Appearance before the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU) by the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages

24 November 2020

Keeping business costs low during COVID-19

Question:

How is the Government of Canada keeping costs low for small and medium-sized businesses?

Key messages:

Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan has helped to protect millions of jobs, provide emergency support to families, and keep businesses afloat throughout the pandemic.
Canada is now better prepared for a sustainable economic recovery.
The Government of Canada has introduced a number of relief measures to help businesses keep operating costs low during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For example, once passed, the new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy will provide simple and easy-to-access rent and mortgage support until June 2021 for qualifying organizations affected by COVID-19.

Background:

New Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) and Lockdown Support

The new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy would provide simple and easy-to-access rent and mortgage support until June 2021 for qualifying organizations affected by COVID-19, was announced on October 9, 2020. The rent subsidy would be provided directly to tenants, while also providing support to property owners. It would support businesses, charities, and non-profits that have suffered a revenue drop, by subsidizing a percentage of their expenses, on a sliding scale, up to a maximum of 65 per cent of eligible expenses until December 19, 2020.

A new Lockdown Support measure supporting commercial tenants was announced on November 2, 2020. Once legislated, it would provide an additional 25 per cent through the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy for qualifying organizations that are subject to a lockdown and must shut their doors or significantly limit their activities under a public health order. Combined, this would mean that hard-hit businesses subject to a lockdown could receive rent support of up to 90 per cent.

Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA)

The CECRA offered forgivable loans to eligible commercial property owners so that they can reduce the rent owed by their impacted small business tenants by at least 75% for the months of April through August 2020. On September 8, 2020, the government announced that the CECRA would be extended by one month to include September 2020. As of early October, 2020, the government delivered over $1.8 billion in rent support, through the CECRA for small businesses. Rent assistance has helped over 130,000 small businesses, supporting 1.18 million jobs in Canada. The application process for CECRA for small businesses is closed.

Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)

The CEWS was introduced to prevent further job losses, encourage employers to rehire workers previously laid off as a result of COVID-19, and help better position Canadian companies and other employers to more easily resume normal operations following the crisis. The extension of the CEWS until June 2021, will continue to protect jobs by helping employers keep employees on the payroll and re-hire their workers. The wage subsidy would remain at the current rate of up to 65 per cent of eligible wages until December 19, 2020.

Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)

Additionally, on October 9, 2020, the government announced that the application deadline for CEBA is being extended to December 31, 2020, and that an attestation of the impact of COVID-19 on the business will be required to access the additional financing. As of October 22, 2020, more than 778,000 CEBA loans have been approved, representing a total of $31 billion in funds.. On October 26, 2020, the government announced that the CEBA is now open to businesses using personal banking accounts.

Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF)

The RRRF is a special one-time relief fund delivered by regional development agencies (RDAs), established to specifically target businesses, organizations and communities economically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but who have been unable to access existing support measures. While parameters differ slightly depending on the stream, programming includes repayable, interest-free funds up to $40,000 for small businesses under similar terms to those offered by the CEBA. On October 2, 2020, the government announced that it will provide an additional $600 million to support workers and businesses through RRRF. This additional investment brings the total RRRF support to over $1.5 billion. Since the Fund was launched in May, over 12,000 businesses have been assisted through the RRRF, helping protect almost 95,000 jobs across Canada.

Preparation and approvals:

Sector contact: Jenifer Pilon, Director, 343-291-3057
SCMS contact: Philippe Renoir, Director, 343-291-3865
SCMS approval: Jason Bett, DG, 343-291-3722
Sector approval: Etienne-René Massie, DG, 343-291-1882

FedNor funding to Skritswap

Question:

How will Government of Canada funding to Skritswap benefit the residents of northern Ontario?

Key messages:

In this specific case, an $800,000 repayable loan to the AI company Skritswap was given to support a woman entrepreneur in growing her business in Northern Ontario.
The company has already returned an estimated $600,000 in economic benefits to Northern Ontario and more local benefits are expected to accrue in the coming years.
As the company moves forward, it is anticipated that it will offer high-paying, cutting-edge tech jobs to those living in Northern Ontario.
FedNor is in contact with the business and we are monitoring the situation closely.
The business is fully aware that if it fails to meet the parameters set by FedNor, it will need to immediately pay back the funds it received, and has clearly indicated an ongoing commitment to create jobs in Northern Ontario.
We remain committed to growing the economy in Northern Ontario and all of our regions.

Background:

Founded in 2013 by Melissa Kargiannakis, Skritswap is an AI company that is based in Sault St. Marie, Ontario. It has won several corporate awards such as being named to the Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) Top 20 companies. Skritswap takes complex documents, such as medical records, insurance agreements, and privacy policies, and replaces technical terminology with easy-to-understand language.

In June 2019, the government announced an interest-free loan through FedNor of $800,000 to commercialize its AI-powered platform. The funding will enable the Skritswap to make information more accessible through its document conversion platform. Funding is also aimed at promoting high-paying tech jobs in Northern Ontario in an emerging field, while making important contributions to the supply chain and to growth in the local economy. In addition, since 2017, FedNor has been working with the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre, Algoma University and the City on an emerging ICT cluster initiative to identify various ICT opportunities and address ICT challenges.

In July 2019 and again in October 2020, local Sault St. Marie media reported that the company was not using its federal funding to promote growth locally, but that it was supporting jobs located in urban areas of Canada and the US. The company has signalled to ISED that it is having difficulty in finding qualified local talent serves to highlight the issue of a skills gap in the region. Other tech businesses in the region have reported similar challenges.

In the first 20 months of the Skritswap project, the company has returned an estimated $600,000 in economic benefits to Northern Ontario through salaries, accounting, bookkeeping, marketing and banking expenditures.

Helping Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Secure Funding During COVID-19

Question:

How is the Government of Canada helping small and medium-sized businesses secure funding to continue to operate?

Key messages:

Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan has helped to protect millions of jobs, provide emergency support to families, and keep businesses afloat throughout the pandemic.
Canada is now better prepared for a sustainable economic recovery.
The Government of Canada is supporting small businesses by providing them with quick access to funds through financial institutions.
For example, the Business Credit Availability Program provides critical support to help businesses cover costs, and the Canada Emergency Business Account provides small businesses and non-profits with an interest-free loan of up to $40,000.

Background:

New Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) and Lockdown Support

Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA)

Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)

The CEBA provides interest-free loans of up to $40,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits, to help cover their operating costs during a period where their revenues have been temporarily reduced. On October 9, 2020, the government announced it would expand CEBA to allow eligible businesses and not-for-profits to access an interest-free loan of up to $20,000, in addition to the original CEBA loan of $40,000. Half of this additional financing would be forgivable if repaid by December 31, 2022. Additionally, on October 9, 2020, the government announced that the application deadline for CEBA is being extended to December 31, 2020, and that an attestation of the impact of COVID-19 on the business will be required to access the additional financing. As of October 22, 2020, more than 778,000 CEBA loans have been approved, representing a total of $31 billion in funds. On October 26, 2020, the government announced that the CEBA is now open to businesses using personal banking accounts.

Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP)

In addition to CEBA, the BCAP includes a loan guarantee program for small and medium-sized enterprises offered by the Export Development Corporation of Canada, as well as a co-lending program for SMEs offered by the Business Development Bank of Canada in partnership with financial institutions. On August 31, 2020, the BCAP was extended to June 2021.

Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF)

Preparation and approvals:

Small and Medium-Sized Business support for employees during COVID-19

Question:

How is the Government of Canada helping small and medium-sized businesses support their employees?

Key messages:

The Government of Canada has introduced a number of relief measures to help businesses support their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For example, the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) is providing eligible employers with a temporary wage subsidy for employees and it has been extended until June 2021.
Through the CEWS and additional measures like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and the Canada Recovery Benefit, we have ensured that Canadians can count on the income they need to make ends meet.

Background:

Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)

The CEWS was introduced to prevent further job losses, encourage employers to rehire workers previously laid off as a result of COVID-19, and help better position Canadian companies and other employers to more easily resume normal operations following the crisis. The extension of the CEWS until June 2021,will continue to protect jobs by helping employers keep employees on the payroll and re-hire their workers. The wage subsidy would remain at the current rate of up to 65 per cent of eligible wages until December 19, 2020.

Extending EI Work Sharing

The EI Work Sharing program, which provides benefits to workers who agree to reduce their normal working hours as a result of developments beyond the control of their employers, was extended from a maximum of 38 weeks to 76 weeks. Eligibility was also extended to include public corporations, not-for-profit organization employers, and businesses who have been in business for only 1 year (rather than 2 years).

Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)

On April 6, 2020, the CERB was launched to help Canadians who had to stop working for reasons related to COVID-19, or who were eligible for EI regular or sickness benefits. The government transitioned to a simplified Employment Insurance (EI) program, effective September 27, 2020, to provide income support to those who remain unable to work and are eligible, and introduced a new suite of temporary and taxable recovery benefits to further support workers.

Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)

The CRB opened on October 12, 2020, giving income support to employed and self-employed individuals who are directly affected by COVID-19 and are not entitled to Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. Eligible Canadians can receive $1,000 ($900 after taxes withheld) for a 2-week period. Applicants may reapply up to a total of 13 eligibility periods (26 weeks) between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021.

Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB)

The new CRCB gives income support to employed and self-employed individuals who are unable to work because they must care for their child under 12 years old or a family member who needs supervised care. This applies if their school, regular program or facility is closed or unavailable to them due to COVID-19, or because they are sick, self-isolating, or at risk of serious health complications due to COVID-19. Eligible households can receive $500 ($450 after taxes withheld) for each 1-week period, and may reapply for up to a total of 26 weeks between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021.

Preparation and approvals:

COVID-19 and support for the tourism sector

Question:

What is the Government of Canada doing to support the tourism sector during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Key messages:

The Government of Canada is working with stakeholders to help the tourism sector recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19.
Shortly after the pandemic began, the government introduced emergency measures to allow businesses to access credit, retain employees, pay rent, and defer tax payments.
For example, the government quickly introduced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and the Canada Recovery Benefit, both of which provide income support directly to individuals affected by job loss or a reduction of income due to COVID-19
Tourism businesses and workers have benefited from these support measures by keeping employees on the payroll, as an example, and have further indicated that extensions more recently announced – for instance, allowing applications under CERB until December 2, 2020 – are critical for the sector.

Supplementary messages:

The tourism sector is one of the most heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and faces longer-term challenges for economic recovery. The government is committed to helping tourism businesses adapt for the future and thrive, as outlined in the Speech from the Throne.
In support of this goal, the government recently introduced legislation for the new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and Lockdown Support, as well as the extension of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS).
Testing at ports of entry, including airports — to slow the spread of COVID-19 — is critical for the restart of the tourism sector. Pilot programs, such as the one in Alberta, will help inform strategies to reduce the length of mandatory quarantine to make sure we come up with a viable solution.
On October 2, the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, announced that the government will provide an additional $600 million to support workers and businesses through Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF). This additional investment brings the total RRRF support to over $1.5 billion, helping businesses and organizations weather the impact of COVID-19.

On the 2020 Canadian Council of Tourism Ministers meeting:

On September 9, 2020, the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and co-chair of the Canadian Council of Tourism Ministers (CCTM), hosted a virtual meeting of Canada's tourism ministers.
Participating ministers recognized that the tourism sector is one of the most heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Though Canada's tourism ministers will continue to promote safe domestic travel, there was recognition that the considerable uncertainty associated with the pandemic will continue to dampen structural demand for travellers.

Background:

Targeted support for the tourism sector announced to date includes:

Support for Indigenous Tourism

The government has announced up to $306.8 million in funding to help small and medium-sized Indigenous businesses and support Aboriginal Financial Institutions that offer financing to these businesses. Funding will allow Indigenous businesses to access short-term, interest-free loans and non-repayable contributions.

Support for culture, heritage and sport

The COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund, through the Department of Canadian Heritage, provides $500 million for cultural, heritage and sport organizations, all of which are a key part of tourism.

Destination Canada (DC)

In response to the pandemic, the Crown Corporation responsible for marketing Canadian destinations pivoted a significant portion of its marketing efforts and budget away from international markets to focus on domestic tourism. DC is working with partners to deliver a marketing campaign to promote local destinations and experiences in an effort to sustain the Canadian tourism sector during the pandemic.

The following is a summary of general business support programs that are available to the tourism sector:

Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF)

The Regional Relief and Recovery Fund helps businesses and organizations to continue paying their employees and supporting projects to prepare for a successful recovery. This initiative, implemented by the six regional development agencies, was topped up by the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, on October 2, 2020. Current funding with the recent top-up now includes:
- $1.131 billion to support regional economies, businesses, organizations and communities in regions across Canada; and
- $431.3 million to support the national network of Community Futures Development Corporations, which will specifically target small businesses and rural communities.

Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF)

The LEEFF is targeted to companies with $300 million or more in annual revenues and provides loans of at least $60 million. The LEEFF provides bridge financing to Canada's largest employers, whose needs during the pandemic are not being met through conventional financing, in order to keep their operations going. The LEEFF program is open to large for-profit businesses – with the exception of those in the financial sector – as well as certain not-for-profit businesses.

Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP)

The Business Credit Availability Program provides $65 billion in financial support, largely targeted to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This includes the Canada Emergency Business Account that will provide loans in the form of lines of credit of up to $40,000 to businesses, a co-lending program for SMEs through the Business Development Bank of Canada and loan guarantees for SMEs through Export Development Canada. The government recently announced that further refinements to the program are forthcoming and that support will be available until June 2021. On August 31, 2020, the BCAP was extended to June 2021.
This program includes the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) which provides $40,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits, to help cover their operating costs during a period where their revenues have been temporarily reduced. The program will be expanded for eligible applicants to receive an additional $20,000 interest-free loan. Half of the additional loan amount (up to $10,000) will be forgiven if the balance is repaid on or before December 31, 2022.

Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy covers 75 percent of employees' wages, retroactive to March 15, for employers of all sizes and across all sectors who have seen a suffered a drop in gross revenues of at least 15 percent in March, and 30 percent from April 12 to July 4. After July 4, there is no minimum drop in revenue due to COVID-19. As per the legislation tabled on November 2, the CEWS extension until June 2021 would subsidize eligible expenses up to a maximum of 65%.required to apply for the subsidy. On October 9, 2020, the government announced that it would introduce legislation to extend the CEWS until June 2021. Since its launch, over 3.7 million Canadians have had their jobs supported through the CEWS, with more than $41 billion paid out in subsidies (as of October 4, 2020).

Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)

The new CERS would replaceAs of early October, 2020, the government delivered over $1.8 billion in rent support, through CECRA for small businesses. Rent assistance has helped over 130,000 small businesses supporting 1.18 million jobs in Canada.would

New Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)

On October 9, 2020, the government announced that it would introduce legislation to provide rent and mortgage support until June 2021 the new CERS directly to tenants and, while also providing support to property owners. The new rent subsidy would support businesses, charities, and non-profits that have suffered a revenue drop, up to a maximum of 65% of eligible expenses until December 19, 2020. The government is proposingOrganizations will be able to allowmake claims retroactively for the period that began September 27 and endedends October 24, 2020.
In addition to the 65 per cent subsidy, the new Lockdown Support would provide Legislation will also include a CERS top-up of 25% per cent for organizations temporarily shut down by a mandatory public health order issued by a qualifying public health authority, in addition to the 65 per cent subsidy.

Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)

The CRB opened on October 12, 2020, giving income support to employed and self-employed individuals who are directly affected by COVID-19 and are not entitled to Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. It replaces the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) which ended on on October 3, 2020.Eligible Canadians can receive $1,000 ($900 after taxes withheld) for a 2-week period. Applicants may reapply up to a total of 13 eligibility periods (26 weeks) between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021.

Preparation and approvals:

Sector contact: Catherine Foskett, Director, Tourism Branch, 343-291-1746
Sector approval: Brigitte Joly, DG, Tourism Branch, 343-550-2497
SCMS contact: Philippe Renoir, Director, 343-291-3865
SCMS approval: Jason Bett, DG, 343-291-3722

Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF)

Question:

How has the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) program helped small business owners across Canada deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Key messages:

The RRRF helps small and medium-sized businesses that continue to struggle with expenses like rent and utilities because of the pandemic, but are not eligible for other federal government relief measures.
Since our Government launched the RRRF in April 2020, nearly 14,000 businesses have received loans through the RRRF worth more than $830 million, helping to protect almost 102,000 jobs across Canada.
We have supported a broad spectrum of businesses across the country with direct assistance, including almost 5,000 women owned businesses and over 500 Indigenous businesses.
Demand for the RRRF remains high. We receive an average of nearly 340 applications a week from businesses and organizations across the country, requesting nearly $41 million.
That is why in October we added an extra $600 million, resulting in over $1 billion of liquidity support measures for Canadian businesses from coast to coast to coast.

Background:

The RRRF is a special one-time relief fund delivered by RDAs and Community Futures (CF) organizations across Canada. This funding specifically targets businesses, organizations and communities facing economic impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

RRRF programming is being delivered through two streams:

Stream 1: Support delivered by Regional Development Agencies to businesses, organizations and communities.
Stream 2: Support delivered by Community Futures (CFs) organizations to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in rural and remote areas.

On October 2, 2020, the government announced an additional $600 million to support workers and businesses through RRRF. This additional investment brings the total RRRF support to over $1.5 billion.

As of October 29, 2020, direct assistance has been provided to a broad spectrum of businesses across the country, including:

Business Type	Approved Applications	Approved Value ($CDN)
Rural	8,399	$311.8 million
Women-Owned	4,895	$190.2 million
Indigenous	501	$24.4 million
Tourism	2,584	$156.7 million

See Appendix A for additional details related to businesses supported by province through the RRRF.

Appendix A: RRRF Program Approvals as of October 29, 2020

RDA	Province / Territory	Number of applications approved to date	Value of assistance approved to date
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)	New Brunswick (NB)	522	$29,658,793
	Newfoundland and Labrador (NL)	416	$31,320,310
	Nova Scotia (NS)	424	$31,367,029
	Prince Edward Island (PEI)	176	$11,856,568
Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor)	Northwest Territories (NT)	135	$6,311,941
	Nunavut (NU)	40	$2,598,782
	Yukon (YU)	153	$8,817,454
Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec (CED)	Quebec (QC)	4,044	$151,804,866
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev)	Southern Ontario (ON)	1,764	$227,149,661
Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario (FedNor)	Northern Ontario (ON)	780	$45,553,366
Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD)	Alberta (AB)	2,490	$128,169,595
	British Columbia (BC)	2,026	$103,749,070
	Manitoba (MB)	465	$25,708,584
	Saskatchewan (SK)	518	$29,563,580
Totals		13,953	$833,629,599

Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES) Ecosystem Fund - Top-Up

Question:

How has the WES Ecosystem Fund program helped women entrepreneurs in Western Canada deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Key messages:

Our Government is providing $15 million in additional funding to support women entrepreneurs through the WES to select organizations that are currently WES Ecosystem Fund recipients. This will help women entrepreneurs through the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Western Canada, WD delivered $5 million in additional WES funds. This funding was used to deliver financial advisory services, business resiliency services, digital marketing, re-branding, and cybersecurity training.
For example, Supporting Employment and Economic Development, known as SEED Winnipeg, received $63,000 in additional WES funding to enable a laptop-lending program and specialized advisory services to assist low-income, financially vulnerable Indigenous persons and female newcomers.
This support is crucial to ensure that women entrepreneurs do not fall further behind.

Background:

In May 2020, the Government announced $15 million in additional funding under the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES) for the WES Ecosystem Fund, enabling existing recipients to provide urgent business support services to women entrepreneurs impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regional development agencies (RDAs) are delivering the WES Ecosystem Fund as part of the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy.

WD is supporting 19 WES Ecosystem Fund projects in the West, providing nearly $28.1 million (including the $5 million top-up this year to provide COVID-19 assistance) to not-for-profit organizations to enhance services for women entrepreneurs and address gaps in the ecosystem.

Canadian Seafood Stabilization Fund (CSSF)

Question:

What is the status of the Canadian Seafood Stabilization Fund (CSSF)?

Key messages:

On April 25, 2020, $62.5 million was announced to get the fish and seafood processing industry through the pandemic and for lasting recovery.
As of October 30, our Government has provided more than $33.4 million to 185 projects.
The support helps businesses adapt to market instability, new safety guidelines, and inventory management.
Let me give you some examples:
- ACOA assisted McGraw Seafoods of Tracadie, NB, and owned by the Elsipogtog First Nation, to purchase PPE, increase security, cleaning and production personnel, and make temporary modifications to help with social distancing and sanitization. The $435,000 investment helps relieve pressure from the new costs and help the company focus on previously planned expansion.
- CED supported the Poissonnerie de Cloridorme inc. project located in the town of Cloridorme, Quebec. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, CED is investing $277,098 to carry out this project, which aims to ensure the health and safety of workers and the safety of the products of a company specializing in the processing of marine products that wishes to diversify its markets.
- WD provided $99,000 to Heiltsuk Fisheries Management, an Indigenous owned company, to update the existing ventilation system and purchase cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment for staff. Funding also helped them upgrade their fish processing equipment and increase storage capacity.

Background:

Canada Seafood Stabilization Fund allocation per regional development agency:

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA): $38,140,000.
Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED): $9,142,000.
Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD): $9,018,000.

DFO held $5.7M for emerging issues in the fishery industry.

Funding allocations were determined using GDP of the Fish and Seafood processing sector impacted by COVID-19.

The objective of the Fund is to help fish and seafood processors put in place health and safety measures to protect workers against COVID-19 and maintain Canadian jobs. It will increase plant capacity to process, store, package, and distribute healthy, high-quality products, and to adapt processes and marketing to suit changing consumer demands.

Status of approved projects under the Canada Seafood Stabilization Fund as of October 30, 2020:

ACOA has approved 93 of 138 applications with projects totalling over $24M.
WD has approved 91 projects of 105 applications for a total investment of $9.2M.
CED-Q has approved 3 projects from the applications received and invested $321,094 at this time.

Additional Funding Requirement for CanNor's Northern Business Relief Fund/Regional Relief and Recovery Fund

Question:

Did CanNor receive any additional funding through the September, 2020 top up of the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund?

Key messages:

Through CanNor, our Government was able to respond quickly to the challenges of COVID in the Territories with $15 million in immediate emergency funding from its existing IDEANorth program budget.
We followed that with $34 million for CanNor through the RRRF, on May 13, which has assisted businesses across all industries in the North including the tourism, hospitality and natural resource industry.
Further, $11.8 million was also provided through Community Futures (CFs) in the North, with $3.9 million dedicated to each Territory.
CanNor has directly supported over 500 small and medium enterprises across the territories and continues to do so through its remaining RRRF funds.
CanNor continues to work with its partners to ensure businesses are well-supported during the pandemic.

Background:

Unlike other Regional Development Agencies, CanNor did not initially require additional Regional Relief and Recovery Funding due to the availability and reallocation of existing IDEANorth resources towards its Northern Business Relief Fund.

By reallocating IDEANorth funding towards COVID-19 relief efforts in April, CanNor was able to provide immediate assistance and help ensure the survival of small and medium enterprises in the territories while still meeting demand for funding under its regular program streams.

Businesses that do not rely on out-of-territory visitors and workers are operating in the "new normal". However, the strict border closures and self-isolation requirements designed to keep the virus out of the territories have had a significant negative impact on the tourism sector; other sectors, such as construction, have also been impacted to a lesser degree.

CanNor is using its remaining RRRF and IdeaNorth funding to continue to support territorial SMEs as the borders remain closed.

Possible closure of Huron Central Railway

Question:

Huron Central Railway has indicated it requires government funding to prevent the closure of its rail line operating between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury. What are the implications for the company's employees and local businesses, and what is being done to ensure the rail line continues to operate and service the region?

Key messages:

I appreciate the importance of the rail line which operates between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie. This transportation network is vital to the operations of several key companies including Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Domtar's pulp and paper plant in Espanola and EACOM's sawmill operation in Nairn Centre.
The Government of Canada has previously invested over $15 million for improvements on the rail line.
I understand that the company has made an application to Transport Canada for funding to assist with the maintenance of the rail line to ensure its safety and reliability enabling it to continue serving existing companies and develop further business opportunities.
We will continue to monitor this file as discussions between the company, Transport Canada and the Provincial government continue.

Background:

Huron Central Railway Inc. (HCRY) operates 288 kilometres of freight rail line between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie.

The railway services key companies including Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Domtar's pulp and paper plant in Espanola and EACOM's sawmill operation in Nairn Centre.

Domtar and Algoma Steel have embarked on major infrastructure modernization projects, partially funded by the Federal Government (approximately $125 million), which will result in higher production volumes to be transported in the future.

HCRY has a long-term lease for the rail line with Canadian Pacific until 2040, in which HCRY is responsible for the capital upgrades and maintenance of the line.

The railway was previously owned by Genesee & Wyoming Canada until December 2019 when U.S. federal regulators approved the sale of the rail line to Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, a Canadian Company.

In April 2020, the President of HCRY wrote to Transport Minister Garneau advising that the company would be submitting a business case for infrastructure improvements for federal and provincial consideration.

In May 2020, HCRY submitted a comprehensive business case and rationale to Transport Canada to support investments of $33.3 million of capital expenditures that would ensure that the track is brought back to a safe and reliable level in order to enable the development of business opportunities for new and existing customers.

The business case indicated that HCRY was in discussions with two additional businesses looking to utilize the rail line as their transportation mode for their products.

In July 2020, HCRY subsequently submitted an Expression of Interest to Transport Canada's National Trade Corridor Fund (NTCF) requesting $17.1 million in federal funding. Once a final decision on the Expression of Interest has been made by the Minister of Transport, the decision will be communicated to HCRY.

To date, the company has received no responses from Transport Canada.

On August 31, 2020, HCRY issued a news release stating that without government funding to help with maintenance of the rail line it will be ending operations of the freight line at the end of the year.

