The Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) provides financial contributions (interest-free loans) to help support fixed operating costs of SMEs, where business revenues have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Fund, valued at more than $962 million nationally, is delivered by Canada’s six regional development agencies.

 

Funding available through North Claybelt CFDC:

In order to provide targeted assistance to the small towns and communities they serve, CFDCs will focus on assisting “main street” businesses, such as retail shops, restaurants, corner stores, and businesses of strategic importance to their communities, with loans up to $40,000.

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Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• established prior to March 1, 2020;

• impacted adversely by the COVID-19 pandemic;

• viable and not experiencing other financial difficulties prior to March 1, 2020;

• have attempted to access other federal relief supports and were ineligible, rejected, or require funding for expenses that have not been supported, with priority given to applicants who were ineligible or rejected from other federal relief supports.

 

Applications can be submitted for:

• Loans of up to $40,000 to help address working capital needs.

• 0 percent interest and no principal payments until December 31, 2022

• Principal repayments can be voluntarily made at any time

• 25 percent (not to exceed $10,000) of any loan can be forgiven provided the recipient
  has paid 75 percent of the original loan amount prior to December 31, 2022

• If the recipient is unable to repay the loan by December 31, 2022, the loan will be
  converted to a three-year term loan with interest rates up to 5 percent, effective January
  1, 2023. The full balance must be repaid no later than December 31, 2025.

 

Next steps:

• Download and fill our application form

• Submit your application and required documents (listed on the last page of the application)

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Additonnal funding available

FedNord is delivering a total of $49.5 million has been allocated in support of Northern Ontario SMEs impacted by COVID-19 that do not qualify for, or have been declined for, current Government of Canada COVID-19 relief measures.

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Should you be interested in a loan of $40,000 or more and meet the following eligibility criteria, you may wish to apply to FedNord for direct funding.

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Eligible applicants must:

• Be a Canadian or provincially incorporated business, co-operative or an Indigenous-owned business located in northern Ontario with 1 to 499 full-time equivalent employees;

• Be facing funding pressures with fixed operating costs as a result of COVID-19;

• Have been a viable business before the COVID-19 pandemic and plan to continue to operate their business or resume operations.

• Have already applied to other Government of Canada emergency credit relief measures for which they are eligible, as outlined in the program guidelines.

 

For the RRRF funding provided directly by FedNord, priority may be given to SMEs that fall within the manufacturing, technology, tourism and other sectors key to the region, that are major employers in small communities, or that support the government’s commitment to underrepresented groups.

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For more information, please visit the FedNord website.

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Please note: Applicants will not receive RRRF assistance from both their local CFDC and FedNord. Review the program guidelines to see which stream is right for you and contact us if you have any questions before applying.