Startup Business Survival for the 2nd Wave – Government Programs Available

Special thanks to David Gregory of Gregory, Yick and Associates Chartered Professional Accountants for their concise updates on the supports available to businesses during this second wave of the pandemic. VentureLabs is pleased to share his recent advice.
Here are the various additional support programs that startups should be aware of:
1. Extended and Expanded Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) – this program has been extended to June 2021 and has been expanded to include many more businesses who have suffered a reduction in revenue. Although now available for more businesses, the complexity of the rules has increased substantially. Please make sure to use accounting services for the preparation of the CEWS if you desire. Details and the application can be found here.
2. New Canadian Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) – this is a significant improvement over the past program as it does not require approval/participation by the landlord and provides the subsidy directly to the business rather than through the landlord. The program is broken up into two parts:
a. Up to 65 percent subsidy – full 65% subsidy if a 70% or greater decline in revenue and a gradual decrease in the subsidy for lower than 70% declines in revenue
b. 25 percent additional subsidy – if a business/organization is temporarily shut down due to a mandatory public health order, there is an additional 25 percent subsidy bringing the total subsidy to 90 percent
Details have not yet been released but we will provide details in an update once more information is published.
3. Expansion of the Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA) – this is an addition $20,000 to the previous $40,000 loan program which you should have taken advantage of. For the additional $20,000 interest free loan, an additional $10,000 is forgivable if the loan is repaid by December 31, 2022. Application deadline for the CEBA is December 31, 2020. You need to contact your financial institution to apply for the loan. Details can be found here.
4. BC Provincial Small and Medium Sized Business Recovery Grant – grants of $10,000 to $30,000 are available to businesses that have had a decline in revenues and employ between 2 to 149 BC residents. An additional $5,000 to $10,000 grant is available to eligible tourism related businesses. Details can be found here.
5. Transition from CERB – the CERB has now been replaced with the following:
a. Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) – provides income support to individuals who are directly impacted by COVID and are not eligible for EI. Details can be found here.
b. Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) – support for individuals unable to work because they must care for a child under 12 years or a family member who needs supervised care. Details can be found here.
c. Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) – support for employed and self-employed persons who are unable to work because they are sick or need to self-isolate due to COVID or have an underlying health condition. Details can be found here.
SFU VentureLabs does not provide legal or accounting advice. Please ensure you talk to a professional on these matters.