Coronavirus (COVID-19)

• Government of Canada
• World Health Organization
• Corona Virus and the Travel Industry

• Canada’s Response to COVID-19
• Public Health Agency of Canada: Outbreak Updates
• World Health Organization (WHO): Situation Reports

• Handwashing Protocols

• British Columbia Hotel Association 
• Alberta Hotel & Lodging Association
• Saskatchewan Hotel & Hospitality Associations
• Manitoba Hotel Association
• Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association
• Association Hôtellerie Québec
• Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador

• Crisis Services Canada: 1-833-456-4566 or text 45645; 1-866-277-3553 (from Quebec):
• Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868
• First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness Help Line: 1-855-242-3310
• Native Youth Crisis Hotline: 1-877-209-1266

This payment delay will allow hotels to have more liquidity on hand to survive the financial impact of COVID-19.

• Banks will offer $40,000 loans, guaranteed by the Government to qualifying businesses and loans will be interest free for the first year. This measure allows hoteliers to easily access loans directly through their banking institution instead of a third-party.
• For qualifying businesses, the first $10,000 of this amount will be forgivable.

New Access to Credit through Export Development Canada (EDC) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)

• The Government announced $12.5 billion of additional support and access to credit through EDC and BDC to help small and medium-sized enterprises with cashflow requirements.
• Hoteliers can apply for a guaranteed loan through your banking institution to access this additional financial support.

The Canada Revenue Agency will allow all businesses to defer, until after August 31, 2020, the payment of any income tax amounts that become owing on or after today and before September 2020.  This relief would apply to tax balances due, as well as instalments. No interest or penalties will accumulate on these amounts during this period. This measure, to be implemented immediately, frees up to $55 billion in temporary tax relief, resulting in businesses having more money available during this period.

This program will allow the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Export Development Canada (EDC) to provide more than $10 billion of additional support, largely targeted to small and medium-sized businesses (as defined by 499 employees or less). Implemented immediately, this money should be available for hoteliers.

New relief measures for qualified businesses include:

• Working capital loans of up to $2 million with flexible terms and payment postponements for up to 6 months for qualifying businesses;
• Postponement of payments for up to six months, free of charge, for existing BDC clients with total BDC loan commitment of $1 million or less; and
• Reduced rates on new eligible loans.

Hoteliers should also qualify for up to $100k in as little as 48 hours from BDC. The direct online application can be found here. 

Note that the program does not make funds available to businesses which operate an onsite a bar or lounge, however restaurants would be acceptable.

If you have any issues with this application, please reach out to us. The Government has asked us to flag gaps in the system that need fixing, and are willing to review hotel accounts with issues for us.

• The government’s previously announced wage subsidy of 10% has been increased to 75%. Qualifying businesses will include all hotels that have seen a 30 per cent decline in revenue.
• CEWS will cover 75% of first $58,700 of workers’ salaries, or up to $847/week.
• This subsidy will be available for up to three months and retroactive until March 15, 2020, allowing members to keep or potentially re-hire laid off staff.

This announcement was made on March 27, 2020. More details will follow.

Details: 

• CERB will be backdated to March 15, 2020
• CEBB is a taxable benefit which will provide $2,000 a month to be paid in four week instalments for up to 16 weeks.

Eligibility: 

• CERB includes workers who are employed but are not receiving income because of disruptions to their work situation due to COVID-19. This measure allows our industry to not have to resort to lay-offs and keep furloughed employees with the company and ready to quickly return to work once our industry recovers.
• The CERB would also cover those without employment or self-employment income for at least 14 consecutive days in a four-week period for reasons related to COVID-19, including if they lost their job, are sick or in quarantine, or need to care for a child or a family member.
• Temporary foreign workers who do not qualify for EI, but who meet any of the above criteria, are also eligible for this benefit.

