Extra cash for small businesses will blunt minimum wage hike, employers hope

The Newfoundland and Labrador government is offering money to employers under a new program aimed at supporting small and medium-sized businesses despite rising costs and the latest minimum wage increase.

The program, announced Friday, will be available to businesses with fewer than 100 employees, including at least one person earning the minimum wage between April 2023 and last month. Applications will open in May.

Judy Sparkes-Giannou, president of the Employers Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, says the program comes at a time of “exponential” challenges.

“We are just coming out of COVID. We have been immersed in inflation, interest rates are rising. The job market has been unstable,” Sparkes-Giannou said Friday when announcing the program to the Bannerman Brewing Co. in St. John's.

“The price of fuel, the carbon tax, some of the federal taxes that we've seen imposed. It's a time where we've had to dig really deep.”

Businesses can receive a one-time payment of between $2,500 and $5,000. The amount of funding a business can receive will depend on how many people it employs, how many of them earn minimum wage, and whether they operate year-round. Sparkes-Giannou said she expects the funding to support about 600 businesses, which could receive money from the program by the end of May.

The minimum wage in Newfoundland and Labrador increased from $15 to $15.60 per hour on April 1.

“We understand how important it is for your growth to help reduce some of these costs. It's certainly not the answer, but it's a positive step for small businesses,” Davis said.

AnnMarieBoudreau, CEO of the St. John's Board of Trade, said she thinks the funding will be very helpful to small businesses.

“What we're hearing is they need to get creative,” Boudreau said. “It’s a constant effort to evaluate what makes sense and what the business model can support, so I think a program like this will be helpful.”

Labor Minister Bernard Davis said the province will commit $2 million to the program through the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Labor Market Development Agreement.

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