Written by: Karissa Ketter, News Writer
The Vancouver Chinatown Foundation has created an economic relief package to aid small businesses in BC recovering from COVID-19’s economic impact. The package is a compilation of support benefit programs, grants, and loans for small business owners.
It outlines 13 programs ranging from reduced or frozen tax rates to Canada’s federal recovery programs, such as the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, Canada Recovery Benefit, or Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy.
The package also lays out the eligibility criteria and details for each program to make the grants more accessible to struggling business owners.
Grants range from $2,000 to $1,000,000, depending on the vulnerability of the business. The Launch Online Grant Program is centred around helping businesses move their stores online.
This grant requires businesses to employ less than 149 residents, have generated sales over $30,000 last year, and be owned by a BC resident, among other criteria. Applicants are required to develop grant proposals and estimate how much funding they will need to improve their online business space.
Others like the Small and Medium-Sized Business Recovery Grant target vulnerable industries like tourism-related businesses.
The Small and Medium-Sized Business Recovery Grants require businesses to apply, create a recovery plan, and then report on their recovery after they’ve received funding. These grants are targeted for tourism-related businesses that employ between two and 149 people in BC. Eligible businesses should have experienced 30% revenue losses, in addition to other criteria. Applications can be submitted through the BC Business Recovery Grant website.
Other grants such as the Highly Affected Sectors Credit Program requires business owners to contact their financial institutions to apply for loans of up to $1,000,000. They need to be a Canadian-based business that had been financially stable prior to the COVID-19 pandemic — this includes having a 50% revenue decline for at least three nonconsecutive months.
Throughout the pandemic, the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation has provided outlets of support for the community. This includes the Meals for the May Wah program, which provides meals for seniors staying at the May Wah Hotel. The hotel is a place for low-income residents and seniors to find safe and affordable housing.
The Vancouver Chinatown Foundation also began the Chinatown Storytelling Centre project — a “cultural space that celebrates stories of the Chinese Canadian experience told through the lens of Vancouver’s Chinatown.”
“COVID-19, increased racial hostility, and closed businesses are conditions that the residents have to navigate right now. Restaurants in Chinatown have also been facing increased property damage crimes and significant drops in revenue,” reported the Foundation.
The Vancouver Sun said that this has caused Chinatown businesses to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic more so than the rest of Vancouver.
They have undergone these community projects with the goal of “creating a lasting positive impact” on their neighbourhoods with “physical revitalization, economic revitalization, and cultural revitalization.”
The Peak reached out to the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation for more information, but did not receive a response before the publication deadline.
