Government economic response to COVID-19

To keep you informed of recent developments in our federal and provincial/territorial governments’ economic response to COVID-19, we will be providing you updates of key government announcements that may impact you or your business.

Announcements:

October 20, 2020 update

Our updates are provided on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on days when there are significant announcements. Information is accurate as at 3:00 p.m. EDT. Information may be affected by subsequent announcements.

Links to government announcements follow at the end of the update.

Updates:

New Brunswick - State of emergency extended: New Brunswick’s state of emergency has been extended until October 29, 2020.
Nova Scotia - Credit support for tourism operators: The Nova Scotia government is providing $50 million in funding to guarantee the debt of large tourism operators. Eligible businesses include resort, tour and sight-seeing operators with at least 100 employees and annual revenue of at least $10 million, who have experienced a year-over-year revenue decline of at least 50% for April 1 to July 30, 2020. The program will guarantee up to 95% of eligible loans, to a maximum of $15 million of debt per applicant.
Nunavut - Public health emergency extended: The public health emergency in Nunavut has been extended until October 29, 2020.
Ontario - Additional public health restrictions: Effective October 19, 2020, York Region is subject to the following restrictions: (i) gatherings are limited to 10 people indoors or 25 outdoors; (ii) indoor food and drink service at restaurants and other establishments is prohibited; (iii) gyms, gaming establishments and spectator venues must close; (iv) personal care services where a mask cannot be worn (e.g. makeup application) are prohibited; (v) tours, in-person instruction (except for schools, universities and colleges) and meeting spaces are limited to 10 people indoors or 25 outdoors; (vi) real estate open houses are prohibited; and (vii) team sports are limited to training sessions only. These restrictions went into effect for Ottawa, Peel Region and Toronto on October 10, 2020.
Ontario - Emergency orders extended: All emergency orders in effect under the Reopening Ontario Act are extended until November 21, 2020, with the exception of the “Electricity Price for Regulated Price Plan (RPP) Consumers” order. This order will end on October 31, 2020, after which consumers will have to choose between time-of-use or tiered electricity pricing.

Quebec - Funding for sports and leisure: The Quebec government announced $70 million of funding for sports and leisure organizations, including $28 million for provincial, regional and local organizations and $23 million for provincial sports federations.

Yukon - Support for tourism: The Yukon government announced an additional $2.9 million of funding, which will be provided to eligible accommodations operators under the Yukon Business Relief Program.