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OTTAWA OFFERS COVID RENT-, WAGE-RELIEF TO CANNABIZ

Last week, Ottawa announced the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program, which will pay 75% of rent for small businesses struggling with COVID-19. The program will launch in mid-May.
Press Release, Cannabis Retailer, Globe and Mail

  • Ottawa will pay half tenants’ monthly rent. Landlords and tenants will each be asked to pay one quarter.
  • The program will be administered through landlords, so only those businesses whose landlords apply for CECRA will receive it.
  • Businesses that pay more than $50,000 in rent are ineligible.

The National Research Council, meanwhile, confirmed cannabis businesses with fewer than 500 employees will be allowed to apply for wage subsidies from the NRC’s $250M Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) available to companies “[pursuing] growth and profit by developing and commercializing innovative, technology-driven new or improved products, services or processes in Canada.”
The Rise