On October 22, 2020, the company gave notice to its 43 employees that their positions will be terminated should the railway cease operations in December.

Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP)

Question:

How will the Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP) support Black-led businesses in western Canada?

Key messages:

Over 18% of the Black population in Canada lives in western provinces. The contributions of Black business owners and entrepreneurs are essential to Canada's economic recovery and future prosperity.
In response, our Government has announced the Black Entrepreneurship Program: a $221 million program providing Black entrepreneurs access to the business support services they need to thrive in Canada's inclusive economy.
The Black Entrepreneurship Program includes a new $53 million Ecosystem Fund that will help Black business owners and entrepreneurs access funding for mentorship, financial services, and training.
RDAs will issue a call for proposals for Black-led organizations to join and help deliver this fund.

Background:

The Government of Canada's Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP) will invest $221 million over 4 years to support Black business owners and entrepreneurs. It consists of 3 main components:

Ecosystem Fund ($53 million) to support Black-led business organizations across the country and provide enhanced business support services to Black business owners;
Black Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub ($6.5 million) to enhance research and knowledge about Black entrepreneurship in Canada; and
Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund ($33.3 million in government support through partnerships with financial institutions to provide up to $128 million in lending support). This will provide loans between $25,000 and $250,000 for Black business owners.

CanNor response to COVID-19

Question:

How is CanNor supporting businesses in the territories during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Key messages:

In the North, a total of $34.4 million was available through the RRRF, including funding for the territorial Community Futures Network.
As of October 29, CanNor has directly distributed almost $26M in relief funding to over 500 recipients, helping to maintain over 1650 jobs. This includes over $18M for tourism-related businesses, $7.6M for women-led businesses, and $4.6M for Indigenous-led businesses.
Working through Territorial governments, CanNor has also provided $11.8M to the Northern Community Futures network to provide alternative sources of financing to northern businesses.
In the North, CanNor is in the best position to provide this additional support because it works closely with communities across the Territories every day and is familiar with diverse local and regional realities.
CanNor is working closely with its partners across the territories to provide support for small- and medium-sized businesses and organizations impacted by COVID-19 pandemic.

Background:

On April 20, CanNor redirected $15 million of its existing IDEANorth funding to launch the Northern Business Relief Fund (NBRF) to provide immediate support for territorial businesses impacted by COVID-19.

In recognition of the unique role and challenges faced by northern businesses, as well as their inability to incur additional debts, the NBRF was designed to provide non-repayable grant support of up to $100,000 towards fixed operating costs (or up to breakeven point), as well as support for the purchase of personal protective equipment.

Originally designed as a 4-month program, the NBRF has since been extended to March 31, 2021 for tourism-related businesses, in recognition of the continuing impacts of COVID-19 on this sector.

On May 13, the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund was launched with $34.3 million dedicated to the North, including funding for the territorial Community Futures Network. This funding allowed the CanNor to increase the level of non-repayable support available to SMEs through NBRF, while also allowing the Agency to support not-for-profit organizations, DMOs and territorial government-led programs targeting tourism and other hard hit industries.

Overall, less than 10% of all applications to CanNor relief programming have been rejected. Common reasons for rejection include those that requested less than $2,500, and businesses with more than 100 employees and/or subsidiaries of larger corporations that were still generating a profit.

The Women Entrepreneurship Strategy top-up allowed CanNor to fund Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada with an additional $143,000.

CanNor co-chairs and supports an executive-level intergovernmental working group that was developed during the pandemic to focus on supporting the minerals sector in the North.

Regular programming update and key sectors

Question:

Are there updates to CanNor's regular programming and key sectors: Infrastructure, Tourism, Mineral Resources, and Indigenous Economic Development?

Key messages:

CanNor is working closely with its partners across the territories to provide support for small- and medium-sized businesses and organizations impacted by COVID-19 pandemic.
As of October 29, CanNor has directly distributed almost $26M in relief funding to over 500 recipients, helping to maintain over 1650 jobs. This includes over $18M for tourism-related businesses, $7.6M for women-led businesses, and $4.6M for Indigenous-led businesses.
Working through Territorial governments, CanNor has also provided $11.8M to the Northern Community Futures network to provide alternative sources of financing to northern businesses.

Background:

CanNor's Pan-Territorial Growth Strategy has paved the way for economic development and recovery in the territories by focusing on the mineral resources sector, economic diversification and innovation, infrastructure development, and building a skilled workforce.

The mineral resources sector continues to play an important role in territorial economies, and has the potential to continue to grow. In 2019-20, CanNor coordinated federal participation in six territorial environmental review processes to advance mining and infrastructure in the North. CanNor also played an important role convening mining companies and territorial/federal governments to find ways to support the industry in the North through the pandemic.

Diversifying the northern economy is important for the territories' long-term prosperity. Due to the current pandemic, high growth sectors, such as tourism, have seen a significant decline in activity. CanNor continues to work with partners to promote innovation and diversify the economy.

The infrastructure deficit is a foundational challenge to economic growth in the territories. CanNor continues to invest in small-scale infrastructure projects and large scale feasibility studies.

Ensuring a skilled workforce is a foundational component of promoting the economic development potential in the region. By hosting Pilimmaksaivik, the Federal Centre of Excellence for Inuit Employment in Nunavut and renewing its skills development program for adult basic education, CanNor remains committed to providing Northerners with skills they need to participate in the labour force.

Broadband in the Territories

Question:

What is the Government of Canada doing to improve connectivity in Canada's territories?

Key messages:

While connectivity gaps are closing, access to high-speed internet is significantly lower in the territories than other parts of the country.
Canada is investing $1.75B through the Universal Broadband Fund to help connect all Canadians to high-speed internet. Canada's $600M agreement for Telesat's low-earth-orbit satellite capacity will help unlock economic and social opportunities in our remote northern communities.
CanNor is also helping to fund connectivity feasibility studies, the first step towards closing this gap.
We are on track to meet our goal to connect every Canadian to high speed internet by 2030. This program will help us to connect 98% of households by 2026.
Since 2015 our Government has approved programs and projects that will connect 1.7 million Canadian households; four times as many as the previous government connected under their signature program. In the same time, our government has invested nearly ten times more to connect Canadians to high-speed Internet than all previous government investments combined.

Background:

Access to broadband in the Canadian territories is challenging and expensive given its small dispersed population spread, as well as the harsh environment and lack of basic infrastructure. These realities result in increased costs of construction and operating networks relative to other parts of the country.

Connectivity speeds are significantly lower in the territories than other parts of the country. Nationally, 86.5% of Canadian households have access to 50/10s megabits per second (Mbps). None of Nunavut 25 communities have access to this speed as they rely on satellitte. In Yukon and the NWT, terrestrial broadband technologies are more common as their populations are concentrated in their capital cities, resulting in 60.8% of Yukon households and 61.8% of NWT households having access to 50/10 Mbps. A variety of solutions will be necessary to close this gap including using new low earth orbit satellite constellations.

Canada has been working with its partners to close this gap through funding programs such as Connect to Innovate, Infrastructure Canada's Rural and Northern Fund, and the recently launched Universal Broadband Fund. As many of these programs do not fund feasibility studies, CanNor is able to help support initiatives that close the gap outside Yellowknife and Whitehouse through its IDEANorth program. For example, it provided $1.6 million over two years to help fund early feasibility work associated with the proposed Kivalliq-Manitoba hydro-fibre link.

Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) response to COVID-19

Question:

What was WD's response to COVID-19?

Key messages:

WD is helping us deliver many of our Government's COVID-19 relief programs in Western Canada:
- Over $287 million in assistance to nearly 5,500 businesses and organizations through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund;
- Over $9 million in assistance with the Canadian Seafood Stabilization Fund; and
- Additional funding for the Western Canada Business Services Network and assistance under the Women's Entrepreneurship Strategy.
WD is providing over $40.8 million to 200 businesses and organizations, including 27 Destination Marketing Organizations, to support the viability of the tourism industry.
WD has moved quickly to be flexible with its terms of support for western Canadian SMEs, such as deferring scheduled payments and extending project completion dates.
WD is also investing over $15 million to accelerate vaccine development and ensure the supply of personal protective equipment in Canada.
Together, these investments and actions are helping thousands of businesses across the West mitigate the pandemic's impacts and maintain jobs, essential to the well-being of Canadians and their communities.

Background:

Since May 2020, WD has been implementing the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) to provide much needed liquidity relief directly to western Canadian SMEs, as well as to not-for-profit organizations that support SMEs. In the West, almost 5,500 applications have been approved with a total value of over $287 million.

Under the Canadian Seafood Stabilization Fund, WD invested in 89 projects through 21 contributions across the West, providing over $9 million in assistance. These projects will allow fish and seafood processors to:

Address worker health and safety with personal protective equipment (PPE) and room for social distancing;
Adapt plant operations, facilities, and processes, such as refrigerated transportation capacity or increased cold storage; and,
Find and reach new markets, such as stay-at-home meals.

WD also increased funding for the Western Canada Business Services Network (WCBSN – a network of over 100 organizations). This included operating funding to support increased access to information on government relief programs, and advisory services and coaching to small and medium-sized businesses to help them survive and pivot.

WD provided loan capital to the Community Futures and the Women Enterprise Initiative offices to be able to deliver RRRF loans in rural communities as well as to women owned businesses. To date, 2,583 loans have been provided to businesses, worth over $90 million.

Additional funding for the WCBSN in response to the pandemic includes: Community Futures organisation ($95.7M); Women's Enterprise Initiative offices ($8.3M); Francophone Economic Development Organizations ($2.1M); Indigenous Business Development Services ($300K); Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program ($675K); and Small Business Services centres ($574K).

Under the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), WD invested in 120 projects across the West, providing over $33 million in assistance. Of these, 101 projects directly supported women-owned/-led businesses to scale up and grow, while 19 projects with non-profit organizations (1 national, 18 regional) enhanced support for women entrepreneurs in the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

WD is providing flexibility to WES clients, including:

Additional flexibility in terms of the activities and costs supported and funded;
Advances to non-profit organization clients (as needed) to help manage liquidity challenges; and,
Additional funding ($5M) to non-profit organizations to assist businesses to manage or pivot their operations in response to COVID-19.

Since the onset of the pandemic, WD has provided over $40.8 million to 200 tourism businesses and organizations through RRRF and core programming. This includes investing over $12.1 million in 27 Destination Marketing Organizations and tourism enablers to help them update their services and provide local tourism businesses with services, including:

Marketing advice, such as webpage updates and virtual experiences;
Marketing to domestic markets while restoring traveler confidence;
Advice on how to adapt to the new operating environment safely; and,
Referrals to other services and financing available to businesses.

Under its not-for-profit programming (Regional Innovation Ecosystems and Community Economic Development Diversification), WD is supporting projects that will help to directly address the COVID-19 pandemic such as:

A $15 million investment in VIDO-InterVac's advanced containment facility which will help accelerate COVID-19 vaccine development and testing.
A $200,000 investment in the Orthopaedic Innovation Centre to help Canada secure a domestic source of testing and certification capabilities of personal protective equipment (PPE) including N-95 masks.
Other projects that ensure western SMEs continue to have a supportive ecosystem to recover and ultimately grow in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the Canadian Experience Fund, existing clients will be able to extend their projects beyond March 31, 2021 where required and subject to budget availability.

Under its for-profit program (Business Scale-up and Productivity program), WD has reached out to its clients and is providing flexibility in the following ways:

Deferring payments until December 31, 2020;
Maximizing stacking flexibility for existing BSP and WINN clients to accommodate for other COVID 19 funding they may receive; and,
Extending project completion dates.

Regular Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) programming update

Question:

What is the status of WD's regular programming during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Key messages:

WD continues to deliver on its regular programming in spite of the challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through its regular non-profit programming, WD is supporting the ecosystem that helps western SMEs maintain their operations, and create the conditions for businesses to recover and grow from the devastating impact of pandemic.
WD continues to directly support high growth businesses that, in spite of the challenging economic environment created by the pandemic, are well positioned to grow, and will lead Canada's economic recovery.
Demand for SME funding remains high: WD recently received 243 expressions of interest for the Business Scale-up and Productivity program, representing $374 million in requested funds.
WD has increased support to its Western Canada Business Service Network, comprised of over 100 organizations, to ensure western Canadian SMEs in both rural and urban centres, receive much needed liquidity and business supports to weather the pandemic.
Community economic development and diversification continues to be priority, as WD has supported projects that support inclusive economic growth.
WD is also taking a flexible approach to its terms of support, like deferring schedule payments; streamlining the claims process; allowing extensions to project completion dates; and maximizing funding that can be received from other government sources.

Background:

The Regional Innovation Ecosystem (RIE) fund invests in not-for-profit organizations that support entrepreneurs and businesses to innovate, grow, and compete globally. RIE promotes the growth of strategic clusters and business ecosystems; supports business productivity and competitiveness; enhances the participation of underrepresented groups; and improves the reach of business accelerators and incubators, as well as other organizations.

Since December 2018, WD has approved 89 RIE projects with a total funding of $117 million.

Anticipated results include more than 8,800 jobs created, and $1.5 billion in revenue growth.

