Another phase of a provincial program will help small businesses affected by COVID-19 restrictions.
The Government of Saskatchewan has announced the Saskatchewan Small Business Emergency Payment (SSBEP) program is being renewed for the period of Dec. 1 to Dec. 31.
This program provides financial support to small businesses closed or significantly curtailed due to a public health order.
“Our government recognizes that small businesses are the heartbeat of Saskatchewan’s economy,” Premier Scott Moe said in a news release. “By renewing the Small Business Emergency Payment, we are ensuring small businesses remain strong and continue to provide thousands of jobs across Saskatchewan, even when they are impacted by public health orders necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”
The SSBEP program was launched in April. It was extended for May 2020 and provided 6,485 businesses more than $32 million in support.
The eligibility period for this phase will be from Dec. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020. The estimated cost is $8 million.
Applications for the SSBEP will open on Dec. 7. The deadline to apply is Jan. 31, 2021.
Eligible applicants will receive a payment of 15 per cent of their monthly sales revenue, to a maximum of $5,000, based on the greater of November 2019, December 2019, or February 2020 sales revenue.
For seasonal businesses, the funding support will be 15 per cent of the average monthly sales revenue for full months that the business operated in 2019.
Eligible applicants must attest that they:
- are a small or medium business (0-499 employees);
- maintain a permanent establishment in Saskatchewan and allocate a portion of their income to Saskatchewan;
- were operating October 31, 2020, or eligible to operate, in the case of seasonal business;
- are subject to a public health order that requires them to temporarily suspend or substantially curtail their operations during the eligibility period December 1 to December 31, 2020;
- have experienced a loss of sales revenue; and
- plan to reopen when the public health restrictions are lifted.
For more information, visit www.saskatchewan.ca/covid19-businesses, call 1-800-667-6102, or email ssbep@gov.sk.ca.
