Ontario Government Proposes Temporary Ban on Evictions of Commercial Tenants (Updated June 19, 2020)
On June 8, 2020, the Ontario government announced its intention to introduce changes to the Commercial Tenancies Act in order to protect commercial tenants from being locked out or having their assets seized by their landlords as a result of the impact of COVID-19. The news release can be found here. If passed, the proposed […]
Stage 2 – Ontario Permits More Businesses to Re-Open
On June 8, 2020, the Ontario government announced that at the end of this week, the second stage of reopening of certain businesses in certain public health unit regions will begin. A complete list of the public health unit regions moving to Stage 2 and business re-openings can be found here. Beginning on Friday, June 12, […]
Small Business Relief Fund Launched by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (updated on June 2, 2020)
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Canadian Business Resilience Network, in collaboration with Salesforce, recently launched the Small Business Relief Fund, which will provide grants of $10,000 each to 62 small Canadian businesses in order to assist their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and support their resilience. Businesses can use the grant funds to pay salaries, […]
Business Resilience Service Launched to Advise Businesses on Government Relief Programs
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Canadian Business Resilience Network, in partnership with the Government of Canada, in collaboration with EY, and with support from the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada and Imagine Canada recently launched the Business Resilience Service. The Business Resilience Service helps small- and medium-sized businesses, not-for-profits, and charities navigate the available government […]
Ontario to Allow Additional Businesses to Reopen
On May 14, 2020, the Ontario government announced that the first stage of the government’s reopening of the province will tentatively begin early next week. The news release can be found here. Beginning on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 12:01 a.m., the following businesses, among others, can reopen: · Retail businesses that are not in […]
Some Practical Challenges with CEWS (Updated May 15, 2020)
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented number of employers have been forced to place their employees on lay off. In an effort to support those employers facing financial hardship and encourage organizations to get their workers back on payroll, employers were able to start applying for the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS […]
Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program (Updated September 23, 2020)
On April 16, 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the creation of a new program, the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance, to help small businesses that are commercial tenants with paying their rents for the months of April, May, and June 2020. This program “will seek to provide loans, including forgivable loans, to commercial property […]
COVID-19 Insurance Coverage: Are Our Business Losses Covered? If Not, is Your Broker Responsible?
We are certainly in unprecedented times. With schools closed, businesses shuttered, events cancelled, and “social distancing”, the impact of COVID-19 for some Canadian businesses has been devastating. A common question asked by business owners, directors and officers, is whether their company has insurance to cover COVID-19 related losses? The short answer is: Perhaps, but probably […]
Canada’s Care of Businesses During the COVID-19 Pandemic (updated April 22, 2021)
As the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 rises in Canada, employers are facing difficult decisions concerning how to balance the health of their employees with the health of their businesses. Many companies have directed their employees to work remotely, some have resorted to temporarily limiting hours, closing their doors or laying off employees, while […]
