Expanded federal support programs critical for business stability amidst circuit-breaker measures

The following statement on expanded federal supports for businesses is attributable to Deborah Yedlin, President and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce:

Calgary, December 22, 2021 – “Today’s expansion of the federal government’s Local Lockdown Program means more businesses impacted by local and regional capacity restrictions will be eligible to access needed supports. More than 70 per cent of businesses have accessed government supports and taken on COVID-19 related debt, while 43 per cent say rising costs are among the biggest hurdles to recovery. Given ongoing challenges resulting from the pandemic, broadening eligibility of supports is a critical step toward ensuring businesses can remain viable through these uncertain times.

“As the voice for Calgary business, we will continue to communicate evolving pandemic supports to our members, listen closely to their feedback to identify additional gaps and advocate for other measures, if required. Looking ahead, all orders of government must continue to consult closely with businesses to ensure the programs in place align with current challenges, particularly as the government looks to ramp down these supports in 2022. We look forward to facilitating these important discussions to pave the way to an economy that is open, and able to operate at full capacity.”

About the Calgary Chamber

The Calgary Chamber is an independent non-profit, non-partisan business organization. For 130 years, the Chamber has worked to build a business community that nourishes, powers and inspires the world.

For media inquiries, please contact Arianne Brady, Communications Manager, at media@calgarychamber.com or at 403-750-0414.