June 8, 2020

Your CFA Daily Update on COVID-19

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Still sending cheques? Managing cash flows during this time can be challenging, and sending paper cheques remains the more expensive and time-consuming method of making payments. Ascendant is extending the offer to CFA members to access their software with zero onboarding fees, allowing you to use their platform to seamlessly and safely collect banking data from your clients and manage your cash flows more efficiently. 

Commercial Rent – Banning of Evictions in BC, AB, QC, SK and ON

The governments in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Alberta banned commercial evictions in light of increasing reports of tenants being evicted.

Ontario will ban commercial evictions between June 3 and August 31

Today, the Ontario government announced today that it intends to take action to protect commercial tenants from being locked out or having their assets seized by their landlords due to the negative impacts of COVID-19. 

The proposed changes to the Commercial Tenancies Act would, if passed, temporarily halt evictions of businesses that are eligible for federal/provincial rent assistance. If passed, the legislation would reverse evictions that occurred on or after June 3, 2020. The government intends to bring this legislation forward as soon as possible.

If passed, the proposed legislation would make it illegal to evict a commercial tenant until August 31, 2020.  

Quebec invests $50 Million for Montreal’s Small Businesses – will also reduce commercial rents

The Government of Canada, through Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, is planning to grant up to $30 million to the PME MTL network through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF). The Quebec Government is also contributing $20 million. This support is aimed at Montreal businesses ineligible for other federal measures related to COVID-19 that are already in place. The funds will be administered by PME MTL, the City of Montreal’s business support network.

Quebec to reopen restaurants in some regions as of June 15, everywhere by June 22

Quebec is reopening restaurants in many areas of the province as of June 15. The Montreal region, Joliette and L'Epiphanie will open a week later, as of June 22.

New health rules will require “considerable” measures from restaurants in order to safely reopen, said Lamontagne. Labour Minister Jean Boulet said kits will be available from the government’s workplace safety board, the CNESST, including a guide of standards for hygiene rules, disinfection guidelines, social distancing and a daily checklist.

Ontario: Restaurants, hair salons, malls and houses of worship outside GTHA can reopen by Friday

Restaurants, hair salons, shopping malls and public pools will be permitted to reopen in some parts of the province outside the GTHA and parts of southern Ontario by as early as this Friday.

But municipalities within the GTHA as well as some hard-hit areas of southern Ontario will not be allowed to reopen additional businesses until June 19 at the earliest.

Starting Friday, all Ontario municipalities outside the GTHA, Lambton, Niagara, Windsor-Essex and Haldimand-Norfolk will be able to open shopping malls, all personal care settings including hair salons, barbers and spas, outdoor dining on patios or in parking lots, public pools, houses of worship, museums and other historic sites, community centres and flim, television and photography production.

Strict physical distancing will be enforced in all settings, including near-universal use of gloves and masks.

Gatherings of up to 10 people will also be permitted in all areas of the province starting on Friday.

For instance, personal care settings including tattoo parlours, tanning salons, spas providing massage services, hair removal centres and weight loss clinics will be allowed to reopen, with increased cleaning protocols, appointment only service, questionnaires about COVID-19 for clients and physical distancing measures.

Places of worship will be asked to enforce a limit on occupancy of no more than 30 per cent of regular pre-pandemic capacity.

Restaurants and bars will be able to seat diners in a physically distant manner, not indoors but only on patios or parking lot space and all diners will have to make reservations.

Stores in malls will be under strict occupancy restrictions, enforced walking traffic patterns, and stores with change rooms will be ordered to clean them in between uses.

Food courts in malls will be restricted to take-out only.

Public pools, community centres and pools in other settings such as condos and hotels will be allowed to reopen, but change rooms will only be allowed to open “if operators can adequately sanitize and disinfect the facilities.”

Ontario Extending Outdoor Patios to Allow for Social Distancing During COVID-19

The Ontario government will allow restaurants and bars to temporarily extend outdoor patio spaces to safely accommodate patrons and staff once licensed establishments are permitted to fully reopen for business. Licensed establishments may create a patio adjacent to their premise or increase the size of their patio once they are permitted to welcome patrons on-site. This temporary measure will allow the public to safely enjoy service that meets social distancing requirements and other public health guidelines.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) will not require licensees to apply or pay a fee for these temporary extensions. Licensed establishments MUST ensure they have municipal approval and meet all other applicable requirements. These measures will be in effect until January 1, 2021 at 3:00 a.m.

Hand Sanitizer Recall 

Check your hand sanitizer label. On Saturday, Health Canada issued a recall of six hand sanitizers that are made with industrial-grade ethanol. The chemical can lead to dry skin, irritation and cracking. The brands include Eltraderm, Contract Packaging Distributions, Nature's Own, Sanilabs and Walker Emulsions.

THIS WEEK'S WEBINARS

JUNE 9, 2020
AT 2:00 PM ET

Alternate Sources of Financing  
 50 CFE PARTICIPATION  CREDITS  

MODERATOR: Charmaine Tavares, SilverChef
SPEAKERS: Rob Phelps, SilverChef; Joseph Pisani, BMO; Josh Bagchi, Prairie Donair

The COVID-19 pandemic has created extraordinary challenges for many Canadian businesses, including the need for immediate access to additional funding. While most franchisors and franchisees are aware of the traditional financing options available, it’s also important to explore any alternative types of financing as an additional resource in this difficult time.

Join this webinar for a review of some of the alternate sources of finance available to franchisors and franchisees,Charmaine Tavares, SilverChef including government programs and refinancing programs. We’ll also explore how to access financing for opening (or re-opening) as we enter the post-COVID market.

SPONSORED BY:

JUNE 12, 2020
AT 2:00 PM ET

How to Avoid Work From Home Burnout  
 50 CFE PARTICIPATION  CREDITS  

SPEAKER: Steve Collette, 3rd Degree Training

Running a business is certainly not a small task: it takes grit, focus and much of our time and mind space. Join Steve Collette on this webinar and get the information and motivation you need to avoid " Work from Home Burnout!".

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Feedback from our Members

“I wanted to thank the CFA team for all the information, the updates and all that you do. It’s really wonderful to have such a wonderful group of committed professionals helping us all navigate through these uncharted waters. You guys are doing an amazing job and the Oxford Learning team is very grateful! We will get out of this and hopefully come out stronger for the experience.”

 - Lenka Whitehead, President, Oxford Learning Centres

COVID-19's impact on the world is creating waves across all sectors and industries.

Every member of the CFA community is dealing with an issue that is affecting the world, our industries, our communities, our businesses, and our people.

We would like to hear from you if you have any topics, issues or questions to navigate turbulent times in order to support you further: 

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