Today’s Top Stories
Statistics Canada Releases Data On Potential For Working From Home
Today Statistics Canada released information on how the pandemic has affected the push for people to work from home amid social distancing. The report also considers how many people may be able to continue to work from home into the future. Overall, about 40% of Canadians are in jobs that could plausibly be done from home.
Commentary: The Great Quickening, The Wide Ranging Fallout Of The Work From Anywhere Disruption
The announcement from tech companies that they will shift to work from anywhere is not what is surprising; it is the potential pace of that change that is significant. The scope and intensity of this shift will depend on the extent to which industries outside the tech sector adopt similar policies. Nonetheless, spurred by necessity, many companies and organizations generated a proof of concept. How businesses and policymakers respond to this proof of concept will have longstanding ramifications not least of all for industries and services where location remains king.
The Business Of Business: Impacts Of COVID-19 On Businesses, With RBC
In this episode of The Business of Business, our President and CEO Perrin Beatty and Greg Grice, Executive Vice-President of Business Financial Services at RBC, discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on businesses in the short-, medium- and long-term, as well as how businesses can prepare for reopening.
For Your Attention
Survey: Deferral Of Payments Of Duties And Taxes
On March 27, the federal government announced the deferral of payments of duties and taxes on imports through to the end of June. Given the relationship certain importers have with their customs broker, we want to learn more about how the deferral is working in practice. We are seeking your views in a 90-second survey to inform our discussions with the government. For chambers and associations: please circulate this survey with your members. The deadline to contribute is June 4, 2020.
How We’re Helping Canadian Business
Webinar | Planning For Recovery: How To Restart Your Business In The Wake Of COVID-19
Join us June 2 at 12:00 p.m. ET for a live webinar with the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).
BDC’s Chief Economist Pierre Cléroux will give an economic update and speak about the main business trends that will reshape the way we do business and BDC’s Advisory Services Executive Vice President Peter Lawler will discuss what business owners should be doing now as they ramp up operations, along with providing an overview of the financing support programs and resources available.
Webinar | Build Your Online Presence, With Facebook
Join us on Wednesday, June 3 at 1:00 p.m. ET to learn how to build your business’s online presence with a Facebook Business Page and find out about the free Facebook tools to jumpstart your business online. We’ll cover everything from building your Facebook business page to communicating with your customers and managing and measuring your page.
Commentary: COVID-19 And Supply Chains, No Silver Bullet Solutions
The current crisis has shown that supply chains are hugely complicated with many moving parts needed to shift private sector behaviour. There is also the interplay of how these policy measures could affect other sectors. It is better to think of the cumulative impact of these variables on company-level microeconomic decisions that lead to the macroeconomic shifts.
Did You Know? CBRN Business Reopening Toolkit Includes Provincial/Territorial Regulation Tracker
In order to operate, businesses must abide by all national, provincial/territorial and local codes issued by our governments. This includes when and which businesses can open, an array of health and safety measures, social distancing standards, occupancy limits and more. Through the CBRN Business Reopening Toolkit, you can access the rules and regulations that are in place according to federal and provincial/territorial jurisdictions.
A #TeamCanada Approach
The Mining Association Of Canada And Its Communities
Ensuring communities have the essential resources, chief among them food, they need to survive the pandemic is an important aspect of COVID-19 relief efforts. The Mining Association of Canada, alongside 18 national and regional industry associations and partners, recently came together to donate $36,000 to the Ottawa Food Bank, Food Banks Canada and to food banks across the country to support Canadian families in need.
Free Tax Preparation Offered For Ontario Healthcare Workers
Accountants in Ontario are hoping to make life a little simpler for frontline healthcare workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic by offering to prepare their taxes for free. The program, organized by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, has drawn support from major accounting firms, including KPMG, Deloitte, Ernst and Young, BDO, PwC, Grant Thornton, MNP and others, and will cover a wide range of workers dealing directly with COVID-19, including nurses, paramedics, cleaning staff, lab technicians and other healthcare professionals. It will also cover the returns for spouses and dependent children as benefits often need to be co-ordinated between family members.
If you know of a business that has taken steps to help Canadians through this pandemic, please contact us.