COVID-19: OHS Tips for Construction Workers

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The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safetyhas developed a series of tip sheets to guide businesses operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here to view the tip sheet for Construction.

COVID-19: Halifax Chamber of Commerce – Navigating COVID-19 Webinar Series

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The Halifax Chamber of Commerce’s webinar series continues this week with the following FREE sessions:

A Conversation with MP Darren Fisher

Staying Present Under Pressure – A Mental Health Resource for Entrepreneurs

Funding Navigator with Patrick Sullivan

COVID-19: Cape Breton Partnership – Helping Businesses Respond During COVID-19 Webinar Series

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Recently, Cape Breton Partnership hosted a webinar on the response of Nova Scotia Works to COVID-19. The session outlined how Nova Scotia Works centres continue to support employers with recruitment needs and job seekers with employment needs via remote service delivery. 

A recording of this session, as well as past webinars, is posted on their site at https://capebretonpartnership.com/covid-19-resources/

COVID-19: Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Wage Applications Open April 27

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As a Canadian employer whose business has been affected by COVID-19, you may be eligible for a subsidy of 75% of employee wages for up to 12 weeks, retroactive from March 15, 2020, to June 6, 2020.

This wage subsidy will enable you to re-hire workers previously laid off as a result of COVID-19, help prevent further job losses, and better position you to resume normal operations following the crisis.

To help businesses determine coverage, a subsidy calculator has been added to the CRA website at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/subsidy/emergency-wage-subsidy.html

COVID-19: Federal Government announces $350 million for charities and non-profits

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On April 21, the Federal Government announced the Emergency Community Support Fund, an investment of $350 million to support vulnerable Canadians through charities and non-profit organizations that deliver essential services to those in need. 

Read more about the newly announced initiative here.

COVID-19: Deadline for Small Business Impact Grant is April 25

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The deadline to apply for the Small Business Impact Grant is this Saturday, April 25.

The team at Dalhousie has been working steadily to process the applications and get the money flowing to eligible businesses. To date, 700 applications have been approved for $2.2 million in grants.  Recipients should receive their grants in the next day or so.  A total of 2,400 applications have been received and the team continues to assess each of them. 

Initial application review is undertaken by MBA and advanced commerce students who are required to sign non-disclosure agreements.  They are supervised by faculty from the accounting group in the Rowe School of Business. Applications that are questionable, complex or unclear, are reviewed by faculty.

The program is available for small businesses, non-profits, and social enterprises directly ordered to close or significantly reduce their operations under the COVID-19 Public Health order. The grant is equal to 15% of sales revenue from either April 2019 or February 2020 (your choice), up to a maximum of $5,000 per business. More information on the program and eligibility is available at https://covid19-small-business-impact-grant.nscrc.ca/

COVID-19: McInnes Cooper ‘Coping with COVID-19: Relief for Employers – New Requirements’

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In accordance with recent changes to federal relief programs, McInnes Cooper has updated their information on resources for employers. 

Click here to read updated information about government relief for employers.

COVID-19: Register for these upcoming CCA webinars

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The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) has developed a series of webinars to help you navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. See below for registration details on upcoming webinars, or access recordings of previous videos from this series here.

COVID-19: Electronic Submission Information for TIR Building Project Services

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On April 17, Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (TIR) announced adaptations to submission standards in light of the ongoing pandemic.

To assist consultants and contractors, processes such as Requests for Proposals and Construction tendering are being transitioned to an electronic system utilizing theProvince’s e-bidding system, Ariba Discovery. Read more information from the Province on Statutory Declarations, Safety Certifications, and Electronic Bid Bonds, click here.

TIR Stakeholder Update: April 17, 2020 —

TIR also issued an FAQ document in their Stakeholder Newsletter that addressed some of the more pressing COVID-19 related questions TIR are fielding. Please click here to access the FAQs distributed by the Province.