Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy

What is the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy?

Canadian businesses, including non-profit organizations and charities, whose March revenue has decreased by at least 15% due to COVID-19 and facing employee layoffs can access a temporary wage subsidy for 3 months. Business owners can receive 75% of wages per employee to a maximum of $58,700 during the 3-month period, to a maximum of $847/week per employee. These payments will be back dated to March 15, 2020 and run to June 6, 2020.

How to apply for CEWS:

Eligible businesses can apply for the program through the My Business Account portal on the Canada Revenue Agency’s website or through your financial institution, Conexus Credit Union.

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Types of eligible employers:

• Individuals
• Taxable corporations
• Persons who are exempt from corporate tax such as non-profit organizations
• Registered charities
• Partnerships consisting of eligible employers

More information on eligibility and how to apply can be found on the Government of Canada website and in the frequently asked questions below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Canadian Emergency Business Account

What is the Canada Emergency Business Account?

• It’s a $40,000 loan to help eligible businesses pay for operating expenses, payroll and other non-deferrable expenses which are important for business continuity.
• Until December 31, 2022, the Canada Emergency Business Account will be funded as a term loan with no interest and no payments
• .Beginning January 1, 2023, interest accrues on the balance of the term loan at the rate of 5% per annum, payable monthly on the last day of the month.
• If you pay 75% of the balance of the term loan on or before December 31, 2022, the remaining balance of your term loan will be forgiven.  For example, if your balance is $40,000 on January 1, 2021 and you repay $30,000 on or before December 31, 2022, the remaining $10,000 will be forgiven.
• If you do not repay the 75% of the balance of the term loan on or before December 31, 2022, the full loan balance and all accrued and unpaid interest will be due and payable on December 31, 2025.
• Once your loan application has been reviewed and submitted the process for funding will take up to 5 days from completion.  

What’s the eligibility criteria?

The eligibility criteria are as follows, per the Government of Canada’s requirements:

• You are a Canadian operating company (ie. not a holding company) registered and in operation on or before March 1, 2020.
• Your Annual payroll expense is between $20,000 and $1.5 million, as evidenced on your 2019 T4 Summary of Remuneration Paid (T4SUM).  If you cannot locate your T4SUM contact Revenue Canada for reissue.
• A 15-digit Canada Revenue Agency Number also shown on your T4SUM.
• Conexus is your primary financial institution - meaning your everyday business banking account and cash management activities are held with Conexus, and opened on or before March 1, 2020.
  • If your everyday business banking account is held elsewhere, please apply for funding through the Financial Institution that holds your primary Business Operating Account.
  • Your account must be in Good Standing as an existing member.

Please review the below information:

• CEBA Term Loan Agreement
• Privacy Agreement

If you have further questions, please visit www.CEBAquestions.ca  or reach out to our Member Contact Centre 1-800-667-7477, option 2 Business Banking. Continue to check back at Conexus.ca/CEBA for more information as it comes available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Business Development Bank of Canada Co-Lending Program

The BDC Co-Loan program provides eligible applicants access to up to $6.25 million CAD (max loans amount dependent on business size) in loans to cover operating expenses such as rent and payroll and working capital needs such as inventory.  The loan will be jointly funded by Conexus and BDC.

Business with less than $1 million in Annual Revenue	Businesses with $1-50 million in Annual Revenue	Businesses with over $50 million in Annual Revenue
Up to $312,500	Up to $3.125 million	Up to $6.25 million

What is the BDC Co-Lending Program?

• Eligible Conexus business members can apply for financing to support their operational and liquidity needs
• Term Loan
• First 12 months to be interest only
• Amortization and terms based on your business needs

What’s the eligibility criteria?

• Been a member with Conexus as of March 1, 2020
• Been a viable business as of March 1, 2020 prior to COVID-19 impact
• Meet the necessary requirements that will form part of the application process
• Please contact your Business Advisor for further details on the eligibility criteria

When can I apply?

Conexus members should speak to the Business Advisor to learn more about the application process and eligibility criteria.

Frequently Asked Questions

Canadian Emergency Wage Subside

What is the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy?

Canadian businesses, including non-profit organizations and charities, whose March revenue has decreased by at least 15% due to COVID-19 and facing employee layoffs can access a temporary wage subsidy for 3 months. Business owners can receive 75% of wages per employee to a maximum of $58,700 during the 3-month period, to a maximum of $847/week per employee. These payments will be back dated to March 15, 2020 and have been extended into August.

How to apply for CEWS:

Eligible businesses can apply for the program through the My Business Account portal on the Canada Revenue Agency’s website.
 
Types of eligible employers:

• Individuals
• Taxable corporations
• Persons who are exempt from corporate tax such as non-profit organizations
• Registered charities
• Partnerships consisting of eligible employers

More information on eligibility and how to apply can be found on the Government of Canada website.

Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance

The Government of Canada has announced the CECRA program, in co-operation with Canada’s Provinces to provide much needed commercial rent relief to small businesses during this unprecedented time. This program will lower rent by 75% for small businesses that have been affected by COVID-19, in co-operation with the property owner. The program provides commercial property owners access to forgivable loans if they cover 50% of the rent payments for eligible small business tenants.

The commercial property owner must agree to reduce the tenants rent by 75% for the months of April, May and June under a Rent Forgiveness Agreement. The property owner would not be able to evict the tenant under the agreement, and the tenant would cover the remaining 25% of rent owed. Tenants must be paying less than $50,000 a month in rent, have ceased operations or experienced a 70% decline in revenues due to COVID-19. Non-profit and charitable organizations also qualify for the program.
More information is available on the CMHC website.

Saskatchewan Small Business Emergency Payment

The Saskatchewan Small Business Emergency Payment program provides much needed financial assistance to Saskatchewan’s small businesses that had to close or reduce operations due to the public health order during COVID-19.

The payment can be used for any purpose, including covering fixed costs or the costs associating with re-opening after the public health order has lifted restrictions. Payments are based of 15% of the businesses’ monthly revenue in April 2019 or February 2020 to a maximum of $5,000. Seasonal businesses 15% payments are based off the average monthly sales revenue for their 2019 operational months.

To be eligible, a Saskatchewan business or not-for-profit must:

• Have been carrying on business in Saskatchewan on February 29, 2020;
• Have been ordered to temporarily close or curtail operations through a COVID-19 public health order;
• Have less than 500 employees:
  • Seasonal businesses:
    • In the year before the COVID-19 public health order; or
    • When averaged for the 3 years before the year in which the COVID-19 public health order;
• Attest that they:
  • have experienced a loss in sales revenue from business activities due to a COVID-19 public health order;
  • plan to reopen operations following the cancellation of the COVID-19 public health order; and
  • have not received any payments or amounts from any other sources, including insurance, to replace or compensate for the loss of sales revenue other than amounts from other government assistance programs; and
• Apply on or before July 31, 2020.

Applications can be completed on the Government of Saskatchewan website.

Export Development Canada Business Credit Availability Program Guarantee

As part of the federal government’s new $65 billion Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP), Conexus Credit Union and Export Development Canada (EDC) are partnering to provide small-and medium-sized Canadian businesses with financing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Access the credit you need to cover payroll and other operating costs during this global health crisis. The EDC BCAP Guarantee provides businesses with up to $6.25 million in credit to cover operational costs like payroll and rent. Proceeds from the BCAP-supported loan cannot be used to repay or refinance existing debt (further restrictions apply to other non-operational costs). Export sales are not required to qualify for the program.

EDC fees related to this guarantee will be deferred for the first six months, giving some short-term relief to your business. EDC will provide a guarantee to Conexus Credit Union on 80% of the value of your loan. By sharing risk with EDC, we can help your company access the financing it needs. Note that the guarantee is to our institution, not your business, so you remain responsible for the full value of the loan.

