Mar 24, 2020

NMMA Canada recently sent out an excellent summary of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation that has been rapidly evolving in Canada and across the world.

In the best interests of the industry, NMMA Canada has graciously agreed to allow Boating Industry Canada News Week to share this information with Canada’s marine business.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO DATE

The federal government has committed to support businesses and workers in the face of the economic threat of COVID-19. Some steps the government has taken to date include:

• Waiving one-week EI sickness benefit waiting period for people off sick with coronavirus;
• Enhancing work-sharing program that allows employees to retain their jobs with reduced hours;
• Establishing a $10-billion credit facility program — delivered through the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Export Development Canada (EDC) — with a goal of helping small and medium-sized businesses meet cashflow requirements and keep exporting during these challenging times.

FUNDING RELIEF FOR BUSINESSES

On Wednesday, March 18th, the Prime Minister announced a relief package — Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan — for individuals and businesses affected by COVID-19. The package includes $27 billion in direct support to Canadians and businesses, and a further $55 billion to meet liquidity needs for businesses and households through tax deferrals. Some of the business-focused highlights include:

• Helping businesses with cash flow by deferring tax payments until August 31st;
• Essentially eliminating the payroll tax for three months by providing a 10% wage subsidy to small businesses, which will help keep people employed;
• Introducing a new Emergency Care Benefit of up to $900 bi-weekly for up to 15 weeks for self-employed people who are not eligible for EI sickness benefits;
• Further expand Export Development Canada’s ability to provide support to domestic businesses.
• Provide flexibility on the Canada Account limit, to allow the Government to provide additional support to Canadian businesses, when deemed to be in the national interest, to deal with exceptional circumstances.
• Launch an Insured Mortgage Purchase Program to purchase up to $50 billion of insured mortgage pools through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). As announced on March 16, this will provide stable funding to banks and mortgage lenders and support continued lending to Canadian businesses and consumers. CMHC stands ready to further support liquidity and the stability of the financial markets through its mortgage funding programs as necessary. The Government will enable these measures by raising CMHC’s legislative limits to guarantee securities and insure mortgages by $150 billion each.

A full list of the measures, including funding and timelines, can be found here. (https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2020/03/canadas-covid-19-economic-response-plan-support-for-canadians-and-businesses.html)

FURTHER EXPECTED ACTIONS BY GOVERNMENT

Last week, the Canadian Parliament adjourned until April 20th. This means that the federal budget will likely be postponed until then, although Minister Morneau would not confirm a date when asked by reporters. However, the Minister did say parliament could reconvene before then to pass emergency measures to stimulate the economy and support Canadians. 

Minister Morneau also signaled there would be more targeted supports announced in the days ahead for the tourism and hospitality sectors, which could be especially hard-hit by the quarantine measures being brought in by municipal, provincial and federal authorities. NMMA Canada will be advocating on behalf of our members to ensure the voice of the recreational boating sector is heard as the government develops its response.

RESOURCES FOR YOUR BUSINESS

• The federal government has set up a dedicated website for businesses seeking information about the response to COVID-19. (https://www.canada.ca/en/services/business/maintaingrowimprovebusiness/resources-for-canadian-businesses.html)  They will also be hosting regular conference calls to update businesses and entrepreneurs; if you would like to be included in these calls, please fill in this Google form with your name, email, and organization. 
• The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has put together an excellent Q&A and list of resources for businesses. (https://www.cfib-fcei.ca/en/small-business-resources-dealing-covid-19)  In addition, they have also opened their Helpline to all business owners including non-CFIB members for advice on managing COVID-19 situations in the workplace. To talk to an expert, please call 1-888-234-2232.
• Canadian Chamber of Commerce president Perrin Beatty put out a tweet on March 17th calling on manufacturers to contact the federal government about potentially shifting production to medical equipment needed in the fight against COVID-19. According to Beatty, “the need for ventilators and N95 safety masks is particularly acute.” If you are a manufacturer and believe you could retool your operations to meet this need, please contact celine.caira@canada.ca.

Click here to read more (http://nmma.net/assets/cabinets/Cabinet486/Coronavirus%20Update%20for%20NMMA%20Canada%20Members.pdf)

NMMA Canada is here to serve as a resource for the marine industry throughout this crisis. Please let us know of any changes or ways that we can further support your business over the course of the next few months. If you have questions, you can contact Sara Anghel (sanghel@nmma.org) or Jim Wielgosz (jwielgosz@nmma.org ).