THUNDER BAY — Two local organizations that work with the business community are accepting applications to a new fund aimed at helping small enterprises during the ongoing tariff war with the United States.
The Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission and the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce have teamed up to launch and promote the small business tariff response fund which will fund 15 projects at $7,500 each, as long as the cost of the project is a minimum of $10,000. Applications are being accepted until the end of May, the organizations said in media releases issued Monday.
“We really felt that there was a gap in supporting some of those smaller businesses with the transition right now,” said Jamie Taylor, the CEO of the economic development commission. “We do expect that there'll be other programs announced, but really we wanted to be able to have some sort of an offering to support businesses through this period of transition.”
The CEDC is using money from an investment fund it has access to, Taylor said. She added that the timing is difficult, given that many small and medium sized businesses are still picking themselves back up after the pandemic.
“We've heard from several small businesses through our entrepreneur centre, specifically, about how it's affecting them,” she said. “There's been such turmoil for small businesses over the past years — this is just another blow, right?”
“They finally feel like they're caught up, they're back on track, and then yet another thing that they have to overcome so we want to ensure that we're providing some sort of a service to be able to support them during this.”
The fund is available to businesses with 50 employees or fewer, said Charla Robinson, the president of the chamber of commerce. She said applicants will be asked to tell them how the current climate is impacting their business.
“They basically can tell us what they're going to use it for, how they're going to use this to help to either address the challenges that their business is facing, or to look for new markets,” Robinson said.
“(We) hope that we'll be able to help some businesses to continue to grow during a difficult time.”
Applications will be reviewed after the sign-up window closes at the end of May, she said, adding that senior levels of government will likely continue to offer help as well, but this type of initiative can be rolled out more quickly.
“We want to make sure that businesses know that there's something that is much more quick and responsive to their needs so that they're not left … holding the bag, so to speak,” Robinson said.
