Saskatchewan Small Business Response Plan

To Jane’s Community in Saskatchewan,

The following COVID-19 Small Business Response Plan is a list of resources 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.

We hope this helps.

Please note: We will update this page with new content whenever possible.

April 24

• Reopen Saskatchewan Plan: On May 4, public access to medical services will be reinstated, including access to dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, opticians, podiatry, occupational therapy and chiropractic treatment.

• 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

• 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.

• New aid coming for contract workers

Small Business Response Plan

• Jane’s Canadian Small Business Response Plan: Here you can find our list of federal support for small businesses.

• Saskatchewan Self-isolation Support Program: $450 per week, for a maximum of two weeks or $900 for those forced to self-isolate who are not covered by federal EI program. This includes people who recently returned from travel.

• Provincial Sales Tax: Saskatchewan businesses which are unable to remit their PST due to cashflow concerns will have three-month relief from penalty and interest charges. Payment arrangements may be made by submitting a request electronically through the Saskatchewan eTax Services.

• Crown Utility Interest Deferral Programs: Bill deferrals are available to all crown utility customers impacted by COVID-19.

• Student Loan Repayment A six month student loan repayment moratorium is effective immediately.

• Saskatchewan Workers Compensation Board (WCB): Premium penalties have been waived for employers effective April 1 until June 30, 2020.