COVID-19 Update for November 3 2020 – 12:30pm
During his media briefing today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opened by noting the surge of cases, especially in Manitoba, and assured Manitobans that the government will be providing support on COVID testing, contact tracing, PPE, isolation housing and more.
Business Assistance
Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, announced that due to international travel being restricted due to COVID-19, the CanExport SMEs program is pivoting to now help small businesses:
- Develop and expand their e-commerce presence by covering partial costs associated with online sales platforms and digital strategy consulting, as well as advertising and search engine optimization.
- Attend virtual trade shows and other business-to-business events.
- Navigate new COVID-19-related trade barriers by helping pay for new international market certifications and requirements.
More information can be found here.
New Support Measures
Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland announced that the legislation for the new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy, new lockdown support and for the extension of the Canada Wage Subsidy has been introduced. She is encouraging all MPs to support these measures.
Protecting Quebec Farm Workers
Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food announced an investment of $7.5 million under the Emergency On-Farm Support Fund to help Quebec farmers better protect the health and safety of farm workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This measure will be administered by La Financiere Agricole du Quebec (FADQ).
Eligible activities include direct infrastructure improvements to living quarters and workstations, temporary or emergency housing (on or off-farm), as well as personal protective equipment (PPE), sanitary stations, workstations and any other health and safety measures that safeguard the health and safety of Canadian and temporary foreign workers from COVID-19.