When I asked questions about the businesses hit hard by the pandemic, I must say that I was a little surprised to hear officials say that the two criteria listed were very clear. Based on the feedback that we've received from businesses, these two criteria may be restrictive.
Consider businesses that are hard hit, but that haven't experienced at least a 50% revenue decline over 12 months, and therefore don't meet the eligibility criteria. Is it possible to show flexibility for either of the two criteria? For example, could the 12‑month period be staggered? Could a large enough revenue decline be demonstrated over another period during the pandemic? The second criterion, as I said earlier, is very restrictive. As we know, businesses' revenues fluctuate, especially based on when they receive their supplies, and even more so when there are delays. Could there be some flexibility with respect to at least one of the two eligibility criteria?