Government Support Measures
Summary of the Government of Canada's Economic Relief Measures that can be readily utilized by the hotel sector.
Canada Emergency Business Account
The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) provides interest-free, partially forgivable, loans of up to $40,000, to small businesses and not-for-profits, that have experienced diminished revenues due to COVID-19 but face ongoing non-deferrable costs, such as rent, utilities, insurance, taxes and wages.
Business owners can apply for support from CEBA through their banks and credit unions.
Businesses can apply for this support until December 31, 2020.
The Government of Canada has also recently proposed to expand the CEBA program to include an additional interest-free $20,000 loan, 50% of which would be forgivable if repaid by December 31 2022. Details for the expanded program will be announced soon.
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Program
The Government of Canada is covering a portion of an employee's wages for eligible employers. The wage subsidy supports you to keep and re-hire your employees and avoid layoffs.
The wage subsidy would remain at the current subsidy rate of up to a maximum of 65 per cent of eligible wages until December 19, 2020, and would be extended until June 2021.
Important Details:
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Increased from the initial 10% to 75% wage subsidy.
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Applies to laid-off workers, and now will no longer exclude employees that have been without pay for 14 consecutive days.
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Extended to include partnerships that are up to 50-per-cent owned by non-eligible members; and partnerships where the partners are Indigenous governments.
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First extended to August 2020 and then extended to December 2020 to ensure hoteliers receive added wage support during the fall.
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Now includes third-party payroll providers that can receive retroactive CEWS payments backdated to March 15, 2020.
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Extended CEWS includes subsidy top-up for hardest-hit businesses.
Access to Credit through Export Development Canada (EDC) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)
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The Government announced $12.5 billion of additional support and access to credit through EDC and BDC to help small and medium-sized enterprises with cashflow requirements.
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Hoteliers can apply through their banking institution
Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP)
The Government of Canada established a Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP) to provide $40 billion of additional support through the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Export Development Canada (EDC).
BDC and EDC are working with private-sector lenders to coordinate on credit solutions for individual businesses, including in sectors such as oil and gas, air transportation, exports, and tourism.
This program includes:
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Loan Guarantee for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
EDC is working with financial institutions to issue new operating credit and cash flow term loans of up to $6.25 million to SMEs.
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Co-Lending Program for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
BDC is working with financial institutions to co-lend term loans to SMEs for their operational cash flow requirements. Eligible businesses may obtain incremental credit amounts of up to $6.25 million through the program.
Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Loan and Guarantee Program
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Loans of up to $6.25 million will be made available to small and medium-sized businesses in Canada directly through their financial institutions.
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The qualifications for the SME Loan and Guarantee program are not yet clarified and HAC is working with the government to obtain further clarification on this classification and has requested that hoteliers are eligible to apply for these loans on a property-by-property basis rather than at the corporate entity level.
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Hoteliers can apply for a partially guaranteed loan through their banking institution to access this financial support.
Canada Small Business Financing Program
The Canada Small Business Financing Program is available for small businesses to access loans from financial institutions by sharing the risk with lenders. Up to a maximum of $1,000,000 for any one borrower, of which no more than $350,000 can be used for purchasing leasehold improvements or improving leased property and purchasing or improving new or used equipment. Financial institutions deliver the program and are solely responsible for approving the loan. For more information download their PDF pamphlet or click here to find a lender near you.