There is an old American folk song by Woody Guthrie called “Jolly Banker.” In it, Guthrie (a noted union activist) depicts a helpful banker with a constant smile who is there for families in need with loans for furniture, lines of credit, and deferred mortgages. Over the course of
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In Canada, pundits sometimes use a clever observation to denote the difference in cultures between Americans and Canadians: the expiration notice on Canadian produced food says, ‘best before’ while American made food says, ‘consume by.’ The difference is supposed to illustrate a separation in positive versus negative
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By Mitchell Davidson It seems the whole of the Ontario populace is fixated on the question of when things can return to normal. Many, including the premier, have rightly observed that Ontarians will have to adjust to a new normal as the reopening of the economy promises
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As the calendar turns to May, some jurisdictions across Canada are starting to slowly loosen public health restrictions to re-open their economies, while others are establishing plans to do so. When COVID-19 set in, federal and provincial governments were required to work together to slow and contain
Read more →As previously announced, employers will be able to apply for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) on Monday, April 27. The Canada Revenue Agency will administer the program and expects to process 90 per cent of CEWS applications by May 5th, with direct deposits and cheques sent
Read more →The federal government announced its first sector-specific measures as part of its COVID-19 response, including targeted support for the oil and gas sector that is aligned with the Trudeau government’s key priorities: Up to $1.72 billion to clean up orphan and inactive oil and gas wells in
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Federal Government Expands Relief to Small Businesses as Response Efforts Continue Across Canada COVID-19 and the resulting economic shutdown has greatly impacted small businesses across the country. Early announcements from the federal government (and subsequent comments about gaps in federal support raised by stakeholder groups and opposition
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Wage Subsidy Legislation Passes The federal government met for a rare emergency sitting on Saturday during the Easter long weekend to unanimously pass legislation bringing the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy into law. The Bill passed the House of Commons around 6:00 pm on Saturday. The Senate concluded
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The House of Commons has been recalled by the Trudeau Government to sit this Saturday to pass legislation to implement the government’s 75% Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. The House sitting will begin at 12:15 pm and the Senate is scheduled to sit at 4:00 pm, indicating the
Read more →Following Ontario’s release of its pandemic projections last week, Quebec and Alberta have followed suit, illustrating the impact of COVID-19 within provinces across Canada. The picture that is emerging is that the pandemic is hitting Canada’s provinces differently. In Ontario and Quebec, the pandemic is on track
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