July 15, 2020
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July 15, 2020

Your CFA Update on COVID-19
will be Moving to 3 Days per week.

As the Canadian Businesses and Economy are adapting to the new reality, we are too! Since the beginning of the pandemic, we've been sending updates about COVID-19 on a daily basis to our CFA Members and Non-members. Moving forward, we will be releasing our COVID-19 Updates 3 days per week to our CFA Members and to whoever subscribed to the COVID-19 Updates.

If you are a non-member, and wish to continue to receive our updates, please subscribe HERE.

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Canada-U.S. border closure extended into August

Senior government officials confirm the arrangement limiting border access to essential travel only will be rolled over for another 30 days. 

The agreement, which has to be reviewed each month, was set to expire on July 21. It's now being renewed for the fourth time since the border closed to non-essential traffic on March 21.

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GetintheLoop is helping CFA members on the road to recovery!

We are hoping that we can contribute to getting your brand back to driving significant revenue. To help on the road to recovery, we are offering CFA members to join the platform for no cost, with no. obligation, for 3 months

Learn More

B.C. forecasts $12.5B deficit due to COVID-19 spending, massive drops in tax revenues

The financial update presented by Finance Minister Carole James on Tuesday is the first look British Columbians have had at the provincial coffers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The financial snapshot is being described as an atypical forecast and is subject to considerable uncertainty and revision. Based on the current scenario, the province is looking at a 3.9 per cent drop in household income.

British Columbia recently has seen a slight surge in revenues due to a gradual reopening of the provincial economy. But the province is reporting a $999-million drop in personal income tax collected, $973-million decrease in corporate income tax collected and a $1.35-billion drop in provincial sales tax collected.

Commercial Crown corporations have led to an $882-million drop in money to government and taxpayer-supported agencies have sent $869 million less to provincials coffers due to the pandemic.

The deficit also includes $5 billion put aside for relief and $762 million for business relief and tax measures. Of the $5 billion, the province is putting aside $3.5 billion for immediate financial relief to individuals and businesses and $1.5 billion for a long-term economic recovery plan.

Government is forecasting a 15.9 per cent drop off in retail sales and a 27.6 per cent drop in residential sales in 2020. Retail is expected to jump up 8.6 per cent in 2020 and residential sales are expected to rise 9.3 per cent. Corporate profits are expected to be down 36.4 per cent in 2020 and unemployment is expected to be 11.3 per cent by year’s end.

Airport cuts 1/4 of staff due to reduced travel demand

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority, which operates Pearson International Airport, says it will not fill 200 current open positions and get rid of an additional 300 positions through voluntary departures and layoffs. The cuts represent a slash of 27 per cent of the airport operator's pre-pandemic workforce. In April, Pearson airport processed 97 per cent fewer passengers than it did in the same month a year earlier and right now the GTAA says passenger traffic is back where it was in 1996.

Other major airports have already made similar job cuts, including 25 per cent of staff at Vancouver's main airport and one third of the staff in Calgary.

Premier Brian Pallister calls on federal government to redesign CERB

Premier Brian Pallister is again criticizing the Canadian emergency response benefit (CERB), calling on the federal government to make changes to ensure it doesn't penalize Canadians who want to return to work. At a news conference Tuesday, Pallister argued that the current CERB rules disqualify workers who earn more than $1,000 a month. He argues that the federal government should consider a phased reduction of the benefit as workers return to their previous or new jobs. Pallister said he met with representatives from numerous national organizations and think tanks, including the Conference Board of Canada, the Parliamentary Budget Office and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce to discuss the country and Manitoba's economic recovery. 

House prices bounced up 6.5% in June compared to last year, CREA says

Canada's housing market showed signs of recuperation from COVID-19 last month, with prices and sales numbers well up from where they were a year earlier. The Canadian Real Estate Association said Wednesday that the average price of a Canadian resale home was $539,000, up 6.5 per cent from the average price a year earlier.

A total of 41,628 homes changed hands during the month, an increase of 63 per cent from May's level, and a jump of more than 15 per cent compared to June 2019. Sales were up in Canada's biggest cities compared to May:

  • Toronto, up 83.8 per cent.
  • Montreal, up 75.1 per cent.
  • Greater Vancouver, up 60.3 per cent.
  • C.'s Fraser Valley, up 99.7 per cent. 
  • Calgary, up 54.9 per cent.
  • Edmonton, up 59 per cent. 
  • Winnipeg, up 22.5 per cent.
  • Hamilton-Burlington, Ont., up 34.8 per cent.
  • Halifax-Dartmouth, up 55 per cent.
  • London and St. Thomas, Ont., up 67.9 per cent.
  • Ottawa, up 55.6 per cent.
  • Quebec City, up 43.6 per cent.

Prices, on average, were double-digits higher in fifteen of the 26 biggest markets in Canada, compared to where they were a year ago. CREA says the average price figure can be misleading because it can be easily skewed by sales in big and expensive markets like Toronto and Vancouver. So the group calculates another number, known as the House Price Index, which strips out those effects and adjusts for the mix of different homes in different markets. The HPI went up at an annual rate of 5.4 per cent in June.

