reducing energy consumption, businesses will reduce their operating costs during the pandemic.
"We understand that many businesses are seeking financial support during these unprecedented times, and we hope that they get the assistance they need," Nicole Huard of GreenStep Solutions. "Our energy saving guidance aims to help businesses significantly reduce their basic operating expenses, which will allow them to focus their recovery efforts on other aspects of their businesses."
Those interested in this
free support can reach out
nicole@greenstep.ca
directly to set up a phone call.
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Secure-Rite helping local businesses and organizations
with storage needs
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Secure-Rite has been busy delivering storage containers to businesses that need help, and donating units to organizations like Interior Health and the Animal Food Bank for incoming donations.
The Kelowna-based company is also actively seeking out communities or businesses that need space for sanitization stations, worksite storage, first aid rooms, or even mobile medical facilities.
If you are looking for storage, a way to downscale your operations during the pandemic, mobile sanitization or medical stations, get in touch with the folks at Secure-Rite.
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Chamber Network Grows
A big welcome to Soul Sounds Music Therapy who recently joined us here at the Kelowna Chamber, part of Canada's most dynamic business network. Now more than ever it's important to stick together and support our local businesses. We invite you to check them out:
Whether it is our advocacy efforts to champion your cause with government, the benefits that help improve your bottom line or the business connections that you can tap into - there is no other business network like the Chamber.
To learn more just send us an email, we'd love to chat to see how we can help accelerate your success
hello@kelownachamber.org
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UPCOMING PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
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KELOWNA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | kelownachamber.org
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