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| April 22, 2020 PROVINCE TO PROVIDE $120 MILLION OF SUPPORT TO SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES HARMED BY COVID-19- – -Manitoba Businesses are Struggling, We Want to Support Them: PallisterThe Manitoba government is providing up to $120 million to support Manitoba’s small and medium-sized businesses that are facing significant challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Premier Brian Pallister announced today. “Manitoba’s small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of our economy. They are struggling right now and we want to support them,” said Pallister. “Our government has been listening and working diligently with chambers of commerce across the province, business and retail councils, industry and trade associations and various stakeholders to identity where the greatest need is and to maximize the recovery opportunities for Manitoba’s business sector.” The Manitoba Gap Protection Program (MGPP) is available to any of the approximately 120,000 businesses in Manitoba who have fallen into a gap in failing to qualify for the various federal government assistance programs and wage subsidies created because of COVID-19. If one in six businesses have fallen into that gap that would mean approximately 20,000 Manitoba businesses would be entitled to this support, the premier noted. The province will advance each eligible business the non-interest bearing forgivable MGPP loan of $6,000, for a total of up to $120 million. The loan will be forgiven on Dec. 31, 2020, if the recipient attests at that time the business has not received any major non-repayable COVID-19 federal supports such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and the Canada Emergency Business Account, as well as sector-specific grant federal programs specifically developed in response to the pandemic. If the applicant has received benefits under a federal COVID program, then the loan will be added to the recipient’s 2020 tax bill. “We are acting on the advice from industry and are committed to working in partnership with our municipal and federal governments and various associations that are impacted by this pandemic so we’ll make the right decisions, in the right way, at the right time to maximize our recovery efforts for the benefit of all Manitobans,” said Pallister. To be eligible for the MGPP funding, a business must: • have been operational on March 20, 2020, the date the Manitoba government declared a provincewide state of emergency under The Emergency Measures Act because of COVID-19; • have temporarily ceased or curtailed operations as a result of a COVID-19 public health order and have been harmed by the health order; • be registered and in good standing with the Manitoba Business and Corporate Registry; • have not qualified for federal government COVID-19 grant support; and • have an email address and a bank account. – 30 – For more information:Public information, contact Manitoba Government Inquiry: 1-866-626-4862 or 204-945-3744.Media requests for general information, contact Communications Services Manitoba: 204-945-3765.Media requests for ministerial comment, contact Communications and Stakeholder Relations: 204-945-4916. |