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Lambton Ford donated 100+ face shields to the Bluewater Health Foundation. Lambton Ford is pleased to be able to make future additional donations to further help support the needs of our local, committed front-line workers. 

Ford Motor Company has partnered with U.S. healthcare and safety providers to help provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to those front-line workers that need them the most. In Canada, Ford and UNIFOR have begun the production of face shields at their Windsor facilities. In addition to local donations, Ford is planning to produce an additional 2.5 million face shields for sale and distribution across Canada through government health agencies. Thanks Ford and Lambton Ford for all you are doing to keep the community safe!

This week, a joint initiative between the COVID-19 Business and Economic Task Force and County of Lambton titled “Shop Lambton” launched. 

Shop Lambton is a free resource that intends to help consumers find goods and services locally. It features a database of local businesses, their hours of operation, their contact information, and how they are delivering their products & services during this time. 

Lambton County Warden Bill Weber spoke to the importance of such an initiative, “The pressures our local businesses are dealing with as a result of COVID-19 are different than anything we’ve experienced before. By shopping local and supporting Lambton County businesses, you can help our economy recover from the financial hardships we are currently faced with and keep our local businesses operating well beyond the course of this pandemic”.

 Local establishments are encouraged to access the site to fill out their registration information. Click here to register.

Click here to see the Shop Lambton Map.

The Government of Canada has invested $350 million to improve the ability of community organizations to serve vulnerable Canadians during the COVID-19 crisis. Three intermediary organizations will be in charge of disbursing funds to community organizations. These intermediaries include: the Canadian Red Cross, Community Foundations of Canada, and the United Way Centraide Canada. 

The goal of this funding is to allow communities to put decisions in local hands where possible and allow flexibility to respond to local needs, among other things. To qualify for funding, the community organization must:

• Address a pressing social inclusion or well-being need caused by COVID-19
• Serve one or more vulnerable population(s) during COVID-19
• Can be carried out in a short timeframe with a reasonable budget
• Can attest to not having secured funds to cover the costs of the activities for which they have applied from another intermediary, federal COVID-19 response program, or a different source.

Interested community organizations are encouraged to visit intermediary partner websites regularly to learn more about how to apply.

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) was announced on April 1, 2020 and helps employers protect jobs, rehire employees, and provide workers with a decent income. The subsidy covers 75% of an employee’s wages (up to $847 per week) for employers who have been hit hard by COVID-19.

The Government of Canada is looking for contributions to a consultation that will help inform potential changes to the CEWS to help maximize employment and best meet the needs of businesses and workers during this unprecedented time. The consultation is run by the Department of Finance Canada and is seeking feedback from businesses of all sizes, not-for-profit, charities, and labour representatives. 

The Consultation opened on May 25, 2020 and will close on June 5, 2020. Click here to participate in the survey or to provide in-depth feedback on the guiding questions, email at fin.cews-succ.fin@canada.ca.

To read the full statement, click here.

In this episode of the Business of Business, Perrin Beatty President & CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce sits down with Garrick Tiplady, Managing Director of Facebook Canada about the resources available for small businesses during COVID-19 and how Facebook has launched over $3.5 million in grants for small businesses across Canada. 

Garrick discusses all the features Facebook and Instagram have added to support Small Businesses across Canada during this time. 

For more information on the grants available through Facebook and the eligibility, click here.

The Business Resilience Service (BRS) allows you to connect with experienced business advisors from across Canada for guidance on which government relief programs will be most appropriate to support your small-to-medium sized business, not-for-profit, or charity on how to respond and reshape amid uncertainty. 

The BRS is run through the Canadian Chamber’s Business Resilience Network in collaboration with EY and with support from Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada), and Imagine Canada.

The Program will be provided for four weeks from Monday, May 25, and involves support from approximately 125 business advisors from across the accounting profession. 

For more information about the BRS, click here.

The province of Ontario is investing in its first Virtual Action Centre, an online counseling and training portal, to support laid off and unemployed hospitality workers, and is helping apprentices by providing grants to purchase tools, protective equipment, and clothing for their trade, along with forgiving previous loans to purchase tools.

The government is also providing an Ontario Tools Grant of $2.5 million in 2020 to 2021 and $7.5 million in 2021 to 2022. This will help new, eligible apprentices purchase the equipment they need to start their careers. To be eligible for the new grant, apprentices must have: completed level 1 training on or after April 1, 2020, have an active registered training agreement, and be registered as an apprentice for at least 12 months.

Nearly $2 million will be invested to open the Virtual Action Centre in partnership with UNITE HERE Local 75. The virtual job training resource will provide up to 7,000 unemployed workers in the hospitality sector with access to a wide range of services and supports online and over the phone, including: mental health resources, technical skill training, digital skill training, English language certification, and more.

For the full statement from the Ontario government, click here.

The Government of Canada has created an interactive website to help businesses pinpoint the support available to them during the pandemic.

The website asks questions surrounding the type of support you need for your business, the specific amount that would help you, and your main goals in seeking this support. To access the Innovation Canada Interactive Website, click here.

The Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation (CEEFC) and Canada Development Investment Corporation’s (CDEV) have been mandated to assist the Canadian Government as a part of their COVID-19 Economic Response Plan to implement the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF).

LEEFF will be open to Canadian employers who (a) have a significant impact on Canada’s economy (as demonstrated by having significant operations in Canada or can generally demonstrate approximately $300 million+ in annual revenue); (b) can generally demonstrate approximately $300 million or more in annual revenues; and (c) require a minimum loan size of about $60 million.

For more information, such as the LEEFF application process for qualifying enterprises, a LEEFF Factsheet, or to read the entire statement, click here.