Examples of COVID-19 related support include:

A $15 million investment in funding to VIDO-InterVac's advanced containment facility that will help accelerate COVID-19 vaccine development and testing.
A $200,000 investment in the Orthopaedic Innovation Centre to help Canada secure a domestic source of testing and certification capabilities of personal protective equipment (PPE) including N-95 masks.

The Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) stream targets high growth businesses that are scaling up and producing innovative goods, services or technologies. BSP helps high growth firms scale up and expand; increases businesses' capacity to grow through market diversification and global market entry; encourages the early adoption or adaption of leading-edge technologies and processes to improve productivity; and supports technology demonstration and commercialization of new technologies.

Since December 2018, WD has approved 60 BSP projects with a total funding of $117 million. Anticipated results for these projects include almost 2,400 jobs created and $2.73 billion in revenue growth. An example of a recently approved BSP project addressing COVID 19 is Rane Pharmaceutical Inc., which was recently approved for $250,000 in BSP funding to help scale up manufacturing capacity of reagents used in viral infection testing. Through its recent expression of interest intake process, WD received 243 expressions of interest with a total funding request of $374 million.

WD also increased funding for the Western Canada Business Services Network (WCBSN). This included operating funding to support increased access to information on government relief programs, and advisory services and coaching to small and medium-sized businesses to help them survive and pivot.

WD also provided loan capital to Community Futures and the Women Enterprise Initiative to be able to deliver CEBA-like RRRF loans to rural and women owned businesses. To date, 2,583 loans have been approved for a total of over $90 million.

Additional funding for the WCBSN in response to the pandemic includes:

$95.7 million to Community Futures organisations;
$8.3 million to Women's Enterprise Initiative offices;
$2.1 million to Francophone Economic Development Organizations;
$300,000 to Indigenous Business Development Services;
$675,000 to the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program; and
$574,000 to Small Business Services centres.

The Community Economic Development and Diversification (CEDD) program targets non-profits. CEDD helps western communities sustain and grow their economies; mobilize community capacity through economic development strategies; respond to economic development opportunities; adjust to changing and challenging economic circumstances; and support targeted communities such as official language minority and Indigenous communities.

Since January 2019, WD has approved 24 CEDD projects with a total funding of $84 million. Anticipated results include more than 478 business created, maintained or expanded; and 764 participants trained. As an example of a CEDD project, in August 2020, WD approved $745,000 in support to the Gabriel Dumont Institute Training and Employment Inc. to build an entrepreneurship pilot program focused on Métis entrepreneurs in Saskatchewan.

Support for the oil and gas sector

Question:

What has the government done to support the oil and gas sector during COVID-19?

Key messages:

Our Government has stepped up in a significant way to help save jobs in the oil and gas sector and create opportunities for the future by providing:
- $1.7 billion to clean up orphan wells and create more than 5,000 jobs;
- $750 million for the Emissions Reduction Fund;
- and $100 million for the Clean Resource Innovation Network in Alberta to help the sector grow and reduce emissions.
Through our Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) we are providing immediate liquidity support to many companies under the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF), including oil and gas supply chain firms.
The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy has also seen significant uptake by oil and gas companies.
Progress is also underway on the construction of the TMX pipeline, with close to 6,000 people working on the project across Alberta and B.C.

Background:

With one of the highest unemployment rates (11.7%) in Canada, Alberta is reeling from COVID-19 and low oil prices. The province's economy is expected to decline by 8.8% in 2020.

Oil and gas companies have slashed billions from capital budgets, resulting in layoffs and negative ripple effects across sectors.

Single use plastics plan

Question:

Some Alberta stakeholders feel the single use plastics ban will harm local industry and economic recovery. How are you supporting the province's petrochemical industry?

Key messages:

Around 90% of plastic waste ends up in landfills and the environment.
Leading firms like Canadian Tire, Walmart, Coca Cola, and Ikea are already taking action on plastic pollution.
We are banning products that are hard to recycle, and working with provinces and industry to improve recovery and recycling so plastic stays in the economy.
To do this, we need the ingenuity of Alberta's petrochemical expertise and workers to maximize the full value of plastics.
This work goes hand-in-hand with our investments in Canada's energy sector via the Strategic Innovation Fund, including:
- $49 million to Inter Pipeline to build the Heartland Petrochemical Complex in Alberta;
- $220 million in LNG Canada projects. WD invested an additional $55 million towards the Haisla Bridge replacement to enable infrastructure for LNG Canada; and,
- The recently approved the expansion of the $2.3 billion Nova Gas transmission system which will create significant opportunities and good jobs for Albertans and Canadians in this sector.

Background:

The Government of Canada announced a nation-wide ban on six single-use plastic items, to come into effect by late 2021.

Under the Strategic Innovation Fund, Canada invested $49M in Inter Pipeline and $220M in LNG Canada projects. WD invested $55M for the Haisla Bridge replacement, as enabling infrastructure for LNG Canada.

Canada Coal Transition Initiative (CCTI) and infrastructure fund

Question:

How is Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) supporting the economic transition of communities affected by Canada's shift to a low-carbon economy?

Key messages:

Budget 2018 earmarked $35 million over five years for the Canada Coal Transition Initiative (CCTI) to support skills development and economic diversification activities to help workers and communities adapt to Canada's transition to a low-carbon economy.
- From 2018 to date, WD has supported 27 projects in affected communities for a total of $15 million dollars.
These projects are helping people upgrade their skills and find new employment opportunities. We have funded community transition centres, business centres, investment readiness plans, and economic diversification feasibility studies.
To provide some specific examples, this past September we announced:
- Over $1 million to the City of Estevan for feasibility studies and marketing activities, including economic assessments of a carbon capture natural gas facility and short line rail;
- $960,000 to projects led by the Town of Coronach to enhance main street areas and create a marketing strategy for communities in the Deep South Regional Partnership;
- Nearly $1.5 million to the Cactus Corridor Economic Development Corporation to identify economic development opportunities and promote investment readiness in the region around Hanna and Youngstown Alberta;
- $800,000 to Southeast College to establish a heavy equipment operator training program at its Estevan campus; and
- $677,880 to the United Mineworkers of America Local 7606 to establish a transition centre for coal workers in the Estevan and Coronach region.
Now, WD is working with communities to identify their infrastructure needs and develop projects that will receive funding under the coal transition infrastructure program.

Background:

In 2018, The Government of Canada announced amendments to regulations to phase out coal-fired electricity by 2030 under the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.

Alberta and Saskatchewan have been heavily reliant on coal-fired electricity, an industry that employs approximately 3,000 people.

Impacts on local coal-affected communities include loss of jobs, reductions in tax revenue and skilled workers moving elsewhere to seek employment.

Budget 2018 provided $25 million dollars to WD to support communities in these two provinces that have been reliant on coal-fired electricity generation for their local economies.

Budget 2019 provided an additional $105 million dollars for WD to support community infrastructure — as a direct result of recommendations from the Just Transition for Canadian Coal Power Workers and Communities Task Force.

Canada Coal Transition Initiative (CCTI) and infrastructure fund

Question:

How has Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) supported western Canada's superclusters?

Key messages:

Western Canada is home to two superclusters, the Digital Technology Supercluster, and the Protein Industries Supercluster.
WD supports the work of these groups and the businesses they assist by participating in project selection committees, identifying opportunities for collaboration, connecting businesses, and pathfinding firms to service and funding partners.
WD also works in partnership with key sector bodies, such as industry groups, provincial governments, and other federal departments to support cluster strategies that optimize production, increase investments and grow exports.

Background:

In 2018, the federal government announced a $950 million investment under the Innovation Supercluster Initiative to support five clusters over five years. The initiative was designed to accelerate economic growth in innovative industries, while positioning Canadian firms for global leadership.

Canada's Digital Technology Supercluster (CDTS), located in Vancouver, aims to solve some of industry's and society's biggest problems through Canadian-made digital technologies. Protein Industries Canada (PIC), headquartered in Regina, aims to transform the agriculture and food production sector to position Canada as a global leader in the production of plant-based products and co-products.

WD-BC supports the CDTS by serving on its Capacity Building Project Selection Committee, which reviews applications for CDTS Capacity Building program and provides recommendations on projects. WD-BC also served on the committee for the Capacity Building program pilot.

WD-SK supports the Saskatoon Food and Ingredient Processing Cluster and PIC by identifying opportunities for collaboration, creating opportunities for companies to connect, and guiding businesses to partner organizations who can offer suitable service or funding.

Supporting agriculture and irrigation

Question:

What has the Government of Canada done to help western agriculture producers remain competitive?

Key messages:

Our Government has invested heavily to support Canadian agriculture throughout the pandemic, such as increasing the lending capacity of Farm Credit Canada by $5 billion, adding $150 million in venture capital funds for agricultural business, and introducing a $125 million AgriRecovery Program, among other actions.
The agriculture and agri-food sector will play a critical role in Canada's economic recovery.
That is why the Canada Infrastructure Bank has announced a $1.5 billion commitment to expand irrigation and critical infrastructure, primarily in western Canada.

Background:

On August 31, 2020, Western Economic Diversification Canada released a report outlining the economic opportunity for Saskatchewan to irrigate farmland near Lake Diefenbaker.

On July 2, 2020, the Government of Saskatchewan announced a $4 billion commitment to expand irrigation by almost 500,000 acres.

On October 1, 2020, the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) announced a $10 billion recovery plan, which included a commitment of $1.5 billion for agricultural infrastructure and irrigation to strengthen Canada's food security, enhance production and expand export opportunities.

On October 9, 2020, the CIB announced a $407 million investment to increase irrigation efficiency and expand irrigation by 200,000 acres in Alberta.

British Columbia (BC) housing affordability

Question:

How is the high cost of housing in BC affecting economic development?

Key messages:

Metro Vancouver continues to be among the least affordable housing markets in Canada.
The high cost of housing can create challenges for attracting skilled labour.
Since 2017, nearly $2.15 billion has been financially committed to housing in British Columbia under the National Housing Strategy, to create or repair nearly 15,000 units.
And since taking office in 2015, our Government has helped more than 1 million Canadians find a home through our National Housing Strategy.
My colleague, Minister Hussen is continuing to work with provinces to help address the affordable housing issue across Canada.

Background

Detached homes in Metro Vancouver have an average price of $1.5M, approximately 12 times the median income. The average rental cost in Vancouver is $1940 for a one-bedroom unit and $2700 for a two-bedroom unit, 39% and 56% above the national averages, respectively.

To combat unaffordability, the City of Vancouver imposed a 1% empty home tax in 2017. The BC Government's 2018 Budget followed with measures including a speculation tax of up to 2%, a foreign buyer's tax increase to 20%, and the geographic expansion of that tax beyond Vancouver.

The province experienced a steep decline of 45% in home sales in May 2020 compared to February 2020, but the market is showing signs of recovery. Residential unit sales in September 2020 increased 63.3% per cent from September 2019, while prices rose 15.3%.

The detached home segment led the highest overall percentage of sales and price increases. Some have attributed the declining strength of the condominium market to COVID-19. Others point to significant issues with multi-residential strata insurance. Some buildings face 100% increases in insurance costs, while others are unable to secure insurance at all.

Economic challenges in resource-dependent communities

Question:

What measures is Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) taking to address economic challenges in resource-dependent communities?

Key messages:

We know COVID-19 has worsened economic challenges in many resource-dependent communities, particularly those reliant on oil and gas, forestry, and fisheries.
Through WD, our Government is supporting these impacted western businesses and communities through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF), with $567.9M in total funding.
In partnership with the network of 90 Community Futures organizations across the West, WD is helping businesses in rural communities stay afloat. For example:
- Community Futures of Wood Buffalo is working with the local economic development corporation to deliver coaching and professional services to businesses in the Fort McMurray area to support long-term business success.

Background:

Resource-dependent communities in Western Canada have faced a number of economic challenges over the past year. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 worsened these challenges with significant job losses in all regions of the West.

Recovery has varied across sectors. Some continue to feel the impacts of COVID-19, with demand and prices for Canadian products reduced in the oil and gas, fishing, and tourism sectors. Alberta has faced a deep decline in the oil industry, with recovery uncertain due to interrupted travel patterns for the foreseeable future. Both large and small Alberta communities are reliant on natural resource industries.

At the same time, the changing economy is leading to signs of recovery in unanticipated areas, such as the forestry industry in British Columbia (BC), which was facing a significant downturn prior to and with the onset of COVID-19. Where there is fibre supply available, BC's forestry industry is rebounding (reopening mills and hiring workers) due to strong demand for lumber, i.e. Canfor and West Fraser.

Vaccine development / VIDO-InterVac

Question:

How is Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) supporting vaccine development in Canada to combat COVID-19?

Key messages:

As a world leader in infectious disease research and vaccine development, VIDO-InterVac is currently working with more than 80 organizations globally to test COVID-19 antivirals, vaccines, and other therapeutics.
VIDO received federal funding to develop a human grade bio manufacturing facility, and to advance commercialization of COVID-19 vaccine prototypes.
The Government of Canada has committed $23 million over two years to VIDO-InterVac to accelerate testing and commercialization of their prototype COVID-19 vaccine.
WD is providing over $15 million in funding to establish a good manufacturing practice facility in VIDO-InterVac's advanced containment facility. This will help VIDO develop and produce animal and human vaccines against infectious diseases for commercial markets.
Our Government is securing a range of vaccines and hundreds of millions of doses, so that Canadians are safe and well-served.

