COVID-19

Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA)

By April 24, 2020May 12th, 2020No Comments

I have been hearing from small businesses in my riding that a major concern is payment of rent and property taxes. I sent this concern to the relevant federal Ministers.

It has taken some time to find solutions, because #GOC had to work with provincial and territorial governments, who have jurisdictional authority, to come up with a coordinated plan.

Here it is… Today, the Government of Canada introduced the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program which will:

  • Provide forgivable loans to commercial property owners to cover 50% of rent for the months of April, May and June.
  • To be eligible, property owners must:
    • Agree to lower tenants’ rent by 75% for those same months; and
    • Not evict tenants for the duration of the agreement
  • Eligible businesses, non-profits, and charitable organizations are those who:
    • Pay less than $50,000/month rent
    • Have temporarily ceased operations OR have had at least a 70% drop in revenue due to COVID-19
  • Payments will begin by mid-May