Daily COVID-19 Update: May 7, 2020

Supports for Business

Re-Opening Best Practices for Business

General workplace guidance is available to help support business owners reopening or continuing operations to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 among workers, volunteers and patrons. However, we know there are still questions for specific industries, particularly as businesses prepare for Phase 1 of the relaunch. To help, here’s a few resources we’ve found for you:

Restaurants Canada has a guidance document for physical distancing, cleaning and sanitation, and health and personal hygiene.

Retail Council of Canada has developed playbooks to ensure customers feel safe while shopping and employees stay safe and healthy.

The Beauty Council has also compiled some recommendations for safety guidelines and regulations that are achievable and effective in their take on re-opening the personal service industry.

If you have industry resources you would like to share, please email us at policy@medicinehatchamber.com.

PPE Requests for Business

In the event that specific PPE is not available locally or through suppliers, employers can access the Provincial Operations Centre (POC) website to order PPE. Once you’ve completed your request via the form a confirmation notification will be sent. For issues with PPE orders, employers can follow up with a query to: ma.ppesupport@gov.ab.ca .

Additional information:

When using the POC website look for your type of business in the drop down menu. If your business class isn’t listed choose the “other” option and identify your business type. The businesses that are currently identified as able to operate should appear in the list and this will be updated as more businesses are allowed to open to the public. Requests for PPE should be coming from businesses that are currently allowed to operate or will be allowed to operate in Phase 1. PPE is available on a cost recovery basis.

If you have PPE available for sale, please let us know by emailing policy@medicinehatchamber.com and we will be sure to communicate this to our business community.

Provincial Government Announces Support Through AgriRecovery

The Government of Alberta is introducing several new supports to help farmers and ranchers through AgriRecovery. A new fed cattle set-aside program will allow beef producers to hold on to slaughter-ready cattle on maintenance feed ration for several weeks, allowing the supply of animals to more evenly match demand and reduced processing capacity.

Cattle producers will be compensated for the extraordinary costs until the backed-up inventory is cleared. Currently, there are about 130,000 cattle backed up in feedlots as a result of reduced operating capacity at major beef processing plants in Alberta. This comes at a substantial cost to cattle producers.

The Government of Alberta will immediately increase the interim payment under AgriStability from 50 per cent to 75 per cent for the hog sector. This will put up to $25 million in the hands of pork producers immediately. Increasing the advance payment under AgriStability will result in the equivalent of $20 per head for pork producers enrolled in AgriStability.

The closure of most food service outlets across North America has cut the volume for french fries being consumed. In response, the Alberta government will also immediately increase the advance payment under AgriStability from 50 per cent to 75 per cent for the potato industry, to get cash in hands of potato producers immediately.

AgriRecovery is cost-shared 60-40 between federal and provincial governments and is intended to help agricultural producers recover from natural disasters. Alberta will work with federal and provincial governments to ensure money will get to producers as quickly as possible.

More details will be announced as they are available. Read more.

Supports for Individuals

Agreement to Boost Essential Worker Wages

The Government of Canada will provide up to $3 billion in support to increase the wages of low-income essential workers. Each province or territory will determine which workers will be eligible for support and how much support they will receive. All provinces and territories have confirmed, or are in the process of confirming, plans to cost-share wage top-ups for their essential workers. Read more.

Community Supports and Resources

Labour Market Partnerships (LMP) Program

Alberta Labour and Immigration is now accepting applications to the Labour Market Partnership (LMP) program funding for the 2020-2021 fiscal year to enhance workplace development and labour market adjustment strategies through community partnerships. Eligible Labour Market Partnerships are designed to identify, develop and support projects with industry, organizations and community groups with common labour market needs.

Effective collaboration among community partners improves the capacity of stakeholders to deal with workforce demand and to implement labour force adjustments. It contributes to the development of the labour market, which in turn, may result in an improved balance between the supply and demand as well as economic growth on a regional and/or provincial level.

The objectives of the LMP program are to:

encourage, support and facilitate workforce planning and labour market adjustments.
promote industry/community involvement and community capacity building in order to address labour market needs.
develop and promote labour market intelligence and its use in labour market development.

Detailed information including an outline for proposals can be found here

Advocacy

Threats to Alberta businesses

A recent Alberta Chambers of Commerce survey—undertaken in partnership with Community Futures Alberta and Economic Developers Alberta—shows both the COVID-19 pandemic and record low oil prices are threatening Alberta businesses. The survey—which took place online between April 10 and April 26, 2020—revealed 90 per cent of businesses have been negatively impacted by COVID-19, with more than two thirds classifying the impact as "significantly" negative. At the same time, three quarters of businesses report low oil prices are negatively impacting their business, with nearly half reporting this impact to be significantly negative. Read the full press release.

Businesses Are Facing International And Investment Challenges

While it is still very much early days as Canadian businesses assess the short-term impacts of COVID-19 on their international activities, the data from our survey with Statistics Canada revealed the difficulties businesses are facing with sourcing goods into the country, the pullback of activities for those with investments abroad and the global supply chain disruptions as economies shut down suggests we may be seeing some firms exploring the re-shoring of production. Read more.

The Business Of Business: Reshaping Canada’s Global Role

In the latest edition of The Business of Business, Canadian Chamber President and CEO, Perrin Beatty has a conversation with Mairead Lavery, President and CEO of EDC. They discuss how COVID-19 is reshaping Canada's global role and the programs that are available to businesses during this time. Watch now.

New Resources

Retail Council Of Canada Offers A Reopening Playbook And Checklists To Businesses

To assist retailers with their reopening planning, the Retail Council of Canada has produced a Recovery Playbook and several checklists to provide guidance and best practices. Get these resources now.

Managing large-scale organizational change resulting from COVID-19

NATIONAL PR is helping Canadian businesses navigate COVID-19 by offering tips and advice for how to best manage large-scale organizational change resulting from the pandemic. Organizations that gain perspective and insight early into how best to move through change with creativity, compassion, commitment and communication will be the most successful and adaptive. Read the blog post.

Ensuring The Recovery And Resilience Of Canada’s Food Service Sector

The post-COVID recovery of Canada’s food service industry is essential to our economy rebounding successfully. Please join Molson Coors Canada President Frederic Landtmeters, Boston Pizza President and CEO Jim Treliving, Firkin Group of Pubs President Larry Issacs and our very own President and CEO, Perrin Beatty, on May 12, 2020 at 2:30 p.m. ET for this special roundtable. Register now.

Virtual Selling Webinar

Join your BBB and Calgary Chamber of Commerce for a webinar on best practices for Virtual Selling. Hamish Knox will review how to prepare you and your business for a new way of engaging your accounts and prospects…and how to avoid five common mistakes made by most sales professionals when selling virtually. Join us for this webinar on Friday, May 15. Register now.

BDC Live Webinar: Planning for recovery: How to restart your business in the wake of COVID-19

On May 22, 2020 at 10:00am MT, join BDC Chief Economist Pierre Cléroux who will give an economic update and address the expected timeline for different sectors to recover, and other experts who will discuss how to address the new operational and financial challenges that businesses face. Learn more.

#YXH2Gether

Share your stories and resources with us and on the YXH Business Support Group and connect with us for any questions you have.

Recognize your heroes by using the hashtag #YXHheroes.

Honour your everyday heroes through the Alberta Northern Lights Volunteer Awards program. Nominations can be submitted online.

"You've got to believe in the possibilities. You've got to believe that tomorrow can be better than today. And here's the big one. Believe in yourself." - Jim Rohn

For more resources visit our COVID-19 page