Daily COVID-19 Update: May 6, 2020

Supports for Business

Launch a relief crowdfunding campaign with ATB BoostR at no cost.

ATB wants to help support your business throughout COVID-19. Cash flow continues to be a challenge for many businesses and the ATB crowdfunding platform can help. With ATB BoostR, you can:

Receive donations from your crowd (friends, family and fans).
Sell your existing inventory online.
Pre-sell products, experiences or gift cards.

And from May 1 to July 1, every dollar raised goes to your business. They are waiving all fees, and there’s no minimum amount you need to raise in order to get your funds. The money you raise will be added to your account weekly.

What is ATB BoostR?

ATB BoostR is a rewards-based crowdfunding platform from ATB designed for entrepreneurs and small businesses in Alberta. Through this COVID-19 pandemic, we are modifying our platform to help your business gain access to capital through donation or by offering a reward. Find out more.

Canada Revenue Agency Resources at a glance:

Safety Measures for Meat Processing Facilities

Meat processing facilities in Alberta are expected to implement safety controls that meet requirements identified by Alberta Health Services, Occupational Health and Safety legislation and chief medical officer of health orders. These controls vary among the facilities to address each situation and operation. Read more.

Child Care Sector Grants Announced

Up to $17.8 million in grants will be provided to child care centres and approved family day home agencies to ensure they are ready to safely restart and support families through Alberta’s economic recovery. Day care centres and out-of-school care centres will benefit from a phased approach for these supports.

Phase 1 - $6.7 million:

Centres will immediately receive a one-time grant to cover up to 25 per cent of overhead costs like rent and utilities. This accounts for the remaining portion of expenses not covered by funding under federal programs.

Phase 2 - $3.2 million:

Upon reopening, centres will receive a grant for cleaning and sanitation supplies to adhere to public health guidelines, as well as to assist with staff recruitment and training.

Phase 3 - $6.9 million:

After three months of being open, centres will potentially receive a third grant to offset deferred bills and to address unforeseen operational issues. This will be based on an assessment of other federal and provincial support programs.

Once child care centres reopen, they will be required to adhere to public health guidelines developed by Children’s Services and Alberta Health. These guidelines will be released as soon as possible. Approved family day home agencies will also be able to access funding, up to $1 million total, to support current operations and supplies and equipment to adhere to public health guidelines.

Supports for Individuals

Update on student learning and school re-entry engagement

While teacher-directed at-home learning continues for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year, the province is engaging the education system on a re-entry plan. With in-person classes cancelled, teachers continue to work from the at-home learning guidelines established on March 20, with subject matter and workload varying by grade level. Schools are using multiple approaches to deliver content to students. More than 90 per cent of school authorities are offering online learning, while about half are also emailing, telephoning and sending paper-based work to students. School authorities and the government have provided about 60,000 devices, including laptops, Chromebooks, tablets and iPads, to students as they learn from home. Read more.

Supports for families and parents

Recognizing that many families have questions about at-home learning, a provincial education helpline is now available to parents through which Alberta Education staff will address their questions and direct them to their school authorities, where applicable. The intent is to provide advice to families, particularly to parents of children with disabilities, who have questions about their child’s program now that the traditional delivery process has changed. Parents can reach the helpline by calling 780-422-6548 (toll-free by dialing 310-0000, followed by the 10-digit phone number) or by emailing studentsupport@gov.ab.ca.

Additionally, more than 4,000 curriculum resources to support parents and students are available on the LearnAlberta.ca website. School authorities have also made various resources available on their own websites.

Re-entry plan engagement

No decisions have been made on school operations for the 2020-21 school year starting in September. The province is working with school authorities and education system partners on developing a comprehensive re-entry plan that considers three scenarios, which could exist by September. They are:

Normal school operations are able to resume.
Schools are partially re-opened, with some level of restrictions.
Teacher-directed at-home learning continues.

The re-entry plan will prioritize the safety and well-being of our teachers, staff and students. In addition to the feedback gathered from the education system, the plan will honour collective bargaining agreements, and will be informed by Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy and advice provided by Alberta’s chief medical officer of health.

Community Supports and Resources

Utility Payment Deferral Program Act

Bill 14 will enable the Utility Payment Deferral Program, which is helping Albertans affected financially by the COVID-19 pandemic.

If passed, the Utility Payment Deferral Program Act will allow electricity and natural gas providers to apply for loans either from the Balancing Pool or from the Government of Alberta, ensuring they have the cash flow to support Albertans through the Utility Payment Deferral Program.

The program – one of the first of several supports announced by the government to protect Albertans and small businesses from the economic impacts of the pandemic – allows those experiencing financial hardship as a direct result of COVID-19 to defer their utility payments until June 18. Eligible residential, farm, and small commercial customers can do so by contacting their utility provider.

Bill 14 also lays out repayment criteria for individuals who defer payments through the program. Repayment can occur through equal, monthly instalments – starting when the program ends on June 18 – or through a repayment plan agreed to by the retailer and customer. All deferred payments must be paid back by June 18, 2021. Read more.

Advocacy

Canadian Chamber/StatsCan survey shows impact of COVID-19 on diverse business owners

The Canadian Survey on Business Conditions captured the impacts of COVID-19 upon businesses owned by diverse segments of the population, including women, Indigenous peoples, visible minorities, immigrants and people with disabilities. The topline numbers suggest that COVID-19 had a more severe impact on diverse businesses with a statement issued by the Canadian Chamber today summarizing the findings. Canadian Survey on Business Conditions.

CBRN Data and Research Page Now Available

Good planning requires good data and information. The Canadian Business Resiliency Network has aggregated Canada’s foremost economic dashboards on COVID-19 indicators to help cross-sectoral decision-makers make informed choices on retooling, reopening and recovery. Additionally, we teamed up with Statistics Canada to create the most comprehensive picture, or dataset, of business impacts and decisions amid the current health crisis through the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions. Access the data.

New Resources

Want To Get Your Business Online? Freightcom Has A Contest To Get You There!

Freightcom understands the struggles SMEs are currently facing to remain operational throughout this pandemic and is doing its part to give back. Freightcom is offering to build ecommerce websites for 10 businesses to help them get online and sell their products. To be selected, you must submit a three-to-five-minute video or a 300-word written submission explaining why your business should be chosen. Submissions will be accepted until Sunday, May 17, and winners will be announced on Friday, May 22.

Deadline Tomorrow: Tender For Extended Logistics Services

The Public Health Agency of Canada requires the assistance of a major logistics service provider for an overall solution including, but not limited to, customs documentation and brokerage (for goods arriving from outside Canada), receipt at Canadian port of entry or at supplier’s own warehouse, deconsolidation, stocktaking, secure warehousing, inventory management, responsive reporting and onward movement of these critical products to various locations in each of the provinces and territories. The services will be required for a period of one year with an option to extend the contract by an additional three one-year periodhttps://buyandsell.gc.ca/procurement-data/tender-notice/PW-20-00913882s. In order to secure the logistics chain, interested suppliers must be an asset-based 3PL. NOTE: the deadline is Thursday, May 7 at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Ensuring the Recovery and Resiliency 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.