Montréal, March 30, 2020 ‒ The Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal welcomes the decision to make the wage subsidy program available to companies of all sizes that are affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
“The Government of Canada showed it listened to repeated calls from the business community with last week’s announcement of a wage subsidy program for businesses,” said Michel Leblanc, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal. “Today we are applauding the government’s determination to act quickly and its decision to make subsidies available to companies of any size as well as non-profit organizations.”
“Businesses need solutions that reflect their immediate needs,” Mr. Leblanc said. “The government covering 75% of salaries – up to $58,700 annually – is generous enough to help protect many jobs in jeopardy. But how the criterion of a 30% revenue loss will be applied requires clarification. The government needs to be flexible to ensure that as many businesses as possible can access this program, even if a revenue loss is difficult to show in real time.”
“These subsidies are in addition to measures announced 10 days ago by different levels of government,” Michel Leblanc said. “They are all important to ensuring the survival of as many businesses and organizations as possible, keeping employees working and facilitating a rapid economic recovery once the crisis has passed. We join the Government of Canada in encouraging businesses to make up, whenever possible, the salary difference for workers whose income exceeds the proposed ceiling.”
About the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM)
With a network of over 8,000 members, the CCMM is active on two fronts: being the voice of the Montréal business community and delivering specialized services to businesses and their representatives. With its finger on the pulse of current events, it acts on issues that are decisive for the prosperity of the city’s businesses. With the support of the Acclr experts, the CCMM’s goal is to accelerate the creation and growth of businesses of all sizes, at home and around the world.
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Source:
Julie Serero
Advisor, Media Relations
Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal
Tel.: 514 871-4000, ext. 4042
jserero@ccmm.ca
Facebook: www.facebook.com/chambremontreal
Twitter: @chambremontreal
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