Business measures from Canada’s economic recovery plan

March 24, 2020

• 500,000 Canadians applied for EI support last week. TIAC encourages members to apply for available business supports from the government as soon as possible.
• The government is:
  • Essentially eliminating the payroll tax for three months by providing a 10% wage subsidy to small businesses;
  • Helping businesses with cash flow by deferring tax payments until after August 31st;
  • Increasing credit available to farmers through Farm Credit Canada. 
  • Introducing a new Emergency Care Benefit of up to $900 bi-weekly for up to 15 weeks for self-employed people who are not eligible for EI sickness benefits;
  • Establishing a coordinated approach with the financial sector: cutting interest rates to 0.75%, and major banks increasing lending capacity by $300 billion; 
  • Establishing a Business Credit Availability Program through BDC and EDC worth $10 billion – this means more short-term loans, working capital, and export insurance-credit so that more Canadian businesses are supported;
  • Enhancing the Work-Sharing Program to help businesses pay wages so they don’t have to lay anyone off.