MCC & PARTNERS LAUNCH B2BMANITOBA.CA

btobmanitoba.ca is a brand-new online marketplace to help connect businesses that need non-medical grade personal protective equipment with suppliers. If you're seeking masks, gloves, social distancing and hygiene protocol signage, acrylic dividers, or other supplies to help you open and operate safely, this directory can connect you with companies that manufacture and sell these goods. If you're a supplier, this is a FREE and dedicated listing for products like yours. Simply set up your account and add your available items as individual entries.

Special thanks to our valued partners in the launch of this platform: CM&E, the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, North Forge, and the Province of Manitoba.

Click here to view yesterday's media announcement.

If your Manitoba business opened in Phase 1, we'd love to hear from you!

The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce is always looking to spotlight members and community leaders. Tell us about challenges and successes you encountered as you entered recovery. Email us if you would like to tell your story, share your experience, or provide valuable insights and lessons to help potential Phase 2 business owners be well-prepared!

If you're starting to plan your re-opening, access the Workplace Guidance for Business Owners, detailing practical recommendations, physical distancing measures, required safety steps, hygiene protocols, PPE, etc. Click here to view the Province of Manitoba's complete Restoring Safe Services guide.Remember: You can visit the EngageMB COVID-19 consultation platform to pose specific questions about your business type or industry.

UPDATES - PROVINCE OF MANITOBA

As of Thursday, May 14, public health officials advised the number of lab-confirmed positive and probable cases in Manitoba is at 289, and there have been seven COVID-19 related deaths. With the May long weekend around the corner, Dr. Roussin reminds Manitobans to be cautious and keep practicing social distancing.

“A lot of people will be thinking about going camping or to the cabin this weekend. We want to make sure Manitobans stay safe when they do so, ensure that you’re taking everything that you need with you to avoid making extra stops along the way; limit your close, prolonged contact with others, and … if you’re ill, you need to be staying home."

NEW! 1) Effective today, Manitobans should continue to self-assess online, but no longer need to phone Health Links for a referral before visiting a COVID-19 screening location. If you've self-assessed and you are presenting with symptoms, you can now make your way to a COVID-19 community screening location without a referral.

NEW! 2) The Manitoba government introduced additional temporary orders to extend deadlines, social service and child-care provisions, and reduce municipal government regulatory burdens to help address the COVID-19 pandemic. To view these updated orders and all other orders under the State of Emergency declared on March 20, click here.

NEW! 3) The Province of Manitoba has announced its Economic Opportunities Advisory Board, an 18-member advisory board which includes leaders in Manitoba in transportation, real estate, agriculture, education and manufacturing, among a range of other sectors. With a mandate of 18 months, it will advise the government on ways to harness private-sector capital and investment to recover and create jobs and economic growth across the province. Curt Vossen, president & CEO of Richardson International, will serve as chair of the board.

NEW! 4) The Province has allocated $120 million towards topping up the wages of essential services workers as a "one-time risk payment", in conjunction with the federal government's recent $3 billion announcement. Details are yet to be determined as to how these funds will be disbursed within Manitoba.

NEW! 5) Additional enforcement, in the form of community education and fines, are coming to Manitoba. Inspectors (most are Province of Manitoba employees) will join police officers in sharing info about and issuing fines for health order non-compliance. Inspectors include:

• safety and health officers under The Workplace Safety and Health Act;

• inspectors under The Liquor Gaming and Cannabis Control Act;

• public health officers appointed under The Public Health Act;

• park patrol officers under The Provincial Parks Act;

• and public health officers within Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development including food safety inspectors, animal health inspectors and animal protection officers

5) The Manitoba Gap Protection Program (MGPP) application process is open. The province will advance each eligible business the non-interest bearing forgivable MGPP loan of $6,000 -- a loan that will be forgiven on Dec. 31, 2020 -- if the recipient attests at that time the business has not received any major non-repayable COVID-19 federal supports developed in response to the pandemic.

6) The Summer Student Recovery Jobs Program promotes the hiring of high school and post-secondary students who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and provides wage subsidies to employers (private and not-for-profit sectors) to employ students aged 15 to 29. For program details and to submit your application online (it takes just five minutes to complete), click here.

UPDATES - FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

NEW! 1) Western Economic Diversification Canada has received its allocation of funds and opened the application process for the Regional Relief & Recovery Fund.

Interest-free funding of up to $40,000 is available to eligible small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help alleviate financial hardship resulting from COVID-19. Click here to learn about this funding stream's eligibility rules and application process.Funding over $40,000 and up to $1 million is available. Click here to access information about this funding stream.

2) Prime Minister Trudeau announced this week a Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) to provide bridge financing to Canada’s largest employers, whose needs during the pandemic are not being met through conventional financing, in order to keep operations going. The objective is to help protect Canadian jobs, help Canadian businesses weather the current economic downturn, and avoid bankruptcies of otherwise viable firms where possible. Grant Thornton has provided some helpful details on LEEFF here.

3) The federal government will expand the Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP) to mid-sized companies with larger financing needs. Support for mid-market businesses will include loans of up to $60 million per company, and guarantees of up to $80 million. Through the BCAP, Export Development Canada (EDC) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (bdc) will work with private sector lenders to support access to capital for Canadian businesses in all sectors and regions.

4) CERB: The application process for the 3rd CERB period is now open through CRA. The CERB Frequently Asked Questions site is updated regularly, and contains valuable updates about this benefit. https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/cerb-application/questions.html

5) Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses is an agreement in principle with all provinces and territories to lower rent by 75 per cent for small businesses that have been affected by COVID-19. To be notified by CMHC when the CECRA application process opens, register here.To access the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce's Financial Measures Guide,which includes information about all provincial and federal funding streams, click here.