On a special episode of  “I'm a Millionaire. So Now What?” my special guest was Anjali Dilawri, Partner at Ottawa-based public accounting firm Logan Katz.

The reason I specifically wanted to talk with her – and, like IMMEDIATELY – is because so many of us in the Self-Made Nation are trying to navigate through this difficult economic slowdown due to COVID-19.

And we all have questions about what’s available from a business subsidy standpoint via the Canadian government.

Plus, frankly, she’s one of the best – and she brought the answers!

In fact, she was so helpful in unbundling the government programs in Canada that have been created to support business owners, entrepreneurs and founders that I said to myself “Self, get that information in blog format and out there for the Self-Made Nation.

Now, this is a condensed version of everything we chatted about – basically a brief on the top three options - so, I encourage you to listen to the entire episode with Anjali for more.

Ok, let’s get started!

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy

Let’s take a look at the largest program - actually the largest economic program in Canadian history - the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. This program is estimated to cost $71 billion and essentially means the government is going to fund your employees’ wages.

In a nutshell, it's available to eligible employers, including taxable corporations, individuals, partnerships, not for profits, and charities. The government will pay eligible employers 75% of their employees’ remuneration - up to a maximum of 58,700, which works out to about $847 a week. So, the big number to remember is 75% of your employees’ wages could qualify.

There is one caveat though - you have to have a reduction in your revenue and your gross revenue month over month as compared to last year.

BUT: this is not a free lunch. It is taxable. So, any subsidy that you do qualify for and receive under this program is taxable income to you.

Ten Percent Temporary Wage Subsidy

The advantage of this subsidy is it doesn’t have the aforementioned “revenue threshold” qualification.

Ergo, as a 10% wage subsidy – while it is obviously significantly less than the 75% wage subsidy – the end result is it’s available to a much wider audience. It can generate up to a maximum of $1,375 per employee, and up to a maximum of $25,000 per employer. This subsidy doesn’t arrive in the form of a direct deposit or a check, but rather through reducing your payroll remittances or the income tax portion of your payroll remittances. This is available to eligible employers including Canadian controlled private corporations, partnerships, individuals, not for profit organizations and charities.

Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)

Then there are a number of smaller programs for individuals. The biggest one is the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. This is a taxable benefit of $2,000 a month for up to four months, and it's available to anyone that has ceased work due to COVID-19.

If you’ve stopped working due to COVID and don't have access to paid leave or other income support, OR if you’ve been sick, quarantined, and/or are taking care of those that are sick you can access this benefit.

Most importantly in this era of the “gig economy,” it's also available to wage earners and self-employed individuals who aren't otherwise eligible for EI, including contract workers.

This is helpful for some of you smaller employers and/or super-small businesses where there’s maybe only one or two people holding the whole thing together, and for workers that are retaining their employment, but not working or not being paid due to lack of work.

The caveat with this is you must have earned at least $5,000 in income in the last 12 months before you apply.

Things Can Change on A Dime

Details on how and when to apply to the various benefits are coming soon, so while you’re waiting (if you haven’t already) make sure your CRA “My Account” is set up, and double check that all your information is up to date – including your direct deposit information.

And remember, we’ve never - as a nation - gone through anything of this magnitude before (well, not in the last hundred years or so at least!) with borders locked-down and businesses shuttered, and the situation is in flux.

Like our finance minister said, they're putting together programs in days and weeks that normally take years to put together. There’s a lot of confusion. Things are shifting on the fly. And the government is tweaking and changing programs in a sort of “needs-must” fashion as more time passes and the situation evolves.

So, keep your eye on the news, check in with your accountants and financial advisors, and keep-six on the CRA website every other day or so.

And if you have any questions, please reach out to me directly, any time.