COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus)

Uptown BIA Office

During the Province-wide lockdown that began December 26, 2020, until February 10, 2021, the Uptown BIA office will return to remote operations. Staff will be working from home during this time – checking our office voicemail daily. Should you require assistance such as parking tokens, Bauer Lot renewal stickers, Uptown Dollar requests or have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call our office at 519-885-1921 and leave a message or email one of our staffing team.

We will be observing the following office hours while working remotely:

Monday – Thursday 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Friday 8:30 am – 12:00 pm

Regarding Spotlight Waterloo Events/Funding:

We will continue to assess information collected by the Region of Waterloo Public Health, Destination Ontario and Destination Canada and update the status of upcoming events.

If you have received Spotlight Waterloo funding and are considering cancelling your event, please send us communication in writing as soon as possible so that we can work together to come up with an action plan. This may include re-scheduling your event – in which case you may still be entitled to the approved funding.

If re-scheduling your event is not an option, and you have received 50% of your approved Spotlight funding, we will require the 50% funding deposit returned to us and will require submission of a new Spotlight application if you are planning to run your event at a later date.

Financial Support for Businesses and their Employees

For employees:

• To help businesses hold on to their employees, the federal government is providing a temporary wage subsidy equal to 75% for the first $58,700 of salary, up to $847 per week. All businesses – the number of employees on the payroll doesn’t matter – that have seen revenue drop by 30% or more because of COVID-19 are eligible for the wage subsidy. This measure is retroactive to March 15. Businesses can re-hire recently let-go workers and place them on subsidized wages. 
• To help businesses avoid layoffs, the federal government is also enhancing the Work-Sharing Program. The program works this way: Instead of being laid off, multiple workers’ hours and pay are reduced, with the federal government making up the shortfall in the workers’ income.

For businesses:

• More credit is available to Canadian businesses through the new Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP). You can access the BCAP via BDC or EDC.
• Through the Canada Emergency Business Account, banks will soon offer $40,000 loans, guaranteed by the government and interest-free for the first year, to small businesses. If recipients meet certain conditions, $10,000 will be forgivable. 
• More generally, the federal government is providing additional liquidity to Canadian banks. In return, the banks have committed to working with companies to help them get through COVID-19. Talk to your bank if you haven’t already done so.
• Businesses can defer, until after Aug. 31, the payment of any income tax amounts that become owing on or after March 19 and before September. 
• In Ontario, the provincial government is helping businesses with cash flow through a number of measures: payment of most provincial taxes is deferred for five months without penalty or interest; Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) payments are deferred for six months; municipalities will be providing property tax relief; and most businesses are not required to pay the Employer Health Tax.