STRAIT AREA: With deaths now confirmed and the number of cases of COVID-19 continuing to rise, the provincial and federal governments promised more help.
During an update on April 9, Premier Stephen McNeil and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, announced a number of efforts related to COVID-19.
Applications for the $40 million Worker Emergency Bridge Fund and Small Business Impact Grant are now available. Applications for small business will be on-line at 8 a.m. A toll-free phone line for applications for the worker fund will be open starting at 8 a.m. Call 1-800-863-6582 after checking eligibility on-line, and for more information see: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/#support.
Payment for more than 480 small-business fees will be deferred until June 30 to keep cash in small business hands.
To help people who need additional supports, 211 has been launched; a new service to connect people needing COVID-19 assistance with the Canadian Red Cross. The Red Cross will act as a navigator to link people to the services they need. In addition, the Red Cross will offer wellness check-ins for Nova Scotians who are isolated and experiencing loneliness and anxiety.
Private campgrounds must close until May 1 at which time the measure will be reassessed.
Only veterinarians working with the SPCA can carry out spay and neuter surgeries.
On April 8, Prime Minister Justin announced changes to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, after talks with stakeholders and workers to address problems for non-profits, start-up companies and new businesses. Now instead of businesses having to show a 30 per cent loss in revenue from the same month last year, the federal government has allowed more flexibility.
“Companies will now have the option of using January and February of this year as reference points to show a 30 per cent loss,” the Prime Minister said. “Businesses will only need to show a 15 per cent decline in revenue for March, instead of 30 per cent because most of us only felt the impact of COVID-19 about half-way through the month.”
Charities and non-profits will be given the choice to include or exclude government funding when calculating loss and revenue.
“If your company or organization has been impacted by COVID-19, the government will give you up to $847 per week per employee… and this subsidy will be retroactive to March 15,” Trudeau noted.
Changes were also made to the Canada Summer Jobs Program to help young people and small businesses. Employers will now be given a subsidy of up to 100 per cent to cover the costs of hiring students, and an extension has been granted to the time frame for job placements to next winter.
Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, announced the establishment of the COVID-19 Disability Advisory Group, comprised of experts in disability inclusion. This group will provide advice on the real-time lived experiences of people with disabilities during this crisis; disability-specific issues, challenges and systemic gaps; and strategies, measures and steps to be taken.
Areas of particular focus will be equality of access to health care and supports; access to information and communications, mental health and social isolation; and employment and income supports.
“We recognize that some groups of Canadians are significantly and disproportionately impacted by this pandemic, in particular Canadians with disabilities,” Qualtrough said. “For some persons with disabilities, underlying medical conditions put them at greater risk of serious complications related to COVID-19. Others face discrimination and barriers in accessing information, social services, and health care. For others, the need for self-isolation and physical distancing create additional challenges.”
The Nova Scotia Securities Commission launched a new Web page and on-line video to provide COVID-19 investing information to the public. The new Web page, which can be found at: https://nssc.novascotia.ca/covid19, compiles all news releases, notices and blanket orders issued to provide relief for a number of individuals or applicants from a regulatory requirement about COVID-19 by the commission, the Canadian Securities Administrators and the North American Securities Administrators Association.
The Web page also houses a new video highlighting the increased prevalence of COVID-19 related investment fraud, focusing on specific frauds that securities regulators are warning investors about. They are pump and dump scams, fake e-mails, texts and phone calls, and fake securities trader jobs.
The commission’s COVID-19 investing Web page also has information on stock market volatility and working with an adviser to help investors make informed investment decisions.
Anyone who believes they have been contacted by someone engaging in investment fraud or fraudulent activities is advised to contact the commission at: https://nssc.novascotia.ca/recognize-and-report-scam.
Along with the new COVID-19 video, the commission’s YouTube channel has short investor education videos on investment fraud, elder financial abuse and basic investment topics.