Supports for Small Businesses
Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk
MLA for Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville
Alberta’s government has recently expanded supports for small businesses in light of new public health measures. Businesses can apply for up to $20,000 in funding if they’ve seen profit losses of 30 percent or more. Our government is providing critical, immediate, and historic support to businesses affected by the new measures.
Businesses that were rejected from the first round of grants will be automatically enrolled in this new, second round of funding.
To date, over 17,000 grants have been issued to Alberta-based businesses totaling over $60 million with these businesses collectively employing over 171,000 Albertans. Alberta’s government understands the need to not only protect the lives but also the livelihoods of hard-working Albertans.
On top of this, Budget 2020 invests $5.7 billion over three years in Transportation’s Capital Plan. This includes billions of dollars of investment for the construction of projects such as roads, bridges, and water management.
To support Alberta’s economic recovery, Alberta’s government has also doubled its capital maintenance and renewal funding, which will support 109 projects that will fix and improve our highways, with an additional $60 million set aside to repair pesky potholes and address other critical safety measures.
Alberta’s Recovery Plan is a bold, ambitious, long-term strategy to build, diversify, and create thousands of jobs right now. These incredible investments into building schools, roads, and other core infrastructure are just one step of our Recovery Plan to put Alberta on a path for a generation of growth.
Of note, these projects will support nearly 2,000 jobs within the north-central region and in total these projects will combine to create over 9,000 jobs, holding true to our commitment to create tens of thousands of jobs right now.
We all know small businesses are struggling right now. This Christmas season, I want to encourage you to shop local and support local businesses in Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville. As a former small business owner, I will certainly be doing this. We are all facing this pandemic together, and by supporting each other, we will get through it together.
Lastly, the Alberta government has a survey that is part of the review of the Police Act. The questionnaire covers several topics related to law enforcement and can be filled out online.
