Federal Government Programs: Support for Charities and Businesses
The programs below have been announced by the Federal Government as supports available to charities.
As the legal entity, any applications must be submitted by MakeWay Charitable Society and not at the project level.
$350M Support Fund
On April 21, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $350 million in emergency funds for community groups and national charities that help seniors, the homeless and others made more vulnerable by the pandemic.
Funds will be delivered via United Way Canada, the Canadian Red Cross and the Community Foundations of Canada (details TBD) and will focus on supports for vulnerable people during COVID-19. The money will help these organizations pay for things like volunteer training and transportation.
Extending the Work-Sharing program
The Federal Government is extending the maximum duration of the Work-Sharing program from 38 weeks to 76 weeks. The Work-Sharing program is offered to workers who agree to reduce their normal working hours because of developments beyond the control of their employers.
This measure will provide income support to employees eligible for Employment Insurance who agree to reduce their normal working hours because of developments beyond the control of their employers.
If you think your project may be eligible for this subsidy, please contact your Project Specialist.
Wage Subsidies
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)
On July 17, the Finance Minister announced proposed changes to the CEWS that would broaden the reach of the program and provide better-targeted support. The proposed changes include extending the CEWS until December 19, 2020, and making the subsidy accessible to employers with a revenue decline of less than 30% - instead of providing a gradually decreasing base subsidy to all qualifying employers. The Government of Canada intends to introduce legislation to be considered by Parliament in the next few weeks. MakeWay will monitor updates and share them with projects as soon as we have more information.
To help employers keep and return workers to their payroll through the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the new Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy was announced on March 27, 2020. This would provide a 75 % wage subsidy to eligible employers for up to 12 weeks, retroactive to March 15, 2020.
This wage subsidy aims to prevent further job losses, encourage employers to re-hire workers previously laid off as a result of COVID-19, and help better position Canadian companies and other employers to more easily resume normal operations following the crisis. While the Government has designed the proposed wage subsidy to provide generous and timely financial support to employers, it has done so with the expectation that employers will do their part by using the subsidy in a manner that supports the health and well-being of their employees.
On April 9, the Federal Government proposed the following additional flexibility:
- To measure their revenue loss, it is proposed that all employers have the choice to compare their revenue of March, April and May 2020 to that of the same month of 2019, or to an average of their revenue earned in January and February 2020.
- For March 2020, the government proposes to reduce the 30-per-cent benchmark to 15 percent, in recognition of the fact that many businesses did not begin to be affected by the crisis until partway through the month.
- In recognition that the time between when revenue is earned and when it is paid could be highly variable in certain sectors of the economy, it is proposed that employers be allowed to measure revenues either on the basis of accrual accounting (as they are earned) or cash accounting (as they are received).
- Special rules of not-for-profits/charities – these employers will include most forms of revenue, excluding revenues from non-arm’s length persons and would be allowed to choose whether or not to include revenue from government sources as part of the calculation. Once chosen, just use the same approach throughout the program period.
“Pre-crisis remuneration” for a given employee is also now defined in the updated backgrounder and would be based on the average weekly remuneration paid between January 1 and March 15 inclusively, excluding any seven-day periods in respect of which the employee did not receive full remuneration.
Our fantastic finance team has completed the latest analysis and unfortunately, I can confirm that the Society is not eligible for period 7 of the CEWS (September).
As always, the finance team looked at the numbers four ways as per the eligibility criteria.
- July 2020 vs Jan/Feb 2020 average with government funding in / out
- July 2020 vs July 2019 with government funding in / out
The finance team will keep doing this four-way analysis each month until we qualify, and we’ll keep you all in the loop.
10% Wage Subsidy for Employers
Charities will be able to benefit immediately from this support by reducing their remittances of income tax withheld on their employees’ remuneration.
The 10% Temporary Wage Subsidy for Employers is a three-month measure that will allow eligible employers to reduce the amount of payroll deductions required to be remitted to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
Eligible employers (individuals (excluding trusts), certain partnerships, non-profit organizations, registered charities, or Canadian-controlled private corporations) who pay salary, wages, or taxable benefits to employees, between March 18, 2020 and June 19, 2020, can reduce payroll remittances of federal, provincial, or territorial income tax by the amount of the subsidy. This measure is only applicable to remittances made to the CRA.
MakeWay Charitable Society is moving forward with the 10% wage subsidy at this time.
Thank you to those projects who reached out to the People & Culture team about potential layoffs/reduction in hours. We have completed our calculations and have allocated the $25k in income tax deductions to projects.
If you still anticipate temporary layoffs or reduced hours on your team, please email People & Culture immediately.
Deferral of T3010, T1044, and T2 Filings
The filing deadlines for certain tax forms have been extended to allow organizations more time to complete and submit them, recognizing that charities and nonprofits will be focused on deploying their resources to address the effects of the COVID-19 virus situation. T3010 returns are not due until December 31, and T1044 and T2 filings are deferred until June 1.
Canada Summer Jobs - Temporary Flexibility for Employers
The federal government is offering temporary flexibility for employers with regards to the following:
- Wage subsidies
- Part-time employment
- Employment period
- Changes to project and job activities
Federal Government COVID-19 Measures – Implications for Sector Organizations
This Imagine Canada document will be regularly updated as the federal government announces new measures that will impact the charitable and nonprofit sector.
Last updated: September 10, 2020.
Business Resilience Service to offer free, professional business advice to nonprofits and charities
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is leading a new, government-funded initiative in collaboration with EY and with support from CPA Canada and Imagine Canada to provide guidance to SMBs, not-for-profits and charities. These organizations are among the hardest hit by COVID-19 and at the greatest risk as the pandemic continues. They’ll now have access to approximately 125 business advisors from the accounting profession across Canada through the Business Resilience Service (BRS). The service, available by calling 1-866-989-1080 seven days a week between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. EDT, will connect them with an accounting or tax professional who can provide immediate guidance on available government programs and eligibility, connect them with support organizations and advise on recovery plan decisions. Any SMB, not-for-profit or charity struggling to recover or reshape their organization is encouraged to call — and soon. The BRS is available for a limited time. More information is available at www.CBRN.ca/BRS.