To Jane’s Community in Ontario,
The following COVID-19 Small Business Response Plan is a list of resources and financial relief announcements that may be of assistance to you and your team. Some of the resources may not apply to you, but taking advantage of 1 or 2 could significantly improve your financial health and that of your employees.
Where we have found a link to more details or application processes we’ll include them. We’ll also update continually.
We hope this helps.
Please note: We will update this page with new content whenever possible.
April 24
- Trudeau announced new business loan relief program that will cover up to 75% of commercial rent costs through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. A portion of these loans will be non-repayable. Details and application process are yet to be released. One comment that came with this announcement was that the plan is that this relief does not come with cumbersome eligibility criteria so that the aid can be accessed fairly easily.
April 16
- New CERB eligibility rules: people are now allowed to earn up to $1,000 per month while collecting CERB (this includes part-time and seasonal workers now).
April 6 - Canada CERB Portal
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The portal for accessing the CERB is at Canada.ca where Canadians can apply, enter direct deposit information, and start receiving $2,000 per month for 4 months within 10 days.
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New aid coming for contract workers
Small Business Response Plan for Ontario
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Support for the self-employed has not yet been announced. As of April 1, Ontario businesses should have a look at federal support for small businesses: Canadian Small Business Response Plan.
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Ontario is providing one-time $200-per-child (up to age 12) payments ($250 for special needs). Details to be released.
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If you need to lay off employees, you do not need to give notice or pay notice since they are not being terminated.
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Provincial tax deferrals on EHT, Tobacco Tax, Fuel Tax, Beer Tax, and Mining Tax as well as other provincial taxes until Aug. 31, 2020 with no interest or penalty totally $6 billion. Read here how Relief is automatic.
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WSIB premium deferrals until Aug. 31, 2020 with no interest or penalty.
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Business Education Property Tax deferrals for one payment quarter meaning 90 days after June.
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Employer Health Tax exemption threshold increased to $1 million for 1 year.
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Property tax reassessments for 2021 have been postponed.
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Times-of-Use electricity pricing has been suspended during the COVID-19 outbreak, and electricity is now priced at “low-peak” rates: 10.1 c/kwh no matter the time of day for 45 days.
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OSAP loan repayments have been suspended between March 30 and September 30, 2020.