Earlier today, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland announced businesses operating without a business account will have access to the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) soon. These upcoming changes to the CEBA were first reported last week and confirmed with the Minister’s comments today.
“Very soon, we will announce details of the process enabling businesses that do not operate from a business banking account, but have qualifying payroll or non-deferrable expenses, to apply for CEBA for the first time,” Deputy Prime Minister Freeland said.
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) welcomes this much-needed change and has been continuously advocating for changes to the CEBA that would allow more brokerages to access the program. CREA highlighted the need to make the CEBA available to all business structures, including sole proprietors who conduct their business though personal bank accounts, during our in-person discussions with government officials, letters to Cabinet Ministers, and in a written brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.
Deputy Prime Minister Freeland clarified this change would require the passing of legislation and suggested it would be tabled shortly.
Please continue to monitor your emails for updates on the status of this legislation from CREA.
During the press conference, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade Mary Ng also announced an additional $12 million for the Canada United Small Business Relief Fund, which provides successful applications with relief grants of up to $5,000.
The measures covered in this email are part of the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan. The government is constantly assessing the evolving situation and is likely to introduce additional measures as it deems necessary. We are monitoring the implementation of existing measures and continue to advocate on behalf of REALTORS® as new initiatives are developed.
Brampton Real Estate Board 