More Support Announced for BC Business
Commercial Property Tax Relief
The Province is providing enhanced relief for businesses by reducing most commercial property tax bills by an average of 25%, along with new measures to support local governments facing temporary revenue shortfalls as a result of COVID-19.

The Province is taking significant new steps to support B.C. businesses, non-profits and other organizations through the COVID-19 pandemic by:

  • further reducing the school property tax rate for commercial properties to achieve an average 25% reduction in the total property tax bill for most businesses, providing up to $700 million in relief. This enhances the 50% reduction to the provincial school property tax rate that was originally announced for classes 4, 5, and 6 as part of B.C.’s COVID-19 Action Plan.
  • Postponing the date that late payment penalties apply for commercial properties in classes 4,5,6,7 and 8 to Oct. 1, 2020, to give businesses and landlords more time to pay their reduced property tax, without penalty.
F ederal Updates to Small Business Loans,
Commercial Rent Assistance, CERB expansion
Small Business Loans
The Canada Emergency Business Account will now be open to businesses that had payrolls last year between $20,000 and $1.5 million. The program previously offered up to $40,000 in loans to business with payrolls between $50,000 and $1 million. CEBA provides businesses with interest-free loans (for the first year) of up to $40,000 and repaying the balance of the loan on or before December 31, 2022 will result in loan forgiveness of 25 percent (up to $10,000). CEBA applications are now open and can be accessed through your financial institution. Read more here .

Commercial Rent Assistance
Prime Minister Trudeau is working with the provinces to create a new program called the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance, to provide relief to small businesses with their rent for the months of April, May, and June. Mr. Trudeau and his provincial and territorial counterparts will hold a telephone meeting on Thursday evening. More information to come.

CERB Eligibility Changes
To help more Canadians benefit from the CERB, the government is announcing changes to the eligibility rules to:

  • Allow people to earn up to $1,000 per month while collecting the CERB.
  • Extend the CERB to seasonal workers who have exhausted their EI regular benefits and are unable to undertake their regular seasonal work as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
  • Extend the CERB to workers who have recently exhausted their EI regular benefits and are unable to find a job or return to work because of COVID-19.

These changes will be retroactive to March 15, 2020. Read more.
Ecolab has announced two relief measures to assist hotels, effective immediately:
 
Rental Equipment: 
For all hotels with Ecolab rental equipment (Dishmachines, Glasswashwers, Boosters, Water Softeners), Ecolab is waiving all rental fees for a period of 90 days.
 
Pool & Spa Program:
All hotels utilizing Ecolab Pool & Spa services have had monthly billing suspended as of April 1st until such a time that pools are allowed to reopen. Upon reopening, billing will resume with an additional one month billing as a re-startup fee.
 
Please ensure that any Ecolab invoices are up to date so as to prevent any complications in applying these relief measures.
 
Should you have any questions, please contact your Ecolab representative or if you do not have a representative contact Michael Van Dyke at  michael.vandyke@ecolab.com
Shaw & Telus Relief Programs
The BC Hotel Association has been coordinating directly with both Telus and Shaw to ensure relief is provided to properties experience financial distress during COVID-19. Contact your Shaw or Telus Account rep to discuss what relief options may be available. They are offering programs for both properties that are completely closed as well as those operating in a reduced capacity.  
Student Summer Employment - Program Flexibility
In response to the COVID-19 situation, the following flexibilities have been introduced to respond to the needs of employers and youth.

Wage Subsidies
All funded employers will be eligible to receive a wage subsidy reimbursement of up to 100% of the provincial or territorial minimum hourly wage. Previously, private and public sector employers were only eligible to receive up to 50% of the provincial or territorial minimum wage.

Part-time Employement
All funded employers may offer part-time placements (for example, fewer than 30 hours per week). Previously, all CSJ-funded employment had to be full time (a minimum of 30 hours per week for at least 6 weeks).

Employment Period
All funded employers may offer job placements between May 11, 2020 and February 28, 2021. Employers can offer part-time employment to youth who want to work during the academic year. Previously, all CSJ-funded positions had to be completed no later than August 28, 2020.
Hospitality Insurance Program Resources
The continued spread of COVID-19 has forced communities, businesses and governments to adjust to an ever-changing reality. No industry has been more affected by this virus than the hospitality industry. We want to ensure that whether you own a motel, hotel or b&b - the HIP service centre is available to answer any questions that you may have.

Upcoming Webinars
Resonance: The Road to Recovery
While there is no shortage of prognostications about what cities and destinations should do once “things get back to normal,” the reality is that normal is probably years, not months, away.

Resonance Consultancy has identified three broad potential recovery scenarios for travel and tourism that are likely to occur. While we can’t predict the timing for each of these, or which scenario is most probable, understanding and evaluating the implications of all three potential roads to recovery is the best way to plan for an uncertain future.

Resonance’s President Chris Fair, EVP Richard Cutting-Miller and VP, Marketing Strategy, Scott Erickson will discuss each of these scenarios and the key management and marketing implications of each for the travel and tourism industry.

Tuesday April 21 8:00AM PT
Greater Vancouver Board of Trade - Frontline Worker Support
Hear from Christine Sorensen, president of the BC Nurses’ Union, as she discusses how businesses can play a part in supporting health care workers during this pandemic crisis.

Monday April 20 at 1:00PM PT

The webinars will be posted on the GVBOT website and YouTube channel following the broadcast. 
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