432-01144 (Business and trade)

WHEREAS

• COVID-19 resulted in a crisis in the Small Business sector;
• During the pandemic, revenues were catastrophically impacted as a result of closures, capacity limits & social restrictions;
• Operating costs have spiked; and
• The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), Canada Emergency Business Account and Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program have played a critical role in saving jobs, but some businesses remain ineligible due only to the timing of their projects.

We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:

1. Adjust eligibility for these programs to include both New and Newly-Expanded Businesses, who can demonstrate that their project was non-reversible at the outset of the pandemic;

2. Implement an alternate method for determining CEWS and CERS rates for these businesses;

3. Back pay to March 15th, 2020 both CEWS and CERS to these businesses based on the alternate rate.