For more information on the loan and the eligibility criteria, contact your business advisor. Information can also be found on the EDC website.

Conexus Credit Union Supports

Your businesses are unique, and your challenges may be complex. We can help assess your situation and determine the best options to provide some relief including working with you activate a skip-payment plan, to defer monthly payments, or to create an interest only payment plan to help your business navigate the economic downturn.  

This relief extends to members, small business members, commercial members, and agricultural members in good standing who are feeling a financial impact and are looking for a temporary relief from mortgage, line of credit, and loan payments. There are many other options that can be explored. Please reach out to us directly to talk about financial solutions for your individual situation.  

To participate in these supports and programs

Contact your advisor, call your branch, or call the Member Contact Centre 1-800-667-7477 . We ask for your patience as we work through high-call volumes, but rest assured we will get to you and help you through this uncertain time.  

Alongside financial well-being, we want to recognize the importance of taking care of your overall well-being. There are many free and confidential supports available 24/7 throughout the province to help your mental and physical well-being. Learn more.

Most importantly, in times like these, we need to look out for each other and our neighbours. We are in this together and will continue to work through these challenges together, truly defining what being a community is all about. If you have any questions, or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out.

Regional Relief and Recovery Fund

The Government of Canada has announced additional funding for small and medium businesses who need additional relief due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) provides $962 million in relief funding delivered through regional development agencies. Specifically, $304 million is allocated to Western Economic Diversification Canada to assist Western Canadian businesses specifically in the tourism sector.

The objective of the RRRF is to assist Western Canadian businesses that do not qualify for other programs such as the Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA) or the Community Futures Emergency Loan Program. The RRRF will support businesses in two ways:

• Provides up to $40,000 in repayable contributions to businesses that are not eligible to access other federal support programs. Businesses that receive funds from the RRRF and repay 75 percent of the contribution (up to $30,000) on or before December 31, 2022 will result in forgiveness of 25 percent of the contribution (up to $10,000).
• Provide up to $1,000,000 in repayable contributions to businesses that can demonstrate a meaningful contribution to the Western Canadian economy and are experiencing liquidity issues. These companies may not have accessed other Government of Canada relief programs, or may have accessed them, but require additional funding to mitigate cash flow pressures. This contribution is fully repayable.

Further details, including eligibility criteria for each stream, and how to apply, can be found here.

Examples of business that are eligible to apply to the RRRF:

• Pre-revenue firms (e.g. a company that has not had any sales to date)
• Businesses that do not have salaried employees (e.g. a company with a workforce of contract employees)
• Businesses with no payroll that do pay their owners a salary (e.g. a company that pays its owners through dividends)

Examples of businesses that are not eligible to apply to the RRRF:

• Sole proprietorships
• Not-for-profit organizations – Funding is available to charitable organizations through Community Futures Saskatchewan.

Applications are being accepted through Western Economic Development Canada and can be found here.

Large Enterprise Emergency Fund Facility

The Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) is a program to support large employers through COVID-19. The program provides short-term liquidity assistance in the form of interest-bearing term loans through the Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation, a subsidiary of the Canada Development Investment Corporation. The assistance is available to large Canadian employers who meet the following criteria:

• Make a significant impact on Canada’s economy by:
  • Having significant operations in Canada
  • Supporting a significant workforce in Canada
• Have annual revenues of $300 million or more
• Require a minimum loan of $60 million
• Have never been found guilty of tax evasion

Assistance is available to large for-profit enterprises in all industries, except those who operate in the financial sector, as well as certain not-for-profit businesses. They must commit to minimizing loss of employment by sustaining their business operations through COVID-19 and provide an overall plan to return to financial stability.

For full information on LEEFF, visit the Canada Development Investment Corporation fact sheet here.