CanNor to northern businesses: If you need COVID relief, come to us

Canada's economic development minister says that if northern businesses need more money to get through the pandemic, the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency will help them out.

"They can always come up and say, 'Hey, I have an issue. Can you guys help me?' And we'll be working to make sure that they have access to the funding," Mélanie Joly, the minister responsible for the agency known as CanNor, said on Monday. 

"If there's no funding available, well, I'll know and I'll make sure that I get more funding for CanNor."

The agency that supports northern businesses and organizations said in a Monday press release that since the start of the pandemic, it's helped protect more than 1,675 jobs in the territories. It said more than $30.6 million in relief money has been put toward 563 small- and medium-sized northern businesses.

Here's a breakdown of where that money went, according to Joly's press secretary:

• In Nunavut, 48 businesses got a total of more than $4.7 million;

• in N.W.T., 246 businesses got a total of more than $11.5 million;

• and in Yukon, 269 businesses got a total of more than $14.3 million.

That money went out in the form of non-repayable grants ranging from $2,500 to $100,000. It went to businesses that were "falling through the cracks," said Joly, and that didn't have access to "very large measures," such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, which covers part of workers' wages, or the Canada Emergency Business Account, which gives interest-free loans to small businesses and not-for-profits. 

Joly said the northern tourism industry has been hit especially hard by COVID-19 and that CanNor pandemic relief money has gone to tourism operators and adjacent businesses, such as Frontier Lodge in N.W.T. 

Businesses that received CanNor funding are listed on the federal government's proactive disclosure website.

'If more support is needed, more support will come'

On Nov. 30, the federal government outlined its plan for COVID-19 relief and recovery spending in the months and years ahead. In it, the government proposes putting $3 million in 2020-2021 toward CanNor to support small businesses in the territories.

This however, amounts to less than a tenth of what CanNor has spent on floating northern businesses through the pandemic so far. 

Joly insists, though, that "if more support is needed, more support will come," specifically noting interest-free loans. 

"If, eventually, the second wave is hitting and [businesses] still need more money because basically they won't be able to pass winter, well they [can] come and see us again," she said. 

Joly said that funding will be made available both to businesses that have previously used CanNor money, and businesses that haven't needed to until now. But, she said, businesses seeking funding must have been viable prior to the pandemic.

Joly's spokesperson said in an email that the $3 million proposed for CanNor, along with the agency's "ongoing relief funding" and regular funding, puts it in a good position to "continue supporting businesses across the territories that need it most." 

CanNor spending is not normal

Joly acknowledged that CanNor's liberal approach to spending is not normal.

"We're in the economic crisis and a pandemic. At this point, we need to help businesses survive this pandemic — period — so that's why I say if they need funding, they should come and see us," she said. 

Without meaningful support for the North's private sector, Joly said "people will lose their jobs and that will create a spiral of poverty. 

"We can't do that. We can't let that happen."

She said businesses that need help can contact CanNor through its website or at its offices in Iqaluit, Yellowknife and Whitehorse.