Support our local businesses
By Leela Sharon Aheer Chestermere-Strathmore MLA
I have been blown away by the outreach to small business at this difficult time. I have also been shopping online and locally, and have heard from folks that they have run out of product or they can’t keep up with the orders. This is music to my ears! Please keep this momentum up to help keep our small businesses alive who are being impacted by the COVID protocols that we, your government, have brought in through no fault of their own. We are collectively responsible for each other; our health (mental and physical) and our well-being hinge on our ability to provide support, love and generosity to our neighbours at this time. This is not new to us – COVID or not, we are per capita the most generous donors in all of Canada. I am so proud to be your representative, and I am so proud of how our communities are going out of their way to support each other.
To support small business, I am filling my stockings with handmade gifts from local artists and gift certificates from local businesses, like spas, restaurants and gyms. We will get through this, and we will come back stronger than ever.
What is the first thing you are going to do when it is safe to lift public health restrictions? I cannot wait to go to a rodeo, a local hockey game and live concerts, especially by local teachers, and the school concerts that have always made this season so special. There is nothing like seeing little ones dressed up like reindeers, angels and snowflakes. I have a lump in my throat just thinking about how much I miss sitting in the school auditoriums seeing your munchkins performing at their Christmas concerts.
I have been visiting businesses in the riding, socially distanced and fully masked. I have been enjoying the beautiful Christmas lights with my family when I am home from Edmonton, and feel truly blessed to live in this riding. I think the most beautiful thing I’ve seen are these notes on Facebook where folks are telling each other to reach out if they are hungry, if they need to talk or if they need help. These actions are why Alberta will bounce back better than ever.
I have to take a moment to shout out to our Premier, Jason Kenney. We have, with him at the helm, continued with the work of democracy and passed over 70 bills even amidst this crisis. Like you, the government must keep going and has a responsibility to keep working, and we sat for 130 days this year. That is because you are our bosses, and you are our priority. You elected us to work and to keep going. We are honoured to serve you and to keep democracy rolling. We have so much to be proud of and so much to learn. COVID gave us all pause to look at ourselves and our reasons for doing what we do. I know that there is nowhere I’d rather be than here, with you. We will all breathe a collective sigh of relief as the vaccine makes its way into our population. With this great news in mind, we will keep pushing for a competitive corporate tax environment, because as you know, small business is successful as a result of a healthy economy, and that includes creating a competitive tax environment. This keeps dollars in your pocket, fuels the much-needed spending locally and creates jobs. This is a long game, and COVID has certainly put a wrench into that, but a rebound is on its way and I cannot wait see that happen. Other countries like the United States have made huge rate reductions. Alberta will be ready to attract talent, dollars and jobs. We are competitive internationally. We will bounce back because we are resilient and we take care of each other.
Our government announced that Alberta businesses impacted by recent public health orders were eligible to apply for a second payment through the program. This second payment will now be 15 per cent of pre-pandemic monthly revenues up to a maximum of $15,000 – for a total of $20,000 in potential funding available for each business, up from the original $5,000. This second payment is available to businesses operating in areas on the provincial watch list where new health restrictions have been implemented. Applications for the second payment in areas under enhanced measures will open this month. Additionally, the program is now expanding to include job creators who have experienced a 30 per cent revenue loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This lowers the threshold from the existing requirement of 40 per cent revenue loss. The 30 per cent threshold will be available to impacted businesses retroactive to March. We are taking action now to increase the funding available to our local job creators to ensure we come out of the pandemic stronger than before. We are in this together!
As always, we love to hear from you.
(Leela Sharon Aheer is the MLA Elect for Chestermere-Strathmore, Minister of Status of Women and Minister of Culture and Multiculturalism)