The Yarmouth & Area Chamber of Commerce continues to participating in the Nova Scotia Business & Labour Economic Coalition which advocates on your behalf at all levels of government. It is made up of over 100 organizations from government, industry associations, and more. Its role is to share concerns and uncover solutions.

On Monday, Bernie Miller, Deputy Minister of the Office of Business, shared with this group that he expects the province of Nova Scotia to release its five-phase plan next week for reopening the economy. The plan will be launched after prolonged periods of low to no new cases of COVID-19 in the province.

Today, your Chamber will be on a call with the province’s medical office Dr. Strang as he discusses plans to reopen the economy.

We know that this will be difficult and be different for every business. Shortly we will host an online meeting with anyone interested in discussing the challenges of reopening and looking for support.


Member Survey
You should have received a link to complete a survey from us, if not you can click here to complete it: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9M2MZYF

There are some more details, and we are expecting to get more this week. Please check back to this l ink often for more details.


Documents to Help You Plan for Reopening





Agriculture and Food Processing Support
Today Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an initial investment of $252-million in aid to ease multiple pressures in Canada’s agriculture industry created by the coronavirus pandemic. This announcement includes:

  • Creating a $77.5 million Emergency Processing Fund to help food producers access more personal protective equipment (PPE), adapt to health protocols, automate or modernize their facilities, processes, and operations, and respond to emerging pressures from COVID-19 so they can better supply Canadians with food during this period.
  • Launching a national AgriRecovery initiative of up to $125 million in funding to help producers faced with additional costs incurred by COVID-19. This includes set-asides for cattle and hog management programs to manage livestock backed-up on farms, due to the temporary closure of food processing plants. This new federal funding will help beef and pork producers and processors adapt to a changing market, and help farmers and ranchers keep their animals longer before marketing.
  • Announcing the intention to increase the Canadian Dairy Commission’s borrowing limit by $200 million to support costs associated with the temporary storage of cheese and butter to avoid food waste. The government will work with opposition parties to achieve the required legislative change. 
  • Launching a first-ever Surplus Food Purchase Program with an initial $50 million fund designed to help redistribute existing and unsold inventories, which could include products such as potatoes and poultry, to local food organizations who are serving vulnerable Canadians.
  • Working with provinces and territories to increase interim payments from 50 per cent to 75 per cent through AgriStability, a federal, provincial and territorial program that supports producers who face significant revenue declines. This change has already been enacted in some provinces.
  • Working with provinces and territories to explore possibilities for expanding the AgriInsurance program to include labour shortages as an eligible risk for the horticulture sector. This work with provincial and territorial partners would insure against lost production due to an insufficient workforce, should producers be unable to find enough labour to harvest.

Read the full news release  here .


 Ignite/ NSBI Call for Protective Equipment for Essential Businesses

There is a need to increase the production and distribution of protective equipment to keep essential supply chain workers safe. Many industries in Nova Scotia are vital for food production, transportation, infrastructure and more. It is important that the many workers in these companies that are still operating are safe on the job.

IGNITE, along with many groups including Emera IDEAhub, Enginuity Inc., and Nova Scotia Business Inc. have created an initiative to work with community members and businesses who have the ability and equipment to create protective masks and face shields as well as to identify businesses that will need additional protective equipment.

To get involved in this critical ask, visit  https://igniteatlantic.com/covid19/  to join a growing list of people and organizations that:
- can make protective equipment including sewn face masks, face shields and other protective equipment
- need protective equipment to keep operations going (or can supply others)
By signing up today, you help ensure the right protective equipment gets in the hands of the people in your community who need it most.


CANADIAN CENTRE FOR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
As we continue to think about reopening our economy and what that may look like for each individual sector, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety have developed pandemic tip sheets to help employers protect their workers and prevent the spread of COVID-19. The tip sheets are available at https://www.ccohs.ca/products/publications/covid19/

We have created a new page for all information we have related to COVID-19.

As things continue to change we will update this website in addition to sending out updated via email that have updated and new information.

