Provincial grant for self-employed people still leaves out some small businesses

Opportunities New Brunswick announced a one-time $2,000 grant for self-employed businesses Wednesday, the first offering of its kind since the beginning of the pandemic.

Fredericton hair salon owner Lindsay Morrison says it's about time.

"I mean it's something, so that's good," said Morrison.

But there are still barriers for self-employed people, she said.

Arlene Dunn, the minister responsible for Opportunities New Brunswick, said the Self-Employed Lockdown Fund was sparked by an outcry from people with small businesses who weren't getting the support they needed.

"We've heard from a number of small businesses very concerned about the fact that the federal grant program's in place right now are not sufficient to support their loss of income."

One-person businesses only

The $2,000 grant is the first offered by the province that doesn't require businesses to have between two and 99 employees.

To qualify, a business cannot have any employees and needs to earn $30,000 in revenue per year.

Dunn said the revenue threshold was chosen because the federal government is already meeting the needs of businesses earning less than $30,000 through the Canada workers lockdown benefit.

That offering, meant for all workers across Canada whose employment is interrupted by COVID-19 restrictions, provides $300 per week, or about $270 after taxes.

The new grant still doesn't help businesses that have one employee or fewer than two full-time-equivalent employees.

"This is exclusively for the self-employed, so as long as they're self-employed and they meet the criteria of eligibility they can apply," Dunn said.

Dunn said she estimates about 2,000 businesses will qualify for the New Brunswick grant.

Eligible businesses can expect to receive the money up to 10 days after they apply.

A barrier since the start

Self-employed business owners had to rely on the CERB program early on in the pandemic and, until today, could only access the Canada Workers Lockdown Benefit.

Last week, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs announced the province would enter a two-week lockdown mandating hair salons, gyms and entertainment centres to close.

At the same time he announced the Small Business Recovery Grant program, which would provide grants up to $10,000 to small businesses employing between two and 99 full-time equivalent staff.

The requirement left a big gap in support for businesses in need, said Louis-Philippe Gauthier, the senior director for legislative affairs for the Atlantic provinces with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

"Some (businesses) are structured from a self-employment perspective, employing employees on a contract basis," Gauthier said.

"Even if a business only has one employee, it's still a business and should qualify."

Gauthier said the new grant for self-employed businesses is a step in the right direction.

'It's not enough'

Morrison, who owns Mudita Hair Bar, said the grant for self-employed businesses still has some barriers.

"It's still making people ineligible because the $30,000 for a self-employed person is maybe not attainable for everyone," she said.

Morrison said the $2,000 grant will be enough to keep her bills paid, but her overhead costs are lower than most.

"It's not enough."