NWT Tourism Coronavirus Update #15 - Businesses can begin applying for emergency COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Program and other funding news

Dear valued members,

We are pleased to provide an update on the various funding programs available to people in our industry. We are hearing from members who are successfully navigating access to these programs, and we want to ensure that all members have access to all of the supports that are available.

*NEW* - COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Program
The federal government has announced that businesses can now begin applying for the emergency COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Program. Here is some basic information about this program, provided by the Government of Canada:

• As a Canadian employer whose business has been affected by COVID-19, you may be eligible for a subsidy of 75% of employee wages for up to 12 weeks, retroactive from March 15, 2020, to June 6, 2020.
• This wage subsidy will enable you to re-hire workers previously laid off as a result of COVID-19, help prevent further job losses, and better position you to resume normal operations following the crisis.

To apply for this program, go to this link: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/subsidy/emergency-wage-subsidy/cews-apply-guide.html

*NEW* - Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced commercial rent relief measures for SMEs through the new Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses. The federal help, expected to lower rent by 75 per cent for affected small businesses, will be provided in partnership with the provinces and territories, which have jurisdiction over rents.

• The program will provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50 per cent of three-monthly rent payments that are payable by eligible small business tenants who are experiencing financial hardship during April, May, and June 2020.
• The loans will be forgiven if the mortgaged property owner agrees to reduce eligible small business tenants’ rent by at least 75 per cent for the three corresponding months under a rent forgiveness agreement, which will include a term not to evict the tenant while the agreement is in place. The small business tenant would cover the remainder, up to 25 per cent of the rent.
• Impacted small business tenants are businesses paying less than $50,000 per month in rent and who have temporarily ceased operations or have experienced at least a 70 per cent drop in pre-COVID-19 revenues. This support will also be available to non-profit and charitable organizations.
• It is expected that CECRA will be operational by mid-May, and further details will be announced soon.

List of all support programs - Federal and Territorial
In addition to this support announcements, we would like to share a full list of support programs available to businesses affected by Covid-19. You can find this document, last updated on April 27, by clicking here.

We hope that you will find the support you need in some of the programs above. We, along with many of you, continue our advocacy work for our industry. We are stronger together, and we will get through this together.

Cathie Bolstad
Chief Executive Officer 
Northwest Territories Tourism