Local Chamber generally happy with small business program extension

The Government of Saskatchewan announced the Saskatchewan Small Business Emergency Payment (SSBEP) program is being renewed for the period of Dec. 1 to Dec. 31. 

Through this program, small businesses closed or significantly curtailed due to a public health order will be eligible for provincial support.

The move by the province is seen as a positive one by Yorkton Chamber of Commerce.

“The Yorkton Chamber is pleased by the renewal of the SSBEP program,” offered Executive Director Juanita Polegi.

“Many of our small businesses have struggled and the funds will be welcome.”

However, Polegi said the extension may be too late for some.

“Unfortunately, it may be too little too late for some of the businesses,” she said. “For those businesses, we are mindful of the impact the closure has had on plans and dreams; families and jobs.”

Premier Scott Moe was of course proud of the decision.

“Our government recognizes that small businesses are the heartbeat of Saskatchewan’s economy,” said Moe in a prepared release sent to media Thursday.  “By renewing the Small Business Emergency Payment, we are ensuring small businesses remain strong and continue to provide thousands of jobs across Saskatchewan, even when they are impacted by public health orders necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”

“Our small business community continues to be impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic,” Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison said in the same release.  “As we focus on our economic recovery plan during this challenging period, renewing this program will help provide critical assistance to our small businesses who have had to fully or partially close their doors to protect public health and reduce the spread of COVID-19.”

The SSBEP program initially launched April 13, 2020, to provide support to small businesses that had to temporarily close or substantially curtail their operations as a result of COVID-19.  The program was extended for May 2020 and provided 6,485 businesses more than $32 million in support.  

The eligibility period for this phase of the SSBEP will be from Dec. 1, to Dec. 31, 2020, and is estimated to cost $8 million. 

Applications for the SSBEP will open on Dec. 7, and the application deadline for this eligibility period is Jan. 31, 2021. 

Eligible applicants will receive a payment of 15 per cent of their monthly sales revenue, to a maximum of $5,000, based on the greater of November 2019, December 2019, or February 2020 sales revenue.  For seasonal businesses, the funding support will be 15 per cent of the average monthly sales revenue for full months that the business operated in 2019.

Eligible applicants must attest that they:

• are a small or medium business (0-499 employees);
• maintain a permanent establishment in Saskatchewan and allocate a portion of their income to Saskatchewan;
• were operating October 31, 2020, or eligible to operate, in the case of seasonal business;
• are subject to a public health order that requires them to temporarily suspend or substantially curtail their operations during the eligibility period December 1 to December 31, 2020;
• have experienced a loss of sales revenue; and 
• plan to reopen when the public health restrictions are lifted.

Further details and applications will be available at noon on Dec. 7.  For more information, businesses can visit www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-businesses, call 1-800-667-6102, or email [email protected].