On Friday October 9th, the Prime Minister of Canada and several Ministers, including Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland and Minister of Economic Development, Mélanie Joly, announced amendments to key federal support programs for businesses. The announcements emphasized that these supports are necessary for the continued support of the hardest hit businesses in Canada, especially sectors such as tourism. Below are details of the changes.  Please note that further details will be coming soon: 

1. The Canada Employment Wage Subsidy has been extended until June 2021
• The rate has been set to 65% until December 19th 2020
  
  
2. A new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy will be made available until June 2021
• This will replace the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program
• Up to 65% of rent and mortgage payments for businesses hardest hit by the pandemic
• The maximum amount will be available to those experiencing income decreases of 70% or more
• This program will flow from the CRA and be available directly to businesses and tenants as opposed to landlords
• Can be claimed retroactively for the period September 27 - October 24, 2020
• This benefit will cover 90% of rent and mortgage payments for those who have been closed due to mandatory public health orders
  
  
3. Enhancing the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)
• Businesses who already qualify or have already been approved can apply for an additional $20,000
• Up to half of this additional $20,000 may be forgivable if repaid by December 31st 2022
• Deadline extension will be announced in the coming days

The full announcement on these measures may be viewed here. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2020/10/government-announces-new-targeted-support-to-help-businesses-through-pandemic.html 

Additionally, the government announced on October 2nd an additional $600 million in funding for the Regional Relief Recovery Fund – RRRF ($456M) and Community Futures Fund -CFF ($144M). Businesses in the tourism sector have been identified as one of the targeted beneficiaries of this increased funding. Contact your designated Economic Development Agency for more information. https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/icgc.nsf/eng/h_07682.html