Counsel: April 16 COVID-19 Update Government of Canada actions on COVID-19

by | Apr 16, 2020 | FOPL News | 0 comments
COVID-19 Update
Government of Canada actions on COVID-19
April 16, 2020
Good afternoon,
There were several noteworthy announcements in the Prime Minister’s remarks this morning. They include:
  • The Prime Minister announced that G7 leaders have agreed to coordinate their response on research and development for treatments and vaccines.
  • Trudeau also announced that the eligibility criteria for receiving the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) is going to be broadened in order to be available to more businesses. Businesses whose annual payroll ranges from $20k to $1.5M will now be eligible to apply. To date 195,000 SMEs have received loans up to $40,000 through the CEBA.
  • The PM also announced the intent to introduce the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program to provide small businesses with commercial rental support for the months of April, May and June. Details on this will be forthcoming following an agreement with the provinces and territories.
  • Canada has signed more agreements for personal protective equipment (PPE) with domestic suppliers.
  • The federal government has received a request from the Government of Quebec to provide military personnel to shore up staffing requirements in long-term care and senior’s homes, which have been hard hit by the pandemic.
An article in the Globe and Mail today said that several federal ministers are reaching out to business leaders to develop recovery plans. This may include accelerated infrastructure spending on smaller shovel ready projects, similar to the 2008 Economic Action Plan. Counsel Public Affairs will be gathering more details on this effort, and will pass along information as it becomes available.
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Our federal team is standing by to answer your questions:
Sheamus Murphy
613 323 7607
Bridget Howe
613 797 8058
Ben Parsons
613 323 5226

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