The President of the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce is pleased to see the deadline for the B.C. government’s Small and Medium Sized Business Recovery Grant program extended to the end of Aug. 31.
Tyson Andrykew says he also welcomes the expanded eligibility from the current 70 per cent loss in revenue in March or April of last year, to a 30 per cent in any one month since last March.
“You know you had businesses that said, ‘look I didn’t have a 70 per cent drop ever but I had 65 or 60 throughout, or an average of 60’ or whatever it may be. There were always difficult cases where some businesses were kind of getting left out in the cold.”
Andrykew says Chambers of Commerce across the province were lobbying for this change.
“We met with Minister [Ravi] Kahlon and discussed some of what was happening in Kamloops and our concerns. This was obviously brought up and I think our voices joined the chorus of other Chambers across the province,” Andrykew said. “Thankfully, he listened.”
The $345-million grant program offers between $10,000 and $30,000 to businesses that employ up to 149 British Columbians. Another $5,000 to $15,000 available to tourism-related businesses.
The BC Liberal jobs critic, Todd Stone, says he’s pleased to see the grant program’s deadline extended by five months.
“I’m glad the NDP government is making these changes which the BC Liberals have been advocating for since last year,” the MLA for Kamloops-South Thompson said. “Unfortunately, this has taken so long that many small businesses have already closed down, and it might be too late for many others. Countless businesses could be in a better position today had the NDP not stubbornly refused to budge on extending the program deadline.”
Stone is still calling for the requirement that businesses be in operation for 18 months before they can apply to be done away with. He also wants the application and approval process to be sped up saying government already has most of the information it is requesting from these businesses.
“John Horgan and the NDP have fumbled this grant for six months. Now that they’ve finally extended the grant deadline, it’s my hope that money can get out the door in a more timely and efficient way to businesses who need it most,” added Stone.
The BC Liberals previously said documents show the government has provided $31 million to Small Business BC to administer this grant program, almost as much as the $45 million that has gone out to businesses.
“It’s outrageous that almost as much money has been spent on administrative red tape than giving businesses the money they need to keep their lights on,” Stone said on Monday. “We’ve heard about business owners forced to make payroll with their pensions and credit cards. It’s unacceptable that this money is tied up in accounting fees and red tape, instead of going directly to businesses most in need.”
The government says the $31 million is not meant for administration fees or costs, rather it is meant to pay a professional service provider, such as an accountant, bookkeeper, financial planner or lawyer to support the applicant. Each service provider could get up to $2,000 per applicant it helps navigate the steps they can take to help their business through COVID and beyond.
“The allegations that were made in the legislature are completely false. The member from Kamloops in fact had the document where it said specifically that the dollars were for supporting professional services for small businesses,” Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon said, on March 2, a statement of which was sent to NL News.
“Up to $2,000 for every small business to build a recovery plan, dollars [for] businesses owned by people who have language barriers to access supports to be able to fill in their applications and get the dollars that they need. So, if that’s what the BC Liberals believe is red tape, they are completely out of touch with small businesses in this province.”
The government also says almost $60 million in grant funding has been approved in this program.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story did not include details about the $31-million after the allegations raised by the BC Liberals. It has since been added to the story.
