Trudeau Announces Expansion for Business Supports

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expanding the eligibility criteria for the Canada Emergency Business Account for owner-operator small businesses. He made the announcement as part of his address to Canadians.

“By expanding the CEBA, we will be giving more businesses access to the support they need, so the can help protect workers and the jobs they rely on,” Trudeau said. Approximately 600,000 businesses have applied for the benefit since it was introduced last month.

To be eligible businesses with a payroll of less than $20,000 will need the following:

• a business operating account at a participating financial institution
• a Canada Revenue Agency business number, and to have filed a 2018 or 2019 tax return.
• eligible non-deferrable expenses between $40,000 and $1.5 million. Eligible non-deferrable expenses could include costs such as rent, property taxes, utilities, and insurance.

Expenses will be subject to verification and audit by the federal government. “We have been listening to you throughout his, and will continue to, to make sure we’re delivering the support Canadian businesses need to get through this tough time and be positioned for success once the recovery begins,” Finance Minister Bill Morneau said. Funding will be delivered through financial institutions.

Canada-US Border to Remain Close

The Canada-US border will remain closed for another month. Trudeau announced the agreement between the two countries earlier today. “The situation is changing rapidly and we’re adjusting constantly to what are the right measures for Canadians to get that balance right between keeping people safe, and restoring a semblance of normality and economic activity we all rely on,” Trudeau said.

The border has been closed to all non-essential travel since March 21, 2020. The new agreement will expire next month. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is pressing for a plan to re-open citing case of hardship. “We certainly have a lot of compassion for those spouses who have been separated, or children who don’t have access to one parent or another,” he said.