COVID-19 Rent Assistance and CEBA

The Government of Canada recently announced enhancements to the support measures for business:

Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program:

The federal government has announced relief measures that many small businesses were hoping for – rent relief.  As with other relief measures announced, we did not hear a timeline on when small businesses would see a benefit from these measures.  We would hope that the two weeks before rent for May is due would be sufficient time, but have seen other relief measures take longer to be implemented.  The new Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program is targeted to help small businesses cover their rents for April, May, and June.  The plan will provide loans to commercial property owners who would then lower or forgo rent for small businesses for these months.  Additional details are still to come.

Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA): https://ceba-cuec.ca/

Also announced yesterday was the expansion of the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA).  This program provides interest-free loans of up to $40,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits, to help cover their operating costs during a period where their revenues have been temporarily reduced.  The announcement eased the qualifications for this loan.  Businesses will now need to demonstrate they paid between $20,000 (previously $50,000) and $1.5M (previously $1M) in total payroll in 2019.  Businesses can apply for CEBA through their banks and credit unions.

As the government introduces new relief measures and modifies previously introduced measures, they update their COVID-19 Economic Response Plan website.  This site is a great resource for all who have questions: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html

All the best to you and stay safe!

The Team,

Colin, Tyler, Humberto, and Sharon