Be sure to save this page and refer back to it as this situation progresses.
Registration is now open for APEC's  third free webinar in our series  on the  economic impacts of COVID-19 on Atlantic Canada  will assess the effects on businesses, labour and investment. APEC’s research staff will highlight key findings from Statistics Canada’s surveys and APEC’s Major Projects Inventory. Leaders in the region’s construction industry will describe the effects on the ground for labour, business and investment activity. APEC President & CEO, David Chaundy, will lead a discussion with panelists on what the recovery may look like. This will be followed by a Q&A session with attendees.

Presenters 
Fred Bergman, Senior Policy Analyst, APEC
The effects of COVID-19 on Atlantic Canada’s businesses and labour markets

Patrick Brannon, Director of Major Projects, APEC
The effects of COVID-19 on investment spending in Atlantic Canada in 2020 and beyond

Brad Smith, President, Build Right NS
How construction firms and workers are adjusting to COVID-19 in the Maritimes

Darin King, Executive Director, Building Trades of NL
How Newfoundland’s construction and offshore oil industries are coping with COVID-19

Panel moderator
David Chaundy, President and CEO, APEC
Employee Rights and Companies Needs During COVID Times - Webinar
Thursday, May 7 - 10:30am

oin us as we HR Expert Tanya Sieliakus discusses some of the most pressing and asked about questions with regards to how to balance employee rights and your companies needs during these times. Be sure to come with your questions or send them to us ahead of time so that we can be sure to try and address them.




The Yarmouth & Area Chamber of Commerce as a member of the Nova Scotia Business and Labour Economic Council worked with group and Saltwire to get this poster in the flyers and the articles linked below distributed to over 250,000 households. I encourage you to read this and watch for this to come out through Saltwire's flyer distribution this week.
Elevating Canadian Experiences Workshop Coming Virtually to Yarmouth & Acadian Shores on May 21st! 
Led by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, get ready for a day full of learning, product development and growth strategies in collaborative online workshops. These workshops are designed to help tourism operators in winter/shoulder seasons and in the culinary sector learn, rebuild and grow to increase their tourism potential.

Both sessions will be held twice, once at 9am and again at 1pm, making it flexible and convenient to attend one – or both – if you wish! 

Secure your spot and register today at: https://www.elevatingcanadianexperiences.ca/upcoming-events-2 
Ryan Greer: Discussing Reopening, Incentives To Work And The ‘New Normal’ For Canadian Companies
Our Senior Director and Cannabis Policy Lead, Ryan Greer, joined CTV News yesterday to discuss the first phase of businesses reopening in several provinces, incentives to return to work and the ‘new normal’ for Canadian companies amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Payroll Continuity Planning: How Prepared Is Your Organization?
The Canadian Payroll Association has made an archived version of this webinar available to businesses at no cost. Learn about the benefits of having a payroll continuity plan in place, along with key considerations and a step-by-step process to build your plan.

CEWS Webinar For SMEs
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will host an interactive question and answer session for the small and medium business sector on the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). The session will respond to general questions about the CEWS and provide resources needed to apply.

Due to space limitations, the CRA asks that each organization only have one participant register and participate in the session.

For CBDC Day 2020 we have teamed up with CBDC Digby-Clare to offer businesses a line-up of training sessions  free of charge!

The first training session we are offering is "Coping with Covid-19" presented by the extremely talented Debi Peverill!

Debi will be sharing ways to navigate all of the government assistance programs, tips and tricks on how to keep your business afloat and will have plenty of time for questions!
Debi is a CPA and owns her own accounting practice, she is an author and she offers training and consulting- all with a great sense of humour! This is not a training session to miss-- sign up now to save your spot!


The second training session we are offering is "Social Media in the age of Covid-19" presented by the wonderful Ingrid Deon, social media marketing expert and owner of word-craft.
This training session will guide businesses through the process of using social media during covid-19 and after covid-19 once businesses start to reopen once again to get the best response from customers. 
This is not a training session you want to miss-- limited space available! Sign-up below.
Provide your perspective on government policy/programs, enrol in the  Atlantic IMPRESSIONS Atlantique   survey participant list.