Canadian Government Support for Small Business during Pandemic

Recently, a good friend of mine, and our source for business cards and marketing materials, Alan Bloomfield at CardPro sent out some good advice:

“Don’t think about closing the deal or making a sale, think about what you can do to help others.”

He’s absolutely right. This is a time to look after each other.

With that in mind, I wanted to share some relevant government initiatives and grants for small businesses (and individuals) who are likely to feel some financial pain. It’s great that the government is doing their best to help in this COVID 19 pandemic crisis, but if business owners don’t know about these initiatives, they can’t benefit from them, and “not knowing” could potentially cost people their jobs. Like many business owners, I want to do everything I can to avoid layoffs and other drastic, life-altering decisions.

In this document are some helpful links to things like tax subsidies, news about reductions in wait times for employment benefits, and help on implementing a work-sharing program in your company. If it looks like you’re headed towards a complete shutdown that might include layoffs, consider topping-up your employees’ wages while they’re off work, for as long as possible. If you’re facing a shortage of work but not a complete shutdown, maybe think about a work-sharing program. There are options for you and for your employees. If any of these initiatives give you a little more breathing room as an employer, I hope you’ll make use of them.

And don’t wait for the phone to ring; reach out to your customers to make sure they’re okay!