Provincial Support for Nova Scotians
https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/#support
Support for individuals and families
The province has made the following announcements to help vulnerable Nova Scotians:
Worker Emergency Bridge Fund
This fund supports people who are self-employed or laid-off who don’t qualify for Employment Insurance. Read more in the “Support for businesses” section on this page.
Income assistance
Every individual and family member on income assistance will receive an additional $50 starting Friday, 20 March. People do not need to apply.
We’re also extending the hours of our toll-free line for income assistance supports, including weekends. If you have questions about eligibility for income assistance, call:
Monday to Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm - 1-877-424-1177
Monday to Friday 4:30pm to 7pm - 1-833-722-1417
Saturday 8:30am to 4:30pm
Sunday 10am to 2pm
Feed Nova Scotia and community food banks
We're giving $1 million to help Feed Nova Scotia purchase food and hire more staff, and $55,000 to support 12 smaller community food banks.
Cell phones for the most vulnerable
Government is partnering with Telus to provide 100 phones and calling plans to the most vulnerable Department of Community Services clients who have no other means of communication, and who may be self-isolated and alone.
Transition houses
We’re giving $200,000 to support transition houses and other organizations that serve vulnerable women and children.
Suspending student loan payments
Nova Scotia Student Loan payments are suspended until 30 September 2020. You don't need to make any payments, and your loans won't accrue interest. The suspension is automatic – you don't need to apply.
Support for seniors
Community Links and Seniors’ Safety Programs are programs that respond to the needs of vulnerable older adults across the province. Government is investing $230,000 in these programs to expand their capacity to provide more supports and services like:
- volunteers for delivering groceries
- technological options for keeping people connected by phone
- responding to other social issues as they emerge
If you need non-emergency, non-medical help, call 211 or visit ns.211.ca. 211 is a toll free helpline that connects you to community and social services in your area. This toll free helpline is available 24/7 in over 140 languages.
If you are accepting help from someone you don’t know, please remember to protect your own privacy and safety and follow these tips.
Keeping long-term care residents connected
We’re distributing 800 iPads to long-term care homes across the province so residents can connect with family and friends.
Support for businesses
Government has made these announcements to support businesses:
Commercial rent deferral
To support small and medium-sized businesses, landlords are encouraged to defer rent payments from their commercial tenants for 3 months, spreading the deferred rent amount over the rest of the lease term.
If you’re deferring rent because your tenant’s business is closed due to the Health Protection Act order, you could be eligible for coverage (up to a maximum of $50,000 per landlord and $15,000 per tenant) if you can’t recover the deferred rent.
To be eligible for the COVID-19 Small Business Rental Deferral Guarantee Program, landlords must register with the Department of Business by 3 April by emailing NSRentDeferral@novascotia.ca:
- landlord’s legal name
- for each deferral agreement:
- business’s legal name
- business’s address
- total dollar amount of rent being deferred for the period of 1 April to 30 June 2020
The rent deferral agreement must be in place by 1 April.
For more information read the COVID-19 Rent Deferral Support Program guidelines (PDF 188 kB).
You can use one of these forms to document the deferral agreement with your tenant.
Worker Emergency Bridge Fund
We’re contributing $20 million to help self-employed people and laid-off workers who don’t qualify for Employment Insurance. Government will provide a one-time payment of $1,000 to bridge the gap between layoffs and closures and the federal government’s Canada Emergency Response Benefit
Small Business Impact Grant
Through this new $20-million program, eligible small businesses and social enterprises will receive a grant of 15 per cent of their revenue from sales, either from April 2019 or February 2020, up to a maximum of $5,000. This flexible, one-time, upfront grant can be used for any purpose necessary
Funding for both programs will come from a new $50 million fund administered by Dalhousie University.
Changes to payments
- Government will defer payments until June 30 for all government loans, including those under the Farm Loan Board, Fisheries and Aquaculture Loan Board, Jobs Fund, Nova Scotia Business Fund, Municipal Finance Corp. and Housing Nova Scotia.
- Government will defer payments until June 30 for small business renewal fees, including business registration renewal fees and workers compensation premiums (a list of fees will be posted online early next week).
- Changes to the Small Business Loan Guarantee Program, administered through credit unions, include deferring principal and interest payments until June 30, enhancing the program to make it easier for businesses to access credit up to $500,000, and for those who might not qualify for a loan, government will guarantee the first $100,000.
- Small businesses which do business with the government will be paid within five days instead of the standard 30 days.
Measures for restaurants
Starting 30 March, restaurants can include alcohol purchases with take-out and delivery orders, as long as the alcohol cost is no more than 3 times the value of food ordered.
Funding for high-speed internet
We’re providing providing $15 million as an incentive to providers to speed up projects under the Internet for Nova Scotia Initiative and complete them as soon as possible.