Minister Ng, and Prime Minister Trudeau joined SheEO and women entrepreneurs to mark the occasion. Minister Ng also joined women entrepreneurs in a roundtable hosted by StartUP Canada. Read more about how supporting women entrepreneurs is our government’s top priority in this Financial Post interview with Minister Ng.
Read more about how inclusive international trade will be key to the global economic recovery in this op-ed from Claire Citeau and Nadia Theodore.
- Minister Ng was joined by Ministers Hussen and Chagger, Parliamentary Secretaries Rachel Bendayan and Greg Fergus, and MP Emmanuel Dubourg, along with leaders from black business community organizations to provide an update on the Black Entrepreneurship Program’s Loan Fund.
- Joining the Asia Pacific Foundation, Minister Ng took part in a women-led virtual trade mission to Taiwan with over 200 participants from both countries.
- Minister Ng and Swedish Minister for Foreign Trade and Nordic Affairs Anna Hallberg co-hosted a roundtable with entrepreneurs from both countries to discuss how bilateral trade and supporting women entrepreneurs will be critical to the global economic recovery.
- Last May, to support women entrepreneurs, Minister Ng announced $15 million in top-up funding to the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy. Fast forward to this month, last week Minister Ng announced the recipients of the $4.8 million in top up funding across Ontario, as she joined StartUP Canada’s annual StrikeUP Conference.
- Locally, Minister Ng announced $4.7 million in top-up funding for tech leader VenutureLAB’s Harware Catalyst Initiative Lab—helping position Canada as a leader in the economy of the future.
- Reminder to sign up! If you are an innovator, a business-owner, or an entrepreneur who wants to learn about opportunities for growth abroad, sign up for free to join Minister Ng as she leads a virtual trade mission to France, focused on the green economy, in March.
Across government, we have been working to ensure Canadian families, workers, and small businesses have access to the support they need through the pandemic, and are laying the groundwork for safer communities and a sustainable, inclusive recovery.
- In welcome news for small businesses, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland announced that the current subsidy rates for the Wage Subsidy, Rent Subsidy, and Lockdown Support would be extended to June.
- Minister of Public Services and Procurement Anita Anand, has updated Canada’s projections for vaccine timelines, announcing that Canada will receive up to 8 million doses by the end of this month.
- Minister of Health Patty Hajdu has announced good news for all Canadians and businesses looking forward to recovery with Health Canada’s approval of two vaccines—AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson.
- Finally, yesterday Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland along with Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance Mona Fortier announced the members of the Task Force on Women on the Economy who will help inform our government’s recovery plans.
Thank you, and looking forward to sharing updates with you again in two weeks.
TO GET THE HELP YOU NEED:
- To help slow the spread of COVID-19 and safely reopen our economy, download the COVID Alert App.
- Visit our government’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan website for information about supporting your employees and your business.
- Contact your local financial institution. Since we know most small businesses have a relationship with their local financial institution already, we’ve worked with the financial sector to increase their lending capacity to support you in this challenging time. They are an excellent first resource.
- Consult the Canadian Business Resilience Network, a partnership between our government and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce to help your business prepare, persevere and prosper through this crisis.
- Check out the new PPE Supply Hub – Canadian businesses in need of personal protective equipment, and businesses looking to sell these supplies can go to this hub to connect.
- Make the POST Promise to show employees and customers that you take COVID-19 prevention seriously by practicing key health and safety steps and maintain a safe workplace.
- Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety – for a free online course to provide businesses with all the information they need to reopen safely.
Source: PCMA