The Canadian Government has declared a fund of C$600 million to small and medium-sized businesses that were severely affected by the lockdowns due to the pandemic.
The announcement was made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday.
This new funding is supposed to target sectors like tourism, technology and manufacturing which will be added to the C$962 million invested in the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund. From the announced funding, an amount of C$456 million will be made available to help businesses struggling with their finances as Canada has declared another lockdown because of an increase in Coronavirus cases. The funding will be distributed through regional development agencies. Canadian Government to also invest in generating employment opportunities.
To help rural businesses and communities, another C$144 million will be funded.
Also Read: Canada is announcing another lockdown as Coronavirus cases surge??
Economic Development Minister Melanie Joly, in her statement on Friday, said: "What we've learned is that in certain hard-hit sectors, it was more difficult for businesses to have access to capital through financial institutions, and that's why they came up to us."
"Entrepreneurs in Montreal, all across Quebec, worked really hard to get through the first wave... What we want to say to them today is, there is hope. We'll help you get through the second wave."
This development has come after when Prime Minister Trudeau's on September 23 announced that the second wave of novel coronavirus was underway in the country and that "we're on the brink of a fall that could be much worse than the spring".
The country witnessed a sudden spike in the number of coronavirus cases, from about 300 per day in August to a record high of 1,248 on September 22, as reported by the health officials. In the last few days, the country has seen a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases. It reported 2,122 new COVID cases on Friday including 89 deaths in the last 24 hours.
The virus has claimed 9,409 lives in Canada while a total of 162,490 infection cases have been confirmed with over 8.9 million tests have been made. A total of 137,614 patients have recovered from the disease.