Madam Speaker, I stand to speak to the motion put forward by the member for Calgary Rocky Ridge. The motion put forward seeks to pause the audits of small businesses that received the Canada emergency wage subsidy and provide additional flexibility to the Canada emergency rent subsidy, the Canada emergency wage subsidy and other support programs.
When the pandemic hit, our government quickly rolled out many programs to help individuals and small businesses through the pandemic. The Canada emergency wage subsidy has helped protect more than 3.5 million Canadian jobs by supporting employers to keep their staff on the payroll.
However, an important step in understanding the viability of the program is by conducting audits on businesses that received this support. The Canada Revenue Agency recently began a small-scale post-payment verification project. This will help the government understand the level and degree of non-compliance. It will also help us refine the approach to better help our small businesses. The scale is small and the focus is on refining the program to help our small businesses better.
In the bill introduced by the Minister of Finance on October 9, we hoped to extend the wage subsidy program until June 2021. In ensuring this is administered fairly to employers, it is vital that CRA continues to probe and conduct audits. On the first part of the motion, which is talking about the audit, I strongly suggest we continue doing the audit because it is focused on bettering the program. On the second part of the motion, which is talking about the extension and modifications of various subsidy programs, we are doing that. As such, I cannot support the motion put forward by the member for Calgary Rocky Ridge.
Let me highlight the work we have done and the work we are planning to do to better address the second part of the motion. Small businesses, as all members know, are the hearts of our communities and the backbone of the Canadian economy. They make up 95% of all businesses, employ 8.5 million Canadians and account for 40% of our economy. These small businesses continue to add charm to our towns and cities, attracting tourists from every nook of the world.
In my riding of Richmond Hill, attractions like the David Dunlap Observatory continue to fascinate both amateur and expert astronomers alike since its opening in 1935. Some of the hardest-hit sectors were in food services, cultural, recreation and entertainment industries that usually benefit from tourism spending.
Tourism has always been a driving force in the building of Canada. It draws newcomers, investors and economic activity into our communities. It generates $102 billion in annual economic activity, 1.8 million jobs and accounts for 2% of our GDP. The sector’s footprint is virtually everywhere, underpinning businesses and not-for-profits in every province, territory and city, as well as many small communities.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic is having a dramatic impact on Canada’s economy, and the challenge for the tourism sector has been amplified by closures and travel restrictions. Social distancing, capacity limitations and traveller sentiment will continue to impact the tourism industry into the future, even as travel restrictions slowly begin to ease.
In a meeting with hoteliers in my riding and the Hotel Association of Canada, I was informed that the tourism and hospitality sectors have been hardest hit during COVID-19 and continue to face significant barriers to recovery. There is no question that times are tough, especially with many parts of the country experiencing the second wave of the pandemic.
We made available several financial supports to businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. I will briefly mention them, as the details have been reviewed by many of the members in the House. They are the Canada emergency business account, the business credit availability program, the Canada emergency wage subsidy, the Canada emergency response benefit, the Canada emergency commercial rent assistance, the COVID-19 emergency support fund and the northern business relief fund.
There are also new supports for women and youth entrepreneurs, indigenous business owners and Black entrepreneurs. These measures are necessary because economic empowerment of all Canadians is the key to a just economic recovery.
The pandemic has hurt our small businesses the hardest, and owners have shown incredible resilience by continuing to serve their communities. I want to highlight the efforts of Aneal Swaratsingh, owner of Aneal's Taste of the Islands: a Caribbean restaurant in the heart of Richmond Hill. Aneal's restaurant has faced challenges during the pandemic. Still, he has donated meals to the local peer support centre and is consistently serving the most vulnerable in our community.
In May, we established the regional relief and recovery fund, delivered through the regional development agencies, to mitigate the financial pressure experienced by businesses and to allow them to continue their operations. The regional relief and recovery fund provides targeted assistance to businesses and business support organizations that were unable to access our existing COVID-19 relief measures. A lifeline for businesses that might otherwise not have survived, the RRRF has been vital in helping them continue their operations, keep their employees, pay bills and get access to capital.
On October 2, the Prime Minister announced $600 million in top-up funds for the RRRF. We are providing over $1.5 billion through the RRRF to help more businesses and organizations in sectors such as tourism that are key to the regions and to local economies.
So far, more than 2,700 Canadian businesses in the tourism sector have benefited from the fund. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the six regional development agencies: the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario and Western Economic Diversification Canada.
The regional development agencies are taking a place-based approach to delivering the regional relief and recovery fund program. They are taking a leading role in implementing measures to help businesses and individuals within communities across the country, and they are providing as much flexibility as possible with their existing recipients. Our RDAs are there to help businesses and innovators grow, succeed and create good jobs for Canadians.
The government is proud of the measures and initiatives taken to support our small and medium-size businesses, particularly those in the tourism sector.
Some of the work we are planning to do includes expanding the Canada emergency business account to help businesses with fixed costs, improving the business credit availability program and extending the Canada emergency wage subsidy until June 2021, to help businesses keep employees on the payroll and rehire workers.
Further, following a commitment in the Speech from the Throne to provide direct financial support to businesses temporarily shut down as a result of a local public health decision, we have introduced the new Canada emergency rent subsidy to provide rent subsidies directly to tenants while also supporting property owners. Qualifying organizations would be able to access rent and mortgage support until June 2021.
COVID-19 has caused businesses across the country, both large and small, to rethink their approaches. Entrepreneurs and owners are looking at more digital options, more creative solutions and more climate-friendly investments. We will support people and businesses in the tourism sector through this crisis as long as it lasts. Whatever it takes, we are here and our government is here for small businesses and the tourism sector.