Prime Minister Trudeau announced on Wednesday that applications for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program will open next week.
The rental assistance program was initially announced in April, designed to help businesses who are struggling to pay their landlords due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program is expected to provide 75 per cent in rent reduction for small businesses, with 50 per cent of these costs covered by the federal government, and 25 per cent to be covered by landlords.
Of the 50 per cent covered by government, 37.5 per cent will be paid for by the federal government and 12.5 per cent by provincial governments.
Property owners must offer a minimum of a 75% rent reduction for the months of April, May and June 2020.
The benefit will provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners that will cover 50 per cent of the three monthly rent payments.
During his daily address on Wednesday, Trudeau unveiled that the application portal for the rental assistance program will be open on May 25th.
“These are challenging times and make sure our economy can bounce back,” said the Prime Minister.
On Wednesday morning, Finance Minister Bill Morneau also announced the opening of the application process for the government’s Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF).
According to the federal government, the program will support Canada’s largest employers, whose needs during the pandemic are not being met through conventional financing.
LEEFF will help successful applicants keep their operations going.