Qualification:

• To qualify, applicants must have had $5,000 in 2019 or year preceding in employment income, self-employment income, or maternity or parental leave benefits and/or similar benefits paid in Quebec under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP).
• The online application is expected to be available April 6 until October 3, 2020. Benefits should be delivered 10 days after submission of the application form. Applicants can apply in one of these three ways:
  • by accessing it on your CRA MyAccount secure portal;
  •  by accessing it from your secure My Service Canada Account;
  • or by calling a toll free number (not yet available) equipped with an automated application process.

Information for those that have already applied for EI benefits:

• If a claimant has already applied for EI they do not need to reapply for the CERB. The claim will be automatically moved over to the CERB, and benefits paid from this program first. If still unemployed after October 3, 2020,  claimants can use their hours to apply for EI benefits after this date.
• Additionally, those who are already receiving EI benefits as of today would continue to receive their benefits and should not apply to the CERB. If the EI benefits end before October 3rd, 2020, and the claimant is still unable to return to work, they can apply to the CERB once the EI benefits run out.
• EI eligible employees who have recently lost their job can continue to apply for EI here.
• Employers should also note to continue to file EI Records of Employment (ROEs) for employees correctly for the reported circumstances (e.g. quarantine/sickness, shortage of work).

Measures to expedite the EI process:

• The one week waiting period has been waived for claimants who are quarantined so they can be paid for the first week of their claim. There is a newly established toll-free telephone number to assist those who would like to waive the one week waiting period: 1-833-381-2725.
• People claiming EI due to quarantine will not have to provide a medical certificate.
• People who cannot complete their claim for EI sickness benefits due to quarantine may apply later and have their EI claim backdated to cover the period of delay.

Measures to expedite the EI process:

• The one week waiting period has been waived for claimants who are quarantined so they can be paid for the first week of their claim. There is a newly established toll-free telephone number to assist those who would like to waive the one week waiting period: 1-833-381-2725.
• People claiming EI due to quarantine will not have to provide a medical certificate.
• People who cannot complete their claim for EI sickness benefits due to quarantine may apply later and have their EI claim backdated to cover the period of delay.

Information for those that have already applied for EI benefits:

• If a claimant has already applied for EI they do not need to reapply for the CERB. The claim will be automatically moved over to the CERB, and benefits paid from this program first. If still unemployed after October 3, 2020,  claimants can use their hours to apply for EI benefits after this date.
• Additionally, those who are already receiving EI benefits as of today would continue to receive their benefits and should not apply to the CERB. If the EI benefits end before October 3rd, 2020, and the claimant is still unable to return to work, they can apply to the CERB once the EI benefits run out.
• EI eligible employees who have recently lost their job can continue to apply for EI here.
• Employers should also note to continue to file EI Records of Employment (ROEs) for employees correctly for the reported circumstances (e.g. quarantine/sickness, shortage of work).

EI Work-Sharing (WS) program, which helps employers and employees avoid layoffs when there is a temporary decrease in business activity beyond the control of the employer, has new temporary measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

• • WS agreements extended for maximum possible duration from 38 weeks to 76 weeks, waived mandatory cooling off period and more flexible employer eligibility.
  • For employees to be eligible for the WS program they must be eligible to receive EI benefits, considered core staff, and agree to reduce working hours and share available work.
  • For more information on the WS program please visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/corporate/notices/coronavirus/employees-overview.html

• The tax filing deadline is extended for individuals to June 1, 2020.
• Additional assistance to families with children by temporarily increasing Canada Child Benefit payments up to $300 per child.
• Government of Canada will provide additional assistance to individuals and families with low and modest incomes with a special top-up payment under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) credit. This will include up to $400 for single adults and $600 for couples.
• Canadian banks have committed to work with their customers on a case-by-case basis to find solutions to help them manage hardships caused by COVID-19. Canadians who are impacted by COVID-19 and experiencing financial hardship as a result should contact their banking institution regarding flexibility for a mortgage deferral.