Background:

VIDO-InterVac continues to advance its COVID-19 vaccine candidates, including a formulation with an adjuvant (a component that helps vaccines work better by boosting immune response) developed by VIDO-InterVac and its partners.

With one of the largest, most advanced, and secure research facilities for infectious material and toxins in the world, VIDO-InterVac was the first in Canada to isolate SARS-CoV-2 and the first in the country to establish an animal model for testing vaccines, antivirals and therapeutics.

Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions' response to COVID-19

Question:

What measures has Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions put in place to respond to the issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Key messages:

Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) is responding to the issues of the pandemic with investments in Quebec of more than $275 million through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF). This financial support has helped more than 4,000 businesses and organizations with immediate cash needs.
Businesses also have access to the Canadian Seafood Stabilization Fund (CSSF), an investment of more than $9 million in Quebec.
As part of its regular programming, CED has also supported:
- companies producing personal protective equipment in response to the pandemic, for authorized assistance of more than $8 million;
- projects in the Tourism sector for more than $10 million;
- projects as part of the enhancement of the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), totaling more than $3 million.
CED has also added more flexibility to its terms of support for businesses, including a temporary moratorium on client repayments to alleviate the pressure on businesses. This moratorium is currently still in effect.

Update on regular programming and key sector

Question:

What are the accomplishments of Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) from November 4, 2015 to November 5, 2020?

Key messages:

Since November 4, 2015, through its regular programs, CED has approved more than 2,900 projects for a total of $1.4 billion in assistance, generating investments of $7.5 billion.
Companies and organizations supported by CED expect that these projects will lead to the creation of more than 24,000 direct jobs.
The projects supported by CED include:
- 1,037 innovation projects for $557.4 million in approved assistance and total investments of $3.7 billion;
- 367 clean technology projects, for $207 million in approved assistance and total investments of $1.8 billion;
- 387 tourism projects with $172.7 million in approved support and $1.3 billion in total investment;
- 113 projects in support of Aboriginal organizations, with approved funding of $43 million and total investments of $174.2 million;
- 158 projects in women's entrepreneurship, for $52 million and total investments of $154 million.

Institut National d'Optique (INO)

Question:

Is the Government of Canada committed to continuing its agreement with the National Optics Institute (INO)?

Key messages:

The $50M agreement for the 2016-2021 period between Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) and INO expires on March 31, 2021.
The Government of Canada has been a partner of INO since 1998.
CED is satisfied with the results obtained by INO and discussions are under way to renew the agreement.

Background:

Founded in 1985, INO is headquartered in Quebec City and has nearly 200 employees. INO is not only a key player in Quebec's innovation ecosystem, but also a major player in optics-photic technologies in Canada, a promising field for economic growth as it involves technologies that can be applied in all economic sectors.

In 2014, a Deloitte report confirmed that INO contributed $344 million per year to Canada's GDP, in addition to participating in the creation/consolidation of many full-time jobs per year in Canada (over 4,000). These results were explained by an extremely powerful economic leverage effect generated by the cutting-edge technologies developed by INO.

Targeted federal support to regional airports and air carriers

Question:

What is the government doing to ensure the impacted communities continue to have access to reliable and affordable air services?

Key messages:

A strong and competitive air transport industry is vital for Canada's economy and the well-being of Canadians.
With passenger levels still down almost 90 per cent, air carriers have been forced to take drastic measures to remain viable. Broad-based government supports like the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) have helped to mitigate the severe impact on employees in the sector.
However, we have heard from many Canadians who have been negatively affected. We have heard from Canadians in the air travel and related industries who have lost their jobs, and we have heard from Canadians who have lost air service to their regional communities or are still waiting for their refunds. They are rightly angered by these developments.
Before we spend one penny of taxpayer money on airlines, we will ensure Canadians get their refunds. We will ensure Canadians and regional communities retain air connections to the rest of Canada, and that Canadian air carriers maintain their status as key customers of Canada's aerospace industry.
Any assistance our Government provides will come with strict conditions to protect Canadians and the public interest.

Background:

The economic impact has been proportionately greater on the air sector than other industries and, in turn, on regions/communities they serve. The estimated job loss is over 50%, the highest of any sector. Canadian airports have reported a significant decline in revenue of 90% or more.

In the longer term, for routes without equivalent replacement service, the impact is far greater for the economic development of these regions, affecting all efforts in support of their economic growth.

Provincial reactions to the flight cancellations have been swift and vocal. First, regarding the Air Canada cancellations in June. Second, when WestJet announced more cutbacks (October 14), the four Atlantic Premiers called for urgent action to address these critical transportation links that open the Atlantic region to the global economy and ensure it maintains direct air access to the rest of Canada. The Quebec government has created a public-private sector working group to find solutions for regional air services in Quebec.

Support measures have already been announced — i.e. Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and essential air service to remote communities. As you know, other support measures are being proposed and are under consideration.

Impact of COVID-19 on downtown Montreal

Question:

What are the impacts of COVID-19 on downtown Montreal?

Key messages:

Across the country, inner city economies are being severely affected by COVID.
Our Government has implemented several measures to support businesses since the beginning of the pandemic — including those in downtown areas — and will continue to do so.
In Montreal, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) has entered into agreements with PME Mtl to support local businesses with urgent cash flow needs.
CED is also actively participating in the work of "Relançons Montréal" to identify solutions that will re-energize Montéal's economy.

Background:

Before the pandemic, the economy of Montreal, and its downtown core in particular, was booming.

Montreal became the epicentre of the pandemic in the spring of 2020. The social distancing measures and bans on large public gatherings implemented in the wake of the pandemic deprived the downtown economy of its main sources of income, associated with commerce, industry and tourism.

The increase in e-commerce and teleworking has also had a major impact on traffic in downtown Montreal and its economic recovery.

The decline in traffic in downtown Montreal is significant: of the 600,000 people who used to visit downtown Montreal daily, only 50,000 now do so — or 8.3% of regular traffic.

International tourism has also been strongly affected, resulting in a 69% drop in the occupancy rate of the city's hotels.

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) response to COVID-19

Question:

What is ACOA doing to support Atlantic Canadians during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic?

Key messages:

Through our Government's Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF), ACOA is delivering $170 million in support to Atlantic Canada SMEs and $61 million in support to Community Futures Organizations.
As of November 05, ACOA invested $68M in 314 projects directly. Community Futures organizations, have invested a further $40.4M in 1304 projects.
Further support from federal programs include:
Canada Seafood Stabilization Fund (CSSF), which is supporting 93 projects totalling over $24M (as of October 30).
The Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), with roughly $1.15M in support available.
ACOA has also set aside $6 million of its regular budget for tourism-specific support.
ACOA supported businesses across the region during the pandemic to pivot their operations to produce PPE:
Bouctouche Bay Industries, in Saint-Édouard-de-Kent, normally makes equipment for growing oysters and components for lobster traps. The company is now mass-producing face shields with an ACOA investment of $50,000 (REGI).
Cape Breton's Glenora Distillery, makers of fine single malt whiskey, pivoted to produce hand sanitizer during the Covid-19 pandemic. ACOA provided $72,500 (REGI).
With $75,000 support from ACOA, TaskForce NL (TFNL) partnered with local businesses, organizations, and the health care system in Newfoundland and Labrador to source and manufacture PPE for front-line health care workers and first responders (REGI).

Background:

Of the $170M allocated to Atlantic Canada through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF), ACOA received $108.9M to support Atlantic Canadian companies and business support organizations that could not access existing federal programs.

To date, there have been 579 applications received requesting over $137M in funding support.

The expenditures for RRRF stream 1 by province are $14M for Nova Scotia, $14M for Newfoundland and Labrador, $9M for New Brunswick and $5M for Prince Edward Island.

The RDAs set aside a combined total of $50M from their regular programming to support the tourism sector.

Organizations providing an urban Main Street loan program in Atlantic Canada are:

Metro Business Opportunities (MBO) in Mount Pearl, NL, which received $2 million to deliver the Main Street Recovery Fund (MSRF);
CBDC Central PEI, which received $1,050,000 to establish an Urban Main Street Loan Initiative to assist businesses in the Greater Charlottetown Area;
the New Brunswick Association of Community Business Development Corporations, which received $2,750,000 to administer the urban Main Street Loan Initiative in the greater Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton areas; and
the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education & Development Incorporated (CEED) in Halifax, NS, which received $3,300,000 to set up and administer the Urban Main Street Loan Initiative for businesses in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

By the end of December 2020, repayment deferrals will total over $50M, involving 1200 clients and 1800 projects.

The Atlantic Canada Tourism Recovery Initiative (ACTRI) was created to assist the four Atlantic provinces with local and domestic marketing campaigns, recognizing that the 2020 tourism season would be largely, if not exclusively reliant on local and regional visitors. Bilateral agreements are in place with each of the four provincial governments in Atlantic Canada. Each bilateral agreement is $1.125 million with ACOA contributing $750,000 and the province contributing $375,000.

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) programming update and key sectors

Question:

What are the current statuses of ACOA programs and Champion files?

Key messages:

In addition to delivering COVID-19 measures, ACOA continues to deliver its regular programs, and has adjusted criteria to meet the current needs of businesses as they deal with the effects of the pandemic.
From April to October 2020, ACOA:
- supported1004 projects totalling $201M through the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) and Business Development Program (BDP).
- supported 62 projects totalling $12M through the Innovative Communities Fund (ICF).
- supported 23 projects totalling $67M through the Community Futures (CF).
Since 2015, ACOA has supported more than 1,800 businesses and 550 communities in Atlantic Canada.
Overall, ACOA contributed $284M annually to the Atlantic Canada economy through all of its funding sources from 2015 to 2020.
From April 2015 to March 2020, ACOA:
- supported an annual average of 942 projects totalling almost $199M through the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) and Business Development Program (BDP).
- approved an annual average of 116 projects with a total annual investment exceeding $40M through the Innovative Communities Fund (ICF).
- contributed $10M annually across an average of 17 projects through the Community Futures (CF).
Since 2015, for each dollar invested by ACOA, other sources of funding are investing $1.30.

Background:

The leveraged data is obtained from the Agency's administrative database (QAccess).

All data related to ACOA-assisted firms and firms not assisted by ACOA is the latest available from Statistics Canada.

ACOA's sectors of focus include: ocean, food, immigration, tourism, Indigenous economic development, start-up ecosystem, clean growth, and advanced manufacturing. The Agency has adapted its approach to these sectors as a result of the COVID pandemic with specific emphasis on the lenses of digitization, workforce of the future, green economy and inclusion. While the pandemic has had significant impacts in key sectors of Atlantic Canada, companies are capitalizing on new realities to digitize, automate, diversify and attract new talent, and ACOA is there to help them achieve this with support from its regular programs.

ACOA regular programs include:

Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) – supports innovation-related projects to help scale-up and increase productivity of innovative businesses, and to develop regional ecosystems
Business Development Program (BDP) – helps businesses start up, expand, modernize and improve their competitiveness. Focuses on regional priority sectors and non-innovation related projects.
Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF) – encourages partnerships among private sector firms, universities, colleges and other research institutions to develop and commercialize products and services.
Innovative Communities Fund (ICF) – invests in strategic economic and sector development planning and infrastructure projects that stimulate the vitality of mainly rural communities in Atlantic Canada
Community Futures (CF) program – helps a network of 39 Community Business Development Corporations (CBDCs) who provide access to capital and businesses services for SMES and fills the gap in available financing and training for businesses in Atlantic Canadian rural areas.

The business survival rate of ACOA-assisted firms (after the crucial fifth year following start-up) was significantly higher than the survival rate of firms not assisted by ACOA by 34 percentage points (67% rate for ACOA-assisted firms; 33% rate for firms not assisted by ACOA), according to data released by Statistics Canada in 2020.

Since 2015 (pre-pandemic), the Atlantic Canada gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an average of 1.3% per year and employment increased by 1.6%.

FedDev Ontario response to COVID-19 in southern Ontario

Question:

What has FedDev Ontario done to support businesses and communities in southern Ontario in response to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Key messages:

FedDev Ontario is helping our Government deliver several key COVID-19 support programs to small businesses in Southern Ontario, including:
- $252.4 million via the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) to support businesses going through difficult times; and
- $3.4 million via the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy Ecosystem Fund's special top-up.
By working with partners to support innovative projects like Digital Main Street, FedDev is helping SMEs pivot towards more digital business models – making them more resilient and competitive.
To support the tourism sector specifically, FedDev has sought out opportunities through both the RRRF and its regular funding with contributions over $70 million.
FedDev has also offered businesses new flexibilities, such as repayment deferrals totalling almost $40 million and advance payments and support for PPE.
Finally, FedDev has also approved projects that directly support the production of PPE. This is helping local manufacturers quickly pivot and retool their production lines to respond to Canada's needs during this health crisis.

