Good evening Members,
The Chamber continues to dialogue with Government regarding the business community and our collective concerns following Post Tropical Storm Fiona.
Today, two important announcements were made that you should be aware of:
- Minister Thompson announced a Wage Rebate For Impacted Workers. This provides:
- 100 per cent wage rebate for businesses while closed due to power outage or significant physical damage which made operating impossible, and,
- The Business was not earning Revenue at the time.
- For the next two weeks, this program will allow employers to pay employees up to a maximum of $25/hr to a max of $1000 per week per employee.
- The Province has activated the Provincial Financial Assistance Program. This program is open to individuals, but also small businesses, not-for-profit organizations and municipal governments.
- The program covers things that are non-insurable.
- It is modelled after the Federal Program – which has not yet been requested by the Province. It is up to the Province to formally apply for this fund.
To help the Province with financial assessments of the damage, we will be putting together a communication later in the week seeking anonymous information about the extent of the costs of the damages to properly inform the Province (and the Federal Government) about the true costs of restoration. Stay tuned on this front.
The Chamber continues to monitor the roll out of programs and continues discussions around what may be needed in addition to what was announced today.
The Chamber office in Charlottetown will be opening tomorrow, September 28, at 8 am. Members are encouraged to stop in if they wish to charge their phone, utilize our wifi, utilize our coffee machine or say hello and keep us informed on what is happening in your respective businesses following this disaster. We are located at 134 Kent Street, inside the National Bank Tower offices on the 2nd floor in suite 230.
We continue to work for you our Members as we navigate our way forward following this storm.
I again encourage you to provide feedback on how your business has been affected and what more you want to see in terms of programming.
Regards,
Robert Godfrey,
Chief Executive Officer
Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce