There are two important ongoing COVID-19 relief programs for which your organization may qualify—the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)—which offer potentially significant subsidies for businesses with Canadian operations.
Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy
The CEWS provides a subsidy of up to 75% of eligible remuneration paid to employees by a qualifying entity operating in Canada, up to a maximum of $847 per week per employee. The subsidy covers eligible periods between March 15, 2020 and June 30, 2021, with no limitation on the number of qualifying employees per entity.
The deadline to submit a claim for the first five eligible periods is approaching on January 31, 2021.
Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy
Businesses operating in Canada that have experienced a revenue decline as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible for a subsidy to cover part of their commercial rent or property expenses for the period between September 27, 2020 and June 30, 2021.
This subsidy provides payments directly to qualifying renters and property owners. Eligible expenses include:
For Property Owners:
- Property and similar taxes;
- Property insurance; and
- Interest on commercial mortgages for the purpose of purchasing real property.
For Tenants:
- Rent (including rent based on a percentage of sales, profit, or similar criteria); and
- Amounts required to be paid or payable by a tenant under a net lease (either to the lessor or a third party).
This program also provides additional lockdown support if your business location is significantly affected by a public health order for one week or more. The lockdown support provides an additional 25% in subsidy amounts to businesses forced to shut down or restrict activities because of a public health order. With this additional benefit, the maximum subsidy available under the CERS program may increase to 90% of eligible expenses.
Next Steps
Our team at Ryan can help your organization determine if it qualifies for either subsidy. If your organization has already accessed CEWS and CERS relief, our team can help ensure the subsidies have been maximized for your organization.
Ryan also supports businesses with identifying other support programs, like the Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP), which aims to support businesses in vulnerable sectors heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and provides low interest loans of up to $1 million over extended terms.
There is no cost to your organization if it does not qualify for relief or if no additional subsidy is identified by Ryan.
To learn more, please reach out to your Ryan representative or David Douglas, Principal and Canadian Government Incentives Practice Leader at david.douglas@ryan.com or by phone at 905.567.7926 Ext. 36-5410.