Background:

Flexibilities

Since March 2020, FedDev Ontario has collaborated with approximately 300 organizations to provide over 700 financial and non-financial flexibilities to existing clients.
- Financial flexibilities include: payment deferrals (3 months, 6 months, and in special cases more than 6 months); fast-tracked advance payments; and, amended cash-flows to align to client needs.
- Non-financial flexibilities include: deferrals on performance reporting; reallocation of eligible costs between fiscal years; support for PPE expenses; accelerated project decisions; and, amendments to project duration and/or milestones.
FedDev Ontario also enabled the region's Community Future Development Corporations (CFDCs) to provide emergency relief to businesses at concessionary rates in advance of the launch of the RRRF, and extended their capacity to defer payments on loans.

PPE/Health and safety

FedDev Ontario approved over $9.1 million in repayable contributions towards projects that directly support the production of PPE, such as medical-grade surgical masks, N-95 masks, as well as ventilators and other essential medical devices.
For example, Oro-Medonte-based Molded Precision Components (MPC), a rural plastic components manufacturer, received a $2.9 million contribution from FedDev Ontario to support the company to pivot away from its traditional automotive sector work and collaborate with leading medical equipment contract manufacturer Sterling Industries to produce much-needed PPE. MPC is manufacturing over 27 million medical face shields.

Women Entrepreneurs

Women Entrepreneurship Fund (WEF):
- FedDev has committed a total of $9.8 million in funding to 102 women-led or women-owned companies, supporting them to scale/grow, of which:
- 66 projects (totalling $6.4 million) are approved under the initial WEF allocation.
- 36 projects (totalling $3.4 million) are approved under the WEF top-up.
- The Agency's investments through WEF are expected to leverage a total of $17.5 million and will create 562 jobs while maintaining 296 jobs.
Women Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Fund (WES):
- FedDev provided a total of $34.1 million in funding to not-for-profit organizations committed to closing service gaps and strengthening capacity within the entrepreneurship ecosystem for women entrepreneurs.
- 19 projects, of which 16 were regional (totalling $24 million) and achieved broad geographic reach across southern Ontario while 3 were national (totalling $5.4 million), were approved under the initial WES allocation.
  - 14 of the regional (totalling $3.6 million) projects and all 3 of the national projects (totalling $1.1 million), were approved under the WES top-up.
- FedDev's investments through WES are expected to leverage a total of $5.7M and will create 1948 jobs while maintaining 1664 jobs.
Through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF), the Northumberland Community Futures Development Corporation and the WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation received $2 million each to deliver the Rebuild Reopen Revive Initiative to support women-led small- and medium-sized enterprises in rural and urban communities across southern Ontario. These organizations will provide non-repayable contributions of up to $5,000 to help eligible women-led businesses with key re-opening expenditures.

Tourism

The Agency has taken a number of steps to support the tourism sector in southern Ontario, including:
- Providing more than $25 million through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) to over 120 tourism SMEs who were unable to access other relief measures or were in need of additional support to meet their fixed costs obligations;
- Providing additional RRRF support of more than $11 million to 263 tourism operators in rural communities through southern Ontario's CFDCs;
- Providing $30 million to the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario to deliver support to 57 Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) across southern Ontario. This project is supporting DMOs operations and measures implemented during the summer months to drive hyper-local visitor activity in their communities, in a manner compliant with public health guidance; and
- Allocating $4 million (to-date), through its regular programming, for tourism dependent communities across southern Ontario. This funding will help over 300 SMEs with one time adaptation expenditures – such as costs of adapting outdoor venues, purchasing PPE, and leveraging new technologies such as virtual queuing.
FedDev Ontario also continues to engage regularly with tourism organizations and SMEs and is exploring other measures that can be quickly put in place to support the needs of the sector in Ontario.

Accomplishments and results – FedDev Ontario

Question:

What results has FedDev Ontario achieved?

Key messages:

FedDev is delivering federal funding through both regular and special COVID-19 programs to help businesses in southern Ontario get the support they need.
Through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) FedDev Ontario has approved investments of more than $232 million to support companies and organizations across the region.
It is estimated that these RRRF investments are directly supporting approximately 16,500 jobs.
Since November 2015, through its regular programming outside of the RRRF, FedDev Ontario has approved investments of more than $1 billion in over 975 projects, supporting the region's companies and organizations, that are projected to leverage more than $2 billion in additional funding.
FedDev Ontario's investments since November 2015, through its core programming, are estimated to support the creation and maintenance of around 70,000 jobs.

Background:

Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) Results

Since May 2020, FedDev Ontario has approved RRRF investments of more than $232 million in 1,759 projects. These include:
- more than $199 million in 691 projects supporting vulnerable businesses in southern Ontario (Stream 1); and
- more than $33 million in 1,068 projects supporting vulnerable business in small and rural communities in southern Ontario (Stream 2)
Investments made by FedDev Ontario since May 2020 are estimated to directly support over 18,000 jobs.
RRRF investments made by FedDev Ontario since May 2020 include:
- nearly $37 million invested in 383 projects supporting tourism businesses;
- more than $51 million invested in 789 projects supporting women owned or operated businesses; and
- more then $3 million invested in 82 projects supporting Indigenous businesses.

FedDev Ontario Non-RRRF Results

Results reported include investments made through FedDev Ontario's core regional programming, which is currently comprised of three streams: 1) Business Scale-Up and Productivity, 2) Regional Innovation Ecosystems and 3) Community Economic Development and Diversification, and through national delivery initiatives such as Steel and Aluminum, Women Entrepreneurship, and Canadian Experiences Fund.
Since November 2015 FedDev Ontario has invested over $800 million in over 225 projects through its core regional programming, which is designed to support firm scale-up and global readiness, enhance cluster development, and build more resilient communities.
Since November 2015, FedDev Ontario has invested more than $200 million in 750 projects to support national programming and initiatives.
FedDev Ontario worked with Statistics Canada in 2019 to measure the impact of its investments in southern Ontario. The analysis demonstrated that the Agency's direct business recipients, since 2010, have grown employment by 18 percent, revenue by 14 percent, productivity by 4 percent, and expenditures on R&D by 38 percent per year, on average, three years post funding. Results for similar businesses not funded by FedDev Ontario are negative 0.6 percent for employment, negative 0.4 percent for revenue, 1 percent for productivity, and negative 6 percent for R&D.
FedDev Ontario investments create relatively more high quality jobs in science, tech, engineering, and math fields and in manufacturing.
Based on analysis done with the Conference Board of Canada, it was determined that every $1 from FedDev Ontario core regional program stream investments generates $3.5 of value in the broader economy.

Automotive manufacturing in southern Ontario

Question:

What is the state of the automotive manufacturing sector in southern Ontario?

Key messages:

The auto industry is an integral part of the southern Ontario economy, currently employing nearly 100,000 people and generating $15 billion of GDP a year.
With the onset of the pandemic, the auto industry was severely impacted by temporary closures, but has since largely bounced back with the re-opening of the economy.
Recent announcements from the region's large automakers will help to position the sector going forward, especially in the electric vehicle (EV) segment.
Ford, Fiat Chrysler, and General Motors have recently committed to invest a combined $4.6 billion over the next 5 years in southern Ontario, securing thousands of jobs in the region.
Our Government is doing its part to support the auto industry as well, investing alongside the private sector to support workers. For example, we have invested $295 million with Ford in Oakville to pack batteries and assemble electric vehicles.
I would defer to my colleague Minister Bains and his officials for further insight on this issue.

Background:

The automotive sector is a critical backbone of southern Ontario's industrial base, generated over $15 billion of the Provinces GDP, employed 109 thousand workers and exported $69 billion worth of goods in 2019 (Statistics Canada Tables: 36-10-0402-01,14-10-0202-01, and ISED Trade Data Online).

At the peak of the pandemic, the North American automotive supply chain was in large part shutdown to contain the spread of the virus, resulting in the regions exports cratering by 93% and 25 thousand workers losing their jobs in Ontario in April 2020.

As of September 2020, the sector has recovered all but five thousand of the jobs lost (97.6 thousand vs 103 thousand pre-pandemic level in February 2020) and exports have returned to pre-pandemic levels (Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0201-01, ISED Trade Data Online).

While sales have bounced back and production nears full capacity, the sector continues to face a number of issues including higher cost of operations, absenteeism, border crossing challenges, supply chain transportation disruptions as well as liquidity concerns.

The high level of used vehicle supply and unemployment across North America may impede a full recovery, as demand for new vehicles is expected to remain weak (Bloomberg Intelligence)

Sales are forecasted to be down 18% (1.6 million in 2020 vs 1.9 million in 2019) in Canada and down 17% in the U.S. (14 million in 2020 vs 17 million in 2019) (ScotiaBank, October 1, 2020).

These announcements could act as a catalyst for additional investment in the automotive space, especially for Zero Emission (ZEV) and EV:

As part of Ford's $1.8 billion investment, they will be packing batteries and assembling them into vehicles at their Oakville plant – Ford has one electric vehicle platform but has announced plans to scale to five by 2025 at the facility, securing 5,000 jobs in the region (September 22, 2020).
Fiat Chrysler (FCA) announced as part of their $1.5 billion investment that it would bring an expected 2,000 jobs to Windsor and include at least one plug-in hybrid to launch in 2024 (October 15, 2020).
GM has announced the re-opening of their Oshawa plant after its closure in 2018, investing $1.3 billion for retooling – the plant is expected to create 2,500 jobs to assemble trucks (November 5, 2020). While GM was maintaining some work at the plant, as well as a test track for autonomous vehicle testing, this will bring back vehicle assembly.

Impact of border closures in southern Ontario

Question:

What has been the impact of border closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic in southern Ontario?

Key messages:

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have agreed with the United States to temporarily restrict all non-essential travel like tourism and recreation across the Canada-US border.
Canada and the United States have agreed to extend the border measures that are currently in place until November 21st.
We understand that travel restrictions are hurting businesses in Ontario and across the country.
The impact of the travel restrictions from the U.S. is particularly acute for tourism operators in cities and towns, such as Niagara and Windsor, along the border.
The closure of the U.S. border is also impacting some southern Ontario's manufacturers that are experiencing missed opportunities for business with the U.S. market.
We also know that keeping the border closed remains an appropriate measure for the health and safety of Ontarians and all Canadians at this time.
We will continue to do what is necessary to keep Canadians safe and will base our decisions on the best public health evidence available.

Background:

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the governments of Canada and the United States agreed to close the border to non-essential travel on March 21, 2020, for an initial period of 30 days.

The closure of the border was subsequently extended several times. On October 30, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and the Minister of Health announced the Government extended the Mandatory Isolation Order and temporary travel restrictions for all non-US travellers, unless their travel is for non-discretionary reasons, to November 30, 2020.

Travel restrictions will continue to impact businesses in Ontario.

More than 13 million visitors from the U.S. typically come to southern Ontario every year.

Between April and June of this year, only 64,000 US visitors crossed the border into Ontario with 84% of those being same day visits.

U.S. traveller arrivals into Canadian airports are down 99% year-over-year (CBSA).

The impact of the travel restrictions from the U.S. is acute for tourism operators in cities and towns along the border.

Pre-pandemic, U.S. tourism injected close to $1 billion annually into the economy of Niagara Falls and its surrounding area.

Windsor normally attracts almost five million visitors (30% from the U.S), contributing $500 million to the economy and supporting 16,000 jobs in the sector. Temporary closures of hotels, including Caesars, have affected thousands of employees in Windsor and city dividends from OLG revenues.

Concerns about the U.S. border closure have also been raised by manufacturing businesses in southern Ontario. The majority of Canadian manufacturing business is with the U.S. market. Border delays are making U.S. companies not consider quotes from Canadian suppliers. It is impacting their ability to confirm future contracts.

The Premier of Ontario repeatedly expressed his government's concurrence with the federal government's approach to the border. A coalition of some 13 border communities in southern Ontario including Prescott, Windsor, Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, Sarnia Sault Ste. Marie and Fort Frances have also indicated support for keeping the U.S. border closed for the time being.

FedDev Ontario Pivotal Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) projects

Question:

What is the background and examples of FedDev Ontario Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) Pivotal Projects?

