Taskforce to help business navigate support

An “Economic Recovery Taskforce” created by the City of Medicine Hat and regional partners says the best thing it can do right now is help business owners wade through a rushing river of new federal and provincial support programs.

Once that situation is in hand however, an ongoing effort to support local workforce development and business expansion outlook, started last summer, will have to be retooled, officials told the

News on Monday.

“We’ve come together to identify the immediate need, and that’s weeding through all the information,” said Sandra Blyth, a business support officer at city hall, with last week opened a dedicated webpage for financial information. “There’s so much info coming at everyone from every direction. We’ve tried to get all that in one location, and that’s the recovery team page.”

In the next week, the group wants to have a “frequently asked questions” section and will eventually reach out to financial community — accountants, general business and human resources consultants — to provide advice on a volunteer basis, said Blythe.

That will be used in creating online literature as well as potentially provide resources of a telephone helpline.

But Ottawa’s economic response plan to the COVID19 pandemic, currently worth $200 billion, is growing rapidly, as is the province’s.

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that any company that experiences a 30 per cent decline in revenue could apply to have three-quarters of employees’ wage covered by the government, up to $847 each per week.

That is to avoid layoffs that have clogged the employment insurance system and could help employers and workers continue operations or accomplish special projects.

“We are trusting you to do the right thing. If you have the means to pay the remaining 25 per cent that’s not covered by the subsidy, please do so,” Trudeau said.

“And if you think this is a system you can take advantage of or a game, don’t. There will be serious consequences for those who do.”

The province has as well announced it will defer portions of tax collection, and extend deadlines for things like fees and tax remittance, to help companies manage cash flow into the summer months.

Business owners say they have struggled to get a hold of details about the programs, as a rush of business operators across the country do also.

The Federation of Independent Business said on Monday that one-fifth of businesses continue to operate with a semblance of normality during the pandemic response that has ground business activity and consumer transactions at brick-and-mortar stores to a near halt.

Two in five businesses are concerned about their ability to reopen once the situation normalizes, according to the business lobby group.

In the unscientific survey, one-quarter said they were worried about covering fixed costs, like rent, in April.

The local effort is a joint project of Invest Medicine Hat and Invest Southeast Alberta, which includes regional governments, industry partners and some agencies.

The action comes after Invest Medicine Hat launched a survey and action plan related to Business Retention and Expansion Workforce Development initiative (BREWD), that focused last year on skills training and the health and prospects of the existing economy.

Blyth said Monday that effort has been paused to concentrate on immediate needs of the business community, but the process that moved to action planning this winter, was useful and could help determine medium-term planning.

“It’s still happening in the background,” she said. “Once we get all the (BREWD) information together, we’ll take another scan of it. There may have to be a set of changes made, and maybe even going back out to (survey) businesses. It’s hard to say at this point, but everything will need another look.”