Employer Obligations Continue to Apply Despite COVID-19 Pandemic

May 08, 2020 - Laura Buitendyk

This post is current as of May 7, 2020. Since the situation is rapidly evolving, it is important for employers to continue to check government websites and other information sources to ensure they make decisions with information that is as up to date as possible. The information contained in this blog is relevant only to non-union workers in provincially regulated industries covered by the Employment Standards Act.

On March 23, the BC legislature enacted several changes to the Employment Standards Act. As at the date of this article, these changes have not reduced nor eliminated an employer’s obligations when laying off employees…

Resolving Residential Tenancy Disputes during the COVID-19 Eviction Ban

May 06, 2020 - Brian Cheng

The Ban

British Columbia has banned almost all evictions from March 30, 2020 during the COVID-19 state of emergency.

Now, these reasons to evict tenants are no longer valid:

non-payment of rent; cause (repeated breach of rental agreement); end of employment (e.g., caretaker); landlord’s own use of the property; and tenant no longer qualifying for tenancy (e.g., subsidized rental unit).

Limited exceptions allow landlords to still apply to end tenancies, where the tenant has:

significantly interfered with landlord’s or other occupant’s use of the property; seriously jeopardized health or safety of the landlord or other occupant; or caused extraordinary damage…

To Pay, or Not To Pay? – Vancouver Delays 2020 Property Tax Deadlines in COVID-Era

May 04, 2020 - Owen Bird

As Canadians are continuing to deal with the financial stresses brought on by COVID-19, municipal governments, like the City of Vancouver, are no exception. In a recent press conference, Mayor Kennedy Stewart stated that the City is losing millions every week in revenue due to the effects of COVID-19 and the corresponding social distancing measures. The City continues to experience 80-100% decreases in revenue streams areas such as parking, by-law fines, gaming and recreation centres.

Included in the City’s stream of revenue, valued at approximately $324 million, are the collections from annual property taxes. These are taxes paid by…

APRIL 30 – UPDATE TO CANADA EMERGENCY COMMERCIAL RENT ASSISTANCE (CECRA)

April 30, 2020 - Owen Bird

On April 24, 2020, the federal government reached an agreement in principle with all provinces and territories to implement the CECRA program for qualifying small businesses. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that morning that eligible small businesses affected by Covid-19 will be receiving 75% in rent relief. Those details along with further particulars from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (“CMHC”) include the following:

Eligible Tenants. The commercial tenants eligible for this program will be those that are paying no more than $50,000 gross per month in rent AND have either temporarily ceased operations (i.e. generating no revenues) or have…

CANADA EMERGENCY COMMERCIAL RENT ASSISTANCE (CECRA) UPDATE

April 24, 2020 - Owen Bird

The federal government has reached an agreement in principle with all provinces and territories to implement the CECRA program for qualifying small businesses. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this morning that eligible small businesses affected by Covid-19 will be receiving seventy-five percent (75%) in rent relief. Details released this morning include the following:

Eligible Tenants. The commercial tenants eligible for this program will be those that are paying less than $50,000 per month in rent and have either temporarily ceased operations or have experienced at least a 70% drop in revenues. This will also include non-profit organizations. Further details are…

Federal Government Launches Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)

April 22, 2020 - Owen Bird

As many small businesses across Canada are struggling to keep the lights on as the world continues to contend with the COIVD-19 pandemic, a measure of help may finally be on the way.

On March 27, the federal government announced additional measures to support businesses and not-for-profits. More information on Canada’s COIVD-19 Economic Response Plan, can be found at  https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html

A number of lenders have subsequently been in consultation with the government on these measures, designing them specifically to help small and medium sized employers with their most pressing needs and position our economy to recover.  As a result, the government has…