As we saw the snow creep down the mountains last month, a general feeling of anticipation pervaded the community.
Obviously this was tempered by the reality of living through a pandemic, but nevertheless, with a busier-than-expected summer behind us, many local business operators could be forgiven for feeling a wee bit optimistic.
However, when provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry locked us down, in essence, until at least Dec. 7, optimism began to wane.
This is not really by way of complaint—after all we just came off a weekend that saw 46 people die and more than 2,000 test positive for COVID-19, so buckling down to try to reduce the numbers of positive cases just makes sense. And we now know that Whistler itself has had about 200 positive cases since the pandemic began—with the majority of those coming in the past few weeks.
But the weight of all this on our town’s small businesses is palpable.
Many have been just hanging in there believing that the winter ski season and Christmas holidays will give them just enough margin to keep going.
I don’t think anyone was realistically thinking the U.S. border was going to open for the holidays, and most had made peace with this, so planning centred around the drive-to market that has honestly saved Whistler’s bacon so many times before. But now, even this market is being told to stay home for the greater good.
We may not yet be seeing the “closed for business” signs around town, but there can be no doubt that business operators and owners are wondering how much sharper they can make their pencils as they manage the math around staying open.
In a report released late last month, Canada’s national statistical agency said small businesses are facing the greatest risk from COVID-19 because they cannot take on more debt and are experiencing the greatest decreases in revenue.
It went on to say that nearly one-quarter of businesses with 19 or fewer employees reported revenues being down by 40 per cent in August, compared to the previous year, and about six per cent of businesses with one to four employees said they were actively considering bankruptcy or were closing because of the pandemic.
According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, this could mean as many as 218,000 companies going under due to COVID-19.
This week, we did see some changes at the federal level that may help small business teetering on the edge hold on. This includes a new plan called the Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program, which will offer eligible businesses low-interest loans of up to $1 million, with a 10-year term (see related story on page 14). The money will be lent by banks or other financial institutions, but guaranteed by the federal government.
Said Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland in her prepared speech to the House of Commons on Nov. 30: “We know that businesses in tourism, hospitality, travel, arts and culture have been particularly hard hit. So we’re creating a new stream of support for those businesses that need it most.”
And considering that on Dec. 1, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “Until the virus is significantly more under control everywhere around the world, we’re not going to be releasing the restrictions at the border,” the help is going to be needed.
The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy were also bolstered this week to help businesses.
There are businesses that will be able to take advantage of the new programs, but there are many others that would simply be squeezing blood from a stone.
Restaurants Canada’s president and CEO Todd Barclay told the Toronto Star the measures won’t keep many businesses from failing. The fact that the subsidies would come after business expenses are already incurred makes them less helpful than at first glance.
“How can you pay 35 per cent of your rent if you’ve got 10 per cent of your revenue? How can you pay 25 per cent of your payroll if you’ve only got 10 per cent of the revenue?” he asked.
So, all this is to say it is more important than ever to support our local businesses as much as possible, and not just for our holiday shopping, but in these winter months, which are doubtless going to be leaner than we were hoping for.
Gifts this year could include certificates for take-out at eateries or something bought online from local outlets. You can also ask local businesses to ship your gifts to loved ones out of town, and share your ideas for local shopping across social media.
(Read this week’s Fork in the Road column on page 40 for some great local gift ideas.)
We need to remember that, according to Stats Canada, small businesses have been less likely to lay off staff in the pandemic, but when they have, are also more likely to rehire staff back.
Here’s to supporting our local economy so we can all be here when this pandemic is behind us.
