Ottawa, (Samajweekly) The Canadian government has announced a funding of C$600 million to help small- and medium-sized businesses that were affected by the lockdowns imposed in the country in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The announcement was made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday, CBC News said in a report.
The new funding, which will target the tourism, manufacturing and technology sectors, will be added to the C$962 million invested in the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund.
Of the C$600 million, some C$456 million will be made available to help businesses struggling with their finances through another lockdown.
It will be distributed through regional development agencies.
Another C$144 million will help rural businesses and communities.
In a statement on Friday, Economic Development Minister Melanie Joly said: “What we’ve learned is that in certain hard-hit sectors, it was more difficult for businesses to have access to capital through financial institutions, and that’s why they came up to us.”
“Entrepreneurs in Montreal, all across Quebec, worked really hard to get through the first wave… What we want to say to them today is, there is hope. We’ll help you get through the second wave.”
The funding comes after Prime Minister Trudeau’s September 23 announcement that a second coronavirus wave was underway in the country and that “ee’re on the brink of a fall that could be much worse than the spring”.
The country witnessed a sudden spike in the number of coronavirus cases, from about 300 per day in August to a record high of 1,248 on September 22, Global News Canada reported citing health officials.
On Friday, the country reported 2,122 new coronavirus cases, the highest single day increase since the pandemic started, which took the overall tally to 162,490.
With the emergence of 89 new fatalities, the death toll stood at 9,409.