Key messages:

Digital Main Street

On June 11, Minister Joly announced $42.5 million in RRRF funding through FedDev Ontario for Digital Main Street, a program created by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) with direct support from the City of Toronto to help main street businesses achieve digital transformation.
Through this investment, partners the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association, the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas, Communitech and Invest Ottawa will support over 21,900 small businesses across Ontario to pivot their operations to include digital business models, regain lost revenue and become more resilient and competitive as the economy recovers, while creating jobs for 1,400 students.
Between June and October, more than 6,900 businesses have received support through this investment, while more than 1,000 students have gained valuable work experience, creating online storefronts and offering tailored advice to small businesses.
The Digital Main Street platform is comprised of three key streams offering tailored support to entrepreneurs based on their business needs: Digital Transformation Grants, Future Proof and ShopHERE.
To date, 635 small businesses in 75 municipalities across southern Ontario have received Digital Transformation Grants of up to $2,500. Funding also supported the creation of community-based Digital Service Squads, employing youth to provide tailored advice to SMEs on digital adoption.
As part of the Future Proof program, delivery partners equipped 87 Transformation Teams of students and recent graduates specializing in web design, copywriting, digital markets, and graphic design to provide in-depth support and advice to businesses.
The ShopHERE program has supported nearly 4,000 main street businesses across Ontario in developing customized online storefronts with support from students employed by the program.
FedDev Ontario's funding for this project specifically supports costs including the hiring and deployment of student teams, the provision of specialized advisory services and training from Invest Ottawa and Communitech, non-repayable contributions for BIAs and municipalities to establish local digital service squads, and funding to help businesses cover the costs of implementing elements of their digital transformation plans.
Support through Digital Main Street is helping businesses like Etobicoke's Golden Joy Hakka Restaurant, which developed a new website built on integrating food delivery apps to support increased reliance on takeout and delivery; Sidonio's boutique clothing store in downtown Guelph, which moved their product offering online after having to close their doors due to COVID-19, and Bitte Schon Brauhaus in New Hamburg, which grew its online presence to reach a wider audience and create brand awareness.

Tourism Industry Association of Ontario

On May 31, Minister Joly announced $30 million in FedDev Ontario RRRF funding to provide financial relief to destination marketing organizations (DMOs) across southern Ontario that have experienced significant revenue shortfalls.
With this funding, TIAO is supporting southern Ontario's 57 DMOs to launch dedicated marketing campaigns to drive visitor activity back into their communities when it is safe to do so. This, in turn will help generate new revenue for tourism dependent SMEs and help local economic recovery in communities across the region.
TIAO was able to start flowing the funding directly to the 57 DMOs by the end of June 2020, which provided each DMO with operating funding equivalent to 50% of their operating costs over a six month period. This funding has been used to cover fixed operating costs, bring back laid off/furloughed staff, support targeted hyper local tourism campaigns (e.g. Toronto's Stroll T.O. initiative to encourage residents to explore the city's diverse neighborhoods) and various destination marketing activities.
Given the current situation and the onset of a second wave, marketing campaigns have been put on hold or modified to reflect public health measures. FedDev Ontario continues to work with TIAO and the DMOs to offer guidance.

Support for official language minority communities

On July 9, Minister Joly announced a $4.5-million RRRF investment in three not-for-profit organizations to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and organizations across southern Ontario.
l'Assemblée de francophonie de l'Ontario and the Prescott Russell Community Development Corporation (CDC) received a combined contribution of $3 million to deliver funding of up to $20,000 to OLMC SMEsand not for profit organizations with an economic focus, including social enterprises and not-for-profit cooperatives, to support the costs of reopening.
The Societé Économique de l'Ontario (SÉO) received $1.5 million to deliver targeted technical advisory services to OLMC businesses and cooperatives across southern Ontario.
Through these investments, 460 Franco-Ontarian organizations and SMEs will have support to help cover costs such as acquiring personal protective equipment (PPE), adopting digital measures, and re-tooling physical storefronts to adopt social distancing measures.

Support for Women-led Businesses through the Rebuild Reopen Revive Initiative

On July 17, Minister Ng announced $4 million for the Northumberland CFDC and WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation, in collaboration with regional partners, to deliver the Rebuild Reopen Revive Initiative to support women-led small- and medium-sized enterprises in rural and urban communities across southern Ontario. Both organizations received $2 million to provide non-repayable contributions of up to $5,000 to help over 700 eligible women-led businesses with key re-opening expenditures, including:
- Acquisition of reusable personal protective equipment (PPE);
- Reconfiguration of workspaces to accommodate social distancing impacts; and
- Enhancing online capacity to improve accessibility and client service.

Below are examples of the impact of direct FedDev Ontario RRRF support for small businesses across southern Ontario:

Fieldless Farms

Cornwall-based Fieldless Farms uses Controlled Environment Agriculture technologies to grow, harvest and deliver safe, local and more sustainable produce 365 days a year. Fieldless is working to reduce our reliance on imports by offering sustainable, Canadian-grown lettuce, while supporting local jobs and economic growth. Fieldless also plans to integrate technologies to deliver additional food crops such as spinach, basil, berries, tomatoes, cucumbers and many others. Well on its way to these goals after getting a deal with Farm Boy, as a start-up, COVID-19 introduced some setbacks for the company. $91,977 in RRRF funding will help them with fixed operating pressures and to continue to replace imported products with local, safe and sustainable produce.

Koppers Fishing and Tackle Corporation

Niagara-on-the-Lake-based Koppers Fishing and Tackle Corp develops and manufactures high-quality fishing lures and tackle for the angler and competitive fishing market, selling into the North American and international markets. With COVID-19 restrictions, revenues declined sharply with customers no longer taking fishing trips in what would normally be their busiest season. As a result, the launch of their new product was put on hold. FedDev Ontario provided $170,148 in funding through the RRRF to support the company with fixed operating costs and help position them for growth, with plans to increase jobs, expand exports and develop new products.

Real Time Medical (RTM)

Mississauga-based RTM provides remote diagnostic services as well as workflow productivity software to help radiologists optimize client care, serving 30 hospitals across Canada. With COVID-19 leading to a cancellation of elective diagnostic procedures, an RRRF investment of nearly $220,000 is helping the company to maintain its contracting obligations and jobs.

Quality Models Limited

For Tecumseh-based injection molding manufacturer Quality Models Limited, when COVID-19 hit, many of its clients halted production, resulting in a significant decrease in sales. Although some operations are beginning to resume, the rural manufacturer anticipates ongoing revenue generating challenges as its clients reassess their operations. Assistance through the RRRF has alleviated some of the liquidity pressures and covered fixed operating costs for the company's automotive and recreational boating products.

Niagara Falls tourism ad

Question:

With funding through TIAO, Niagara Falls Tourism published a video encouraging people to visit Niagara Falls. Given the onset of the second wave of COVID-19, the video required adjustments to accurately reflect the current public health situation and guidelines. Can you comment on this?

Key messages:

We know that the tourism industry is one of the hardest hit by COVID-19 and we are working tirelessly to mitigate the impacts on the Canadian economy.
Recognizing this significant impact, our government continues to support the recovery and growth of this important industry through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) and other measures while complying with the highest standard of public health measures.
Let me be very clear – tourism promotion must be done in accordance with public health guidelines.
Funding provided by FedDev Ontario, through the Tourism Industry of Ontario (TIAO), was intended to provide liquidity support for Destination Marketing Organizations across southern Ontario and position them to drive visitor activity back into local communities as the sector re-opens.
TIAO determined the allocation to funding to individual Destination Marketing Organizations and provided guidance on the use of those funds.
FedDev Ontario did not view or approve the video in question prior to its publication.
FedDev has contacted TIAO to reinforce that any tourism promotion needs conform with the latest health guidelines.
Protecting Canadians from COVID-19 has been and continues to be our government's top priority.

Background:

Recognizing the significant impact that COVID-19 has had on tourism, the Government of Canada continues to support the recovery and growth of this important industry and it does so while complying with the highest standard of public health measures. Protecting Canadians from COVID-19 has been and continues to be the Government of Canada's number one priority. We continue to urge Canadians to follow Public Health guidelines in all their activities.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, FedDev Ontario provided funding to the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) to support the recovery of southern Ontario's tourism sector. TIAO is in turn delivering that funding to destination marketing organizations (DMOs) like Niagara Falls Tourism, to help drive visitors back into communities as the economy reopens and it is safe to do so.

As TIAO is delivering support on our behalf through this investment, the ultimate recipients (DMOs) are accountable to TIAO, not directly to FedDev Ontario.

On October 5, a journalist from True North sent an inquiry regarding Niagara Falls Tourism's campaign on YouTube. FedDev Ontario was not directly involved in Niagara Falls' campaign, and had not seen or approved the video.

The Agency reached out to the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, who reached out to Niagara Falls Tourism to request adjustments to reflect the public health situation and guidelines. Niagara Falls Tourism removed the video on October 13 in order to make adjustments, and also removed the federal identity program logo to avoid confusion that the government is supporting specific travel campaigns or destinations, particularly during this time.

The Agency also provided detailed guidance to TIAO to share with all DMOs to ensure that any and all materials and communications are reflective of the current public health situation and reiterate local public health guidelines. The Agency asked them to provide materials for our review in the interim and continue to offer guidance and support.

One additional media inquiry was received related to this video, by the Niagara Falls Review on October 13. In both instances, the Agency responded to clarify the Government's position on travel and lack of involvement in the video.

Economic impact of COVID-19 in southern Ontario

Question:

What has been the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in southern Ontario?

Key messages:

Prior to the pandemic, southern Ontario was a driver of Canada's economic growth, accounting for over a third of GDP and almost half of R&D
As a result of COVID-19, however, Ontario's GDP is forecasted to fall by 5.5% in 2020 – nearly two times as deep as the Great Recession in 2008-09.
While the economy had begun to recover, the second wave will continue to impact communities.
The sectoral impact has been uneven. While some companies have been able to take advantage of COVID-related trends such as the increased e-commerce and telework, others face an uncertain path to recovery
Manufacturing was hit by border closures, physical distancing requirements, and falling demand for auto and aero. At peak, auto was down 30,000 jobs and 5,000 have yet to be recovered.
The travel and tourism sector in Ontario has been among the hardest hit, and will likely take the longest to recover.
The pandemic has hit southern Ontario's underrepresented groups and vulnerable populations the hardest, including women, youth, new Canadians, Indigenous and low-skilled workers.
Local reliance on distressed industries, canceled events, closed borders and the impact of increased telework on downtown urban cores has affected communities of all sizes across the region.
We will get through this extraordinary situation together, and our Government will not hesitate to use all the tools at our disposal to support Canadians during this difficult time.

Background:

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, southern Ontario was a driver of Canada's economic growth due to its critical assets, and strengths in key growth sectors.

The region has been deeply impacted by COVID-19 and the economic shut down. GDP is forecasted to fall by 5.7% year-over-year in 2020 compared to 2019. This is nearly two-times as much as the 2008-09 recession.

At the peak of the lockdown the region lost almost 1.2 million jobs and one-quarter of the workforce was effectively shutdown. While there has been some job recovery, unemployment remains elevated at 9.5% in September compared to 5.6% prior to the pandemic

While the economy improved since the peak of the pandemic, a second wave caused the daily COVID-19 case rate to start spiking again since September. As a result, the Ottawa, Toronto, Peel and York regions reintroduced lockdown measures to stem the spread of COVID-19, closing in-restaurant dining, gyms and entertainment venues.

On November 7, Ontario introduced a new COVID-19 Response Framework that allowed regions in lockdown to transition away from restrictions and allowed some businesses that were previously mandated to close to remain open while under very strict measures. Toronto will remain in modified Stage 2 until November 14, and then it will join the new system.

Due to the pandemic, women's participation in the labour force pushed to the lowest level in three decades and as of September 2020, female job losses were 23,000 higher than males. Women face an uphill battle to return to pre-COVID levels of work.

COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting low-skill workers, nearly 50% of whom lost their jobs in the food and accommodations sector at the pandemic's peak. This trend has also disproportionately impacted Ontario's youth (15-34).

The impact of the pandemic is widespread, hitting both Ontario's large and small communities. The scope of the impact and capacity to recover will vary across different sectors and areas.

The automotive, aerospace and manufacturing sector's ability to bounce back will be limited by mobility restrictions that affect spending and the closure of the U.S. border that is affecting exports. As a result, Windsor was one of Canada's hardest hit labour markets due to its reliance on the auto industry.

Mobility restrictions and border closures have also significantly impacted travel and tourism in southern Ontario. For example, in Niagara, an important tourism destination, 1 in 3 businesses are at risk of permanent closure. Returns to 2019 demand levels are not expected until 2023 for domestic and 2024 for international travel.

Rural areas, which tend to be reliant on Main Street businesses, retail and tourism have also been impacted and are experiencing increased debt/leverage, shut downs and other disruptions.

Macroeconomic trends, such e-commerce, are driving demand in Ontario's growing technology sector. "Winners" like Shopify and Wealthsimple are growing; however, a number of other tech businesses are expected to face bankruptcy or sell out to other players due to constrained access to capital.

FedNor and Regional Development Agency response to COVID-19

Question:

How did FedNor respond to assist clients, businesses, communities and significant regional industries after the early and potential impacts of COVID-19 became apparent?

