The federal Conservatives have put forward a confidence motion over government spending during the pandemic. The Prime Minister says his government doesn’t want to call an election but may be forced to. He says nobody wants an election. He says the people want the government to continue focusing on supports for the pandemic.

On that, the federal government has rolled out a new fund to help small businesses cope with the continuing financial hardships due to COVID-19. Twelve million dollars under the Canada United Small Business Resilience Fund will be used to help with COVID recovery efforts with grants up to $5 thousand.

International Trade Minister Mary Ng says the money would be used to help cover the cost of personal protective equipment, make physical modifications to businesses to meet health and safety requirements, and enhance digital or e-commerce capabilities.

The Royal Bank, along with private sector partners and provincial chambers of commerce have set up the fund.

[cjgx]