ACEC-SK was one of the industry associations advocating for small business relief. Many of our members are small locally based firms and we have been hearing about your extreme cash pressures in this unprecedented time.
This afternoon, Premier Moe and Minister Jeremy Harrison announced the Saskatchewan Small Business Emergency Payment (SSBEP). You can find the government press release here:
The $50 million program will provide financial support to small and medium-sized businesses that have had to temporarily close or significantly curtail operations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will provide access of up to $5,000 to small businesses that have experienced negative revenue impacts by COVID restrictions. Simplicity of access, in that it has no threshold, will quickly get the money into the hands of companies that need it the most. The qualifying criteria can be found in the news release.
ACEC-SK thanks the government of Saskatchewan for hearing the concerns of private sector companies. We know that this one-time grant will not help everyone, but it is a good short-term step to assist those companies that need the
cash now
.