Bank of Canada holds interest rate steady

Canada's central bank opted to keep its benchmark interest rate right where it was on Wednesday, at 0.25 per cent. It's the first rate decision under the stewardship of Tiff Macklem, who took over as governor of the Bank of Canada last month after Stephen Poloz's seven-year tenure ended. The bank says it will keep its rate low to stimulate the economy "until economic slack is absorbed so that the two per cent inflation target is sustainably achieved."

The decision was in line with expectations of economists who monitor the central bank polled by Bloomberg. The bank's next decision is scheduled for Sept. 9 and no change is expected at that meeting either. In addition to the interest rate decision, the bank also released its quarterly Monetary Policy Report, which outlines the bank's outlook for the economy. Macklem and other officials at the bank will have more to say about their outlook at a news conference on Wednesday scheduled for 11 a.m.

Senate committee recommends improvements to COVID-19 emergency programs

The Senate finance committee says significant gaps remain in the federal government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite efforts to adjust and improve emergency support programs rolled out over the previous several months.

The committee report found that while programs like the wage subsidy have provided vital support to many businesses, many companies in need remain ineligible. The wage subsidy program's uptake has not been as robust as the government had hoped. "The committee ... does not believe a business should be ineligible from all support simply because its revenue only declined by one per cent below the threshold."

The Senate report recommends expanding eligibility to include companies that don't have commercial business accounts — currently a requirement to qualify — and to cover hard-hit sectors like tourism, hospitality and airlines.

The committee also urged the government to expand eligibility for the Canada emergency business account and the commercial rent assistance program. The former provides interest-free loans of up to $40,000 to small businesses and non-profits, while the latter provides forgivable loans to cover 50 per cent of monthly rent payments for small businesses that have faced financial hardship.

Quebec: Employees may to return to the office July 18

From 18 July, private employers whose staff used to work from home will be able to return to the office provided the number of staff is below 25%. The 25% occupancy rate could be increased gradually over the next few months depending on the evolution of the pandemic situation in Québec.

Telework is still strongly encouraged for activities that can be carried out remotely.

Businesses that wish to have employees return to the workplace must put in place the recommended health measures. This includes respecting social distance guidelines of 2 metres between individuals in order to protect the health of employees and the population. In addition, the wearing of masks will be mandatory in all common areas of establishments, particularly those in office buildings, such as lobbies, elevators and corridors, since a physical distance of two metres is not possible.

CFIA’s Toolkit For Food Businesses

If your business is new to federal food regulations, follow these steps from the Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to help understand the requirements of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR), as well as other food-related requirements.

Access the Toolkit

Manitoba extends COVID-19 state of emergency once again

Manitoba's state of emergency has been extended again in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The extension will last until August 13. It may be extended again in August

Sherrard Kuzz LLP Legal Support Program
To help navigate the recovery of COVID-19, CFA members have the opportunity to contact Sherrard Kuzz LLP for one free phone-consultation, once per calendar year, to a maximum of 15 minutes. A member may use their 15 minutes to seek information about any employment, labour or human resources issue related to the User (subject to Sherrard Kuzz LLP successfully completing a conflict check to ensure it may advise on the matter).

HOW TO ACCESS THESE SAVINGS:
To take advantage of this CFA member benefit, contact Michael Sherrard at msherrard@sherrardkuzz.com or 416-603-6240.

Webinar Series On Demand

UPCOMING WEBINARS

JULY 21, 2020
AT 2:00 PM ET

Marketing your franchise system on-line through COViD-19 and beyond
 50 CFE PARTICIPATION  CREDITS  
 
SPEAKER: Luke Aulin, RTOWN
 

Getting consistent, measurable return on investment (ROI) for your marketing efforts has always been hard. Running a business is even harder. In this session, Luke Aulin will untangle the changes you can make in your digital marketing strategy and execution to put your franchise system on the path to measurable, repeatable and scalable results for head office and for your franchisees.

 

MORE INFO & REGISTER

 JULY 22, 2020
AT 2:00 PM ET

Diversity and Inclusion in Franchising
 50 CFE PARTICIPATION  CREDITS  

MODERATOR: Jennifer Dolman, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
SPEAKERS: Dani Bazely, Driverseat; Joel Friedman, Inspiration Learning Center 

Members of the franchise community know that everything else aside, franchising is about people - and successful franchise owners are ones who take this to heart. Join this session to gain insight into diversity and inclusion practices that will foster growth and innovation in your workplace, giving your company an extra edge as you grow your business.

MORE INFO & REGISTER

 JULY 28, 2020
AT 2:00 PM ET

Navigating the digital world and digitizing your business
 50 CFE PARTICIPATION  CREDITS  

SPEAKERS: Ayham Aldajane, Nown POS; Marta Rzezkowska, Moneris; additional speakers TBC

Join this panel discussion for an in-depth conversation about business in the digital world including: digital payments and cyber security, managing the customer experience in a digital world, choosing the right solution(s) for your business and where to find them, moving business processes online (e.g. accounting, payroll, etc.), and managing your data.

MORE INFO & REGISTER

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Feedback from our Members

“I would like to take this moment to express how amazing the CFA webinar series has been for myself and my stores. I am regularly sharing the information and enjoy the daily "break" around lunch time, basically having a nearly daily lunch and learn.”

 - Suzanne Howie, Franchise Support, Print Three Franchising Corp.

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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