Tillsonburg District Chamber of Commerce COVID-19 Update

March 21, 2020
The Tillsonburg District Chamber of Commerce continues to monitor the quickly-evolving COVID-19 issue to bring you relevant updates and resources.
Key Resources for Businesses

WHERE TO START:
  1. Visit the website for businesses for information about supporting your employees and your business. This website will be updated as the COVID-19 crisis evolves.
  2. Download the Canada Business App to find tailored supports to address your specific needs and questions about COVID-19.
  3. Consult the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s pandemic preparedness guide to help prepare your business in the days and weeks to come.
  4. Contact your bank. Canada’s banks have made a commitment to support businesses and individuals through these difficult times in a responsible, fair, and compassionate way. To help provide some stability for businesses through this time of uncertainty, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) is lowering the Domestic Stability Buffer requirement, releasing more than $300 billion of additional lending capacity for Canadian financial institutions.

Thank you to the Town of Tillsonburg for compiling this pertinent information.
Government of Canada Updates
This new government website includes  information resources  in a centralized location that Canadians can access on the novel Coronavirus, how to be prepared and how to limit the spread of the virus. 

The Canada-U.S. border is now closed to non-essential travel.
Essential travel will continue. They recognize it is critical to preserve supply chains between both countries to ensure things like food, fuel, and life-saving medicines reach people on both sides. People who must cross the border for work, and trucking will not be impacted by this new measure.
 
For more details on all measures announced including more support for workers, Indigenous peoples, and Canadians across the country: please see the Prime Minister’s  News Release  and  Backgrounder .

This week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced a stimulus package for Canadian businesses – large and small; Canadian workers and Canadian families. This new set of economic measures will help to stabilize the economy in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These measures will provide up to $27 billion in direct support to Canadian workers and businesses, plus $55 billion to meet liquidity needs of Canadian businesses and households through tax deferrals to help stabilize the economy.

On March 18, after the government's new measures to help businesses affected by COVID-19 were announced, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce released this statement by President and CEO, Perrin Beatty. He recognized that these new measures are an important first step in dealing with the economic impacts of COVID-19, and they directly reflect the input of business and workers.

He also recognized that businesses, particularly small businesses, are feeling severe pressure. Particularly important elements for small businesses include:

  • Allowing all businesses to defer, until after August 31, 2020, the payment of any income tax amounts that become owing on or after today and before September 2020.
  • The Canada Revenue Agency will not contact any small or medium Canada business to initiate any post assessment GST/HST or Income Tax audits for the next four weeks. For the vast majority of businesses, the Canada Revenue Agency will temporarily suspend audit interaction with taxpayers and representatives.
  • Supporting small businesses that are facing revenue losses and to help prevent lay-offs, the government is proposing to provide eligible small employers a temporary wage subsidy for a period of three months. The subsidy will be equal to 10% of remuneration paid during that period, up to a maximum subsidy of $1,375 per employee and $25,000 per employer.
  • Increasing the credit available to small, medium, and large Canadian businesses. As announced on March 13, a new Business Credit Availability Program will provide more than $10 billion of additional support to businesses experiencing cash flow challenges through the Business...READ MORE.
Stay up to date with the Town of Tillsonburg's COVID-19 response here .
Human Resources
Last week, Prime Minister Trudeau announced changes to Canada’s sick-leave benefits under employment insurance Wednesday, to respond to concerns about COVID-19.

For people quarantined due to COVID-19, the government is eliminating the waiting period entirely, so you can get EI benefits up to $573 a week for an entire 14-day quarantine ...READ MORE .

Work-Sharing (WS) is an adjustment program designed to help employers and employees avoid layoffs when there is a temporary reduction in the normal level of business activity that is beyond the control of the employer. The measure provides income support to employees eligible for Employment Insurance benefits who work a temporarily reduced work week while their employer recovers.

The Government of Canada introduced temporary special measures that extend the maximum duration of work-sharing agreements from 38 weeks to 76 weeks across Canada for those businesses affected by the downturn in business due to COVID-19 ...FIND OUT MORE .

The Small Business Centre created an infographic to help out of work employees in Ontario claim benefits from the various Government initiatives to support Canadian workers affected by the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic.
Thank you to TDCC members HR Partners 4 Business and The Small Business Centre for sharing these resources.
Supporting Local Businesses through the COVID-19 Outbreak