Newsletter of April 22 : Update and new mesures to help entrepreneurs

New measures to support Canadian businesses

On April 16 and 17, the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced new measures to support Canadian businesses so they can keep their doors open and their employees on the job as well as new actions to protect Canadian jobs and provide more support to businesses and organizations dealing with the economic impacts of COVID-19.

The Government of Canada will among others:

• Expand the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) to businesses that paid between $20,000 and $1.5 million in total payroll in 2019. This new range will replace the previous one of between $50,000 and $1 million, and will help address the challenges faced by small businesses to cover non-deferrable operating costs.
• Announce its intent to introduce the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses. The program will seek to provide loans, including forgivable loans, to commercial property owners who in turn will lower or forgo the rent of small businesses for the months of April (retroactive), May, and June.
• Add $675 million to give financing support to small and medium-sized businesses that are unable to access the government’s existing COVID-19 support measures, through Canada’s Regional Development Agencies.
• Add $287 million to support rural businesses and communities, including by providing them with much-needed access to capital through the Community Futures Network.
• Add $250 million to assist innovative, early-stage companies that are unable to access existing COVID-19 business support, through the National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program.
• Add $20.1 million in support for Futurpreneur Canada to continue to support young entrepreneurs across Canada who are facing challenges due to COVID-19. The funding will allow Futurpreneur Canada to provide payment relief for its clients for up to 12 months.
• Expand eligibility for the new Business Credit Availability Program announced on March 13, 2020, to help Canadian businesses get the financing they need during this period of uncertainty.

Call for project to fight against COVID-19

The COVID-19 Virtual Partnering event organized by Lyonbiopole, Inova, and Evaluate Ltd, and will leverage Inova’s market-leading matchmaking platform to efficiently organize one-to-one meetings. Support the fight against COVID-19 by participating in this event and spreading the word to your contacts that can help in the global effort to develop testing, treatment, or prevention solutions for the pandemic.