NWT Tourism Coronavirus Update #9 - New federal resource for business support

Dear valued members,

Yesterday we sent you a number of resources for business support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today Prime Minister Trudeau announced a new avenue of support for small businesses facing the impacts of the coronavirus. We wanted to send you a brief update about this announcement today, as it applies to many in our tourism industry in the NWT. 

NEW Federal Announcement with new support as announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today:

To further support small businesses, the Government of Canada will:

• Announce a 75 per cent wage subsidy for qualifying businesses, for up to 3 months, retroactive to March 15, 2020.
  This will help businesses to keep and return workers to the payroll. More details on eligibility criteria will start with the impact of COVID-19 on sales, and will be shared before the end of the month.
   
• Allow businesses, including self-employed individuals, to defer all Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) payments until June, as well as customs duties owed for imports.
  This measure is the equivalent of providing up to $30 billion in interest-free loans to Canadian businesses. It will help businesses so they can continue to pay their employees and their bills, and help ease cash-flow challenges across the country.
   
• Launch the new Canada Emergency Business Account. This program will provide up to $25 billion to eligible financial institutions so they can provide interest-free loans to small businesses.
  These loans – guaranteed and funded by the Government of Canada – will ensure that small businesses have access to the capital they need, at a zero per cent interest rate, so they can pay for rent and other important costs over the next number of months.
   
• Launch the new Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Loan and Guarantee program that will enable up to $40 billion in lending, supported through Export Development Canada and Business Development Bank, for guaranteed loans when small businesses go to their financial institutions to help weather the impacts of COVID-19.
  This is intended for small and medium-sized companies that require greater help to meet their operational cash flow requirements.

In today's news release, the Government of Canada has indicated that it understands that some sectors have been disproportionally impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to assure you that NWT Tourism is advocating for this industry and for the programs and flexibiity in government programs that you need now and in the future.  We are working across a number of channels and I will continue to provide you with updates as news occurs in this rapidly changing situation. 

You can find the link to this announcment at:

https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2020/03/27/prime-minister-announces-support-small-businesses-facing-impacts

Stay well, stay strong and take care of yourself and each other.

Cathie Bolstad
Chief Executive Officer 
Northwest Territories Tourism