CENTRE WELLINGTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PROVIDES COVID-19 GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS SUPPORT UPDATES |
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Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health Region to Return to Red, Control, as of Tuesday at 12:01am
Based on a general improvement in trends of key indicators, including lower transmission of COVID-19, improving hospital capacity, and available public health capacity to conduct rapid case and contact management, 27 public health regions will be moving back to the Framework on Tuesday, February 16, 2021 at 12:01 a.m. and will no longer be subject to the Stay-at-Home order.
Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health will return to the Framework, into the Red, Control, level.
The Framework has been updated for some sectors, notably for the Red level, there are changes to the guidelines for the Retail sector. The guidelines have changed from when we were in the Red level prior to Christmas.
RETAIL: New for Red-Control as of February 2021:
- Capacity limits of:
- 75% for supermarkets and other stores that primarily sell groceries, convenience stores, pharmacies
- 50% for all other retail, including discount and big box retailers, liquor stores, hardware stores and garden centres
- Stores must post capacity limit publicly
- Stores must have passive screening for patrons (for example, posting signs outside the store front about not entering if you have COVID-19 symptoms)
To review the Framework, click here.
To read the full announcement from the provincial government, click here.
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What Support is Available for Your Business?
Navigating the supports that are available for your business at any given time can be a challenge. This website may help. It provides information on various programs, grants etc, COVID related and not, depending on individual business situations. Businesses fill in information based on their own situation, and then the site provides relevant information available at that time potentially for their business. Click here.
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Canada United: New Round of Applications Opens on February 16, 2021
- Canada United grants of up to $5,000 available to eligible small businesses
- Over $14 Million has been contributed to the Canada United Small Business Relief Fund by the Federal Government, RBC and Canada United partners to support recovery efforts due to COVID-19.
- The program has already provided support to over 2,000 small businesses across the country.
- We are pleased to let you know that applications will be accepted again starting next week on February 16th, 2021 at 1 p.m. EST.
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Visit https://occ.ca/canada-united-small-business-relief-fund/ for additional information.
There are three categories of purchases that are eligible for reimbursement under the program –
- Purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- Renovation of space to adhere to re-opening guidelines
- Enhancement of website/ developing e-commerce capability
Eligible expenses directly related to the above categories are permitted provided that purchases were made no earlier than March 15, 2020. All eligible expenses must be incremental and a direct result of adjusting operations for COVID-19 safety guidelines. Normal or usual ongoing business costs are not eligible.
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ONTARIO SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT GRANT:
Application deadline: March 31, 2021
Applicants must demonstrate they experienced a revenue decline of at least 20 per cent when comparing monthly revenue in April 2019 and April 2020. This time period was selected because it reflects the impact of the public health measures in spring 2020, and as such provides a representation of the possible impact of these latest measures on businesses. Note, the application portal will provide alternative revenue decline comparator months for small businesses not in operation in April 2019 or April 2020
To receive the grant, a business must:
- Be required to close or significantly restrict services due to the provincewide shutdown effective 12:01 a.m. on December 26, 2020 (please refer to “Eligible Businesses” section below)
- Experienced revenue decline of at least 20 per cent
- Had 99 employees or less at the enterprise level (An enterprise is a corporation, unincorporated business, partnership, charity, non-profit organization or any other type of entity operating a business in Ontario)
Eligible Businesses:
Eligible businesses are those that are required to close or significantly restrict services due to the Provincewide Shutdown.
TO DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION GUIDE WITH ALL THE DETAILS, CLICK HERE.
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Funding announced for Highly Affected Sectors
HASCAP is available to businesses across the country, in all sectors, that have been hit hard by the pandemic. This includes restaurants, businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors, and those that rely on in-person service.
Download the HASCAP one-pager reference sheet here.
Through HASCAP, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) will work with participating Canadian financial institutions to offer government-guaranteed, low-interest loans of up to $1 million. These loans are for small and medium-sized businesses that have seen their revenues decrease by 50% or more as a result of COVID-19.
To be eligible for HASCAP, businesses need to show a year-over-year revenue decline of at least 50% in three months, within the eight months prior to their application. They must also be able to show their financial institutions that they have previously applied for either the CEWS or the CERS.
Eligible businesses can start applying as early as February 1. Interested businesses should contact their primary lender to get more information and to apply. More information is available at www.bdc.ca/hascap.
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Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce
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