Key messages:

FedNor is helping to deliver many Government's COVID-19 relief programs in Northern Ontario, such as:
- The Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) which is providing $71.8 million in assistance to Northern Ontario businesses; and
- The Women Entrepreneurship Strategy Ecosystem Fund Top-Up, with $863,000 in support for women-led businesses impacted by the pandemic.
To date, the RRRF has supported over 1,200 businesses and maintained over 3,400 jobs in Northern Ontario.
Like other RDAs, FedNor is deferring most client payments until January 1, 2021. This will assist in helping clients maintain cash flow, pay their bills and stay afloat during this challenging time.
FedNor is also supporting the Government's "call to action" to Northern Ontario manufacturers, providing funding to help them to produce PPE and helping them retool and adapt to new COVID-19 safety requirements.
By mobilizing their regular programming funding and tools, FedNor is supporting businesses that have been particularly hard hit by this pandemic. These include businesses in the tourism sector, as well as Indigenous, women-owned and women-led businesses.
In addition to its financial support, FedNor actively engages with local stakeholders to ensure that they are aware of the Government's latest programs and services, while helping the Government to better understand their needs as Northern Ontario businesses.
As we continue to deal with the impacts of COVID-19, FedNor will continue to work closely with communities, stakeholders and our CFDC partners to ensure communities and businesses are ready to participate fully in the region's and Canada's economic recovery.

Background:

FedNor was originally allocated $49.5 million from the RRRF for Northern Ontario:

$24 million to be delivered directly through FedNor
$25.5 million to be delivered through CFDCs

From the original RRRF allocation, the majority of businesses funded were small (5-99 employees) or micro (1-4 employees) businesses

Tourism business accounted for half of businesses supported directly by RRRF, followed by Mining supply and services, Manufacturing, Transportation, Construction, and Agri-Food.

FedNor's support to not-for-profit organizations through the RRRF included projects with Chambers of Commerce and Tourism Organizations; as well as projects with Industry/ Sector Associations.

FedNor encouraged its CFDCs to increase their lending activity in support of their rural and remote communities during the pandemic.

FedNor's two regional WES projects received funding through the WES top up. The projects include:

The Northern Ontario Women (NOW) Program: Supported through the Women Ecosystem Fund and administered through the LAMBAC Community Futures Development Corporation, the NOW Program stimulates women-owned and women-led business start-ups and scale-ups by increasing their access to business development supports throughout the region.
PARO Centre for Women's Enterprise: With FedNor support, PARO is implementing a growth strategy to help women-owned businesses further advance their productivity, competitiveness, business management, connections, and readiness to grow and export.

FedNor is engaging partners to ensure black business owners and entrepreneurs in Northern Ontario will be well serviced by the Black Entrepreneurship Program.

FedNor – Regular programming update and key sectors

Question:

Can you provide a breakdown of recent investments through FedNor's regular programming, and provide an update on key economic sectors in Northern Ontario?

Key messages:

Since November 2019, FedNor has approved $58 million towards 129 projects through its regular programming. These projects are anticipated to create over 2,100 jobs and maintain 800 jobs.
Over 1,400 businesses are also anticipated be created, maintained and expanded/modernized as a result of these projects.
Since November 4, 2015, FedNor has approved 698 projects across all of its programs, representing an investment of $245.6 Million and total project costs of $670.2 Million.
To date, completed projects have resulted in 2,744 FTEs created, 2,874 FTEs maintained, 1,293 businesses created, 1,869 businesses maintained, and 1,247 businesses expanded or modernized.
FedNor continues to focus its investments on assisting communities in attracting and retaining business, supporting women entrepreneurs, building a diverse and bilingual workforce, and encouraging Indigenous business growth.
FedNor has also invested in a variety of tourism-related projects towards improving the region's competitive tourism position.
To respond to opportunities and challenges in Northern Ontario, FedNor will continue to deliver targeted programming that is meets the needs of communities and businesses across the region.

Background:

Northern Ontario is the largest producer of gold, platinum group metals and nickel in Canada and is renowned for its concentration of strong and well-developed mining services. Currently, 18 precious metal mines (gold and the platinum group of metals) and 11 base metal mines (nickel, copper and zinc) are operational. Northern Ontario is also home to several mining mills, smelters and refineries and over 30 advanced mineral projects are currently underway.

Northern Ontario has the majority (76%) of the province's woodlands and provides most of the province's forest products through sawmills and pulp mills. There are 46 communities that are singularly dependent on the forest industry in Northern Ontario.

Northern Ontario is home to a diverse range of manufacturers, covering sub-industries such as fabricated metal products, wood products, machinery, food and furniture.

The Agri-food sector is also important to the economy with a lot of potential due in part by the increase in private investments, the more than one million acres of unused land, competitive land prices and, with the changing climate, the addition of a longer growing season.

The life sciences ecosystem in Northern Ontario is comprised of a number of stakeholders.

Northern Ontario's tourism products are primarily focussed on the US market. Fishing and hunting are a traditional mainstay of tourism's economic contribution to Northern Ontario.

FedNor has several ongoing projects in support of building stronger and inclusive communities, including supports to help women-owned and women-led business, youth employment, and official language minority businesses and organizations.

The region is home to 105 Indigenous communities. FedNor is working with these communities to build their capacity to take advantage of the economic opportunities arising from major infrastructure and industry investments bordering their traditional territories.

Impact of COVID-19 in northern Ontario

Question:

How has COVID-19 impacted Northern Ontario as a whole, and to what degree have these impacts been experienced by different social and demographic groups, communities and sectors?

Key messages:

COVID-19 has impacted Northern Ontario communities differently depending on the diversification of their economies, their dependency on strategic sectors, as well as the rate of recovery of those strategic sectors.
More than 30,000 jobs were lost by spring 2020 when compared to a peak in August 2019. While employment rebounded to some degree by September 2020, it remains 13,000 below September 2019 levels.
The Tourism sector was hit first and hardest, with the impacts spreading to the Service, Manufacturing, Agriculture, Forestry, Mining and Construction sectors.s
As the crisis continues and the US border remains closed, seasonal tourism businesses are particularly concerned they will lose their entire 2020 season.
In addition to the sectoral impacts, some populations were especially affected by the pandemic and are vulnerable moving forward:
- Some of the highest declines have been in the service sector. Women are highly represented in this sector, especially in Retail Trade, Tourism, Healthcare & Social Assistance.
- Youth employment has fallen significantly; youth are a major labour force source for seasonal tourism businesses and represents the future labour force for Northern Ontario.
- More than 40 First Nations in the region declared states of emergency due to COVID-19.
Despite immigration being key to growing the region's skilled workforce, Northern Ontario's ten post-secondary institutions have all reported significant reductions in attracting international students.
Despite the impacts of COVID-19, Northern Ontario's regional economy has demonstrated signs of resiliency.
While tourism-dependent communities remain hard hit, and the agriculture and manufacturing sectors are still struggling, other sectors like mining, forestry and health and life sciences are seeing signs of rebound and are poised for opportunity.
FedNor will continue its work to support areas of growth, while taking action where needed to support our hardest hit sectors and communities.

Background:

Northern Ontario was already facing low population growth and projected skills shortages prior to the current pandemic.

Northern Ontario's economy was already struggling before the pandemic. Annual GDP growth has been below 1% since 2011.

The Northern Ontario unemployment rate has steadily risen, going from 5.2 percent in February to 10 per cent in May. Youth unemployment in Northern Ontario is an acute issue that has been exacerbated by COVID-19.

According to the Conference Board of Canada, GDP in Northern Ontario is expected to contract by a significant 7.2 percent this year, on the heels of a tepid 1.1 percent gain in 2019.

The Northern Ontario economy has experienced significant impacts as a result of COVID-19:

27% of businesses reported that their revenues from the first quarter of 2020 were down by 50% or more compared to a year earlier;
66% of businesses reported being highly affected by lower demand for their products or services;
55% of businesses reported being highly affected by the need to cancel services they offered; and,
38% of businesses reported that they laid off staff.

Youth employment in Northern Ontario fell by 33% in April 2020 as compared to April 2019.

30 remote First Nations in Northern Ontario rely solely on air transport and winter roads for delivery of essential services and supplies, which presented significant challenges.

In Northern Ontario, 61% of households have internet access at speeds of 50/10 Mbps. This is 27% lower than the provincial access rate. Within Northern Ontario, access varies greatly, with rates ranging from 10 percent (Manitoulin) to 94 percent (Greater Sudbury). Lack of access to broadband has posed significant challenges as businesses and organizations across the region attempt to adapt to working remotely, and as students shift to online learning.

Sectoral Impacts – Challenges and Opportunities

Tourism – US market reliance; border closures; signature attractions heavily impacted
Agriculture – significant impacts on the regional fishing industry; higher food prices and increased distribution pressure; availability of considerable farming land is attracting further investments.
Mining – major early impact on productivity; metal prices fell then slight rebound; pause on exploration projects. Potential opportunities in this sector exist for demonstration, refining and other value-added activities related to critical minerals and metals that exist in Northern Ontario and their potential use for use in green/clean technology
Forestry – increased operating costs; acute impact on Indigenous communities; challenges around timber supply; demand remains strong
Manufacturing – biggest decline since 2008; supply chain interruptions and transportation challenges; retooling to mitigate COVID-19 challenges
Health/Life Sciences – While venture capital investment is down there is growing innovative opportunities for the supply of products and services.

Impact of border closures in northern Ontario

Question:

Is COVID-19 having a particular and profound impact on the tourism sector in Northern Ontario and on area communities due to ongoing closure of the US border?

Key messages:

In Northern Ontario, the tourism sector was hit first and hardest by the closure of the US border due to COVID-19. A large number of seasonal business lost their entire 2020 season with many not even opening given their dependency on the US market. Without extended government support, many of these businesses will fail.
Tourism contributes significantly to economic development in Northern Ontario. The region's tourism GDP for 2018 was nearly $2 billion, which represents 5.3% of the region's GDP. In addition, tourism accounts for more than 42,500 jobs in Northern Ontario, representing 11% of the region's employment.
Americans account for more than one third of all spending on tourism goods and services in the region. This includes about half of the paid roofed lodging nights on an annual basis.
The tourism industry also supports local and regional airports and carriers that bring tourists to the area.
Since the start of the pandemic, FedNor has supported 77 tourism projects in Northern Ontario representing a total contribution value of over $11.46 million. Of these, 67 projects were funded through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) ($10.34 million).
Community Futures Development Corporations have also provided an additional $8.35 million to 225 tourism businesses in the region through the RRRF.
FedNor has also set aside $5 million funding to provide urgent support to tourism-impacted communities in Northern Ontario.
Moving forward, continued support for tourism businesses and organizations will remain crucial in helping them to survive, recover and to respond to emerging public health requirements, consumer demands and travel trends.

Background:

Tourism represents the third-largest share of employment in the region (next to Health Care and Retail Trade).

A Destination Canada research study with McKinsey on the impact of COVID-19 on tourism, identified 120 tourism-dependent communities in Ontario. Of those, 86 of the regions which have tourism as a primary generator of economic activity are in Northern Ontario. This represents 72% of the province's tourism-dependent communities.

The region's tourism products are primarily focused on the US market and draw tourists interested in outdoor experiences, such as hunting and fishing, watersports, touring and sporting events. The majority of US visitors come from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois, where the population is approximately the same as Canada.

Fishing and hunting is a mainstay of tourism's economic contribution to Northern Ontario. Northern Ontario lodge operators are concerned about the impacts of closing the international border, as two thirds of Northern Ontario anglers who rely on paid roofed lodging are Americans (262,000). The annual value of angling tourism in Northern Ontario is estimated to be $500 to 700 million.

The 2020 spring bear hunt was lost, which largely attracts US tourists and brings an estimated economic benefit of $40 million per year for Ontario.

The 2020 cruise season was also lost. Between 2014 and 2018 there has been an average of about 9,000 cruise visitors annually that stop at two to four ports in Northern Ontario, representing approximately $2.7 million in direct spending.

In many cases, tourism businesses are dependent on receiving deposits from US visitors over the winter months to enable them to undertake necessary improvements for next season; businesses do not anticipate receiving deposits given the ongoing US border closure.

Attracting domestic tourists to replace US visitors may be a challenge given second wave/spikes in target areas (e.g. Manitoba). Also, domestic markets have access to similar experiences closer to their homes and are a much smaller market.

FedNor actively engages with key tourism stakeholders at the local, regional and provincial levels in an effort to provide sector intelligence to federal decision makers and disseminate information on the various Government of Canada programs to tourism organizations and businesses in Northern Ontario.

Appearance before the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology (INDU) by the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages – November 24, 2020

Keeping business costs low during COVID-19

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

FedNor funding to Skritswap

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

Helping Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Secure Funding During COVID-19

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

Small and Medium-Sized Business support for employees during COVID-19

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

COVID-19 and support for the tourism sector

Question:

Key messages:

Supplementary messages:

Background:

Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF)

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

Appendix A: RRRF Program Approvals as of October 29, 2020

Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES) Ecosystem Fund - Top-Up

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

Canadian Seafood Stabilization Fund (CSSF)

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

Additional Funding Requirement for CanNor's Northern Business Relief Fund/Regional Relief and Recovery Fund

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

Possible closure of Huron Central Railway

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP)

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

CanNor response to COVID-19

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

Regular programming update and key sectors

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

Broadband in the Territories

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) response to COVID-19

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

Regular Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) programming update

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

Support for the oil and gas sector

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

Single use plastics plan

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

Canada Coal Transition Initiative (CCTI) and infrastructure fund

Question:

Key messages:

Background:

Canada Coal Transition Initiative (CCTI) and infrastructure fund