SMARTstart Entrepreneurial Program
 Mentors & Teachers Needed

In partnership with the Town of Canmore the Bow Valley Chamber of Commerce has initiated SMARTstart. An 8 month entrepreneurial program that focuses on online learning, seminars, and mentoring. Each entrepreneur comes away from the program with a plan they have created to set their business up for success. Applications closed on July 19, 2020 but we are still looking for mentors and teachers to provide tools and support.  Learn more about being a mentor HERE.

The Town of Canmore

The Government of Alberta

The GOA Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant

Applications are still open for the Government of Alberta Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant. The Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant offers financial assistance to Alberta businesses, cooperatives, and non-profit organizations that were ordered to close or curtail operations, and that experienced a revenue reduction of at least 50%, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible organizations can apply for 15% of their pre-COVID-19 revenue, up to a maximum of $5,000 in funding.

Application intake will remain open until August 31 or for 4 weeks following the start of Phase 3 of Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy – whichever is later. An official date for intake closure will be posted HERE when Phase 3 of Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy is announced.

Alberta Goes Back To School

School health measures

• K-12 classrooms will open with health measures in place.
• Masks will be mandatory for Grade 4 to 12 students and all school staff in all settings where distancing isn’t possible.
• Government will distribute more than 1.6 million reusable masks, two each to 740,000 students and 90,000 staff.

• A re-entry tool kit is available for parents and students.
• Health officials will monitor and update the guidance for schools based on the best evidence.

Teacher, staff, student testing before the 2020-21 school year

• Asymptomatic testing is recommended for all teachers and staff in the Early Childhood Services to Grade 12 education prior to the start of the 2020-21 school year.
• They are encouraged to book a test as soon as possible through Alberta Health Services using the online self-assessment tool, or by contacting a participating local community pharmacy.
• For children, testing is recommended only if there are symptoms or pre-existing medical conditions that have symptoms similar to COVID-19.
• Anyone with symptoms must book testing through Alberta Health Services and cannot go to a community pharmacy. People with symptoms and close contacts receive priority.

Albertans downloading tracer app

• More than 237,000 Albertans use the ABTraceTogether app. Secure contact tracing is a cornerstone of Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy.
• A fix is being developed so the Alberta app can run in the background of locked iPhones.
• Canada is moving to a national tracing app. Until it is available Albertans can  use ABTraceTogether.

The Federal Government of Canada

August 24, 2020
Ottawa, ON - Public Health Agency of Canada Update

In lieu of an in-person update to the media, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, issued the following statement today:

There have been 124,896 cases of COVID-19 in Canada, including 9,073 deaths. 89% of people have now recovered. Labs across Canada have tested 5,115,490 people for COVID-19 to date. An average of over 48,700 people were tested daily over the past week, with 0.8% testing positive. Over the last several weeks, national daily case counts have ranged from 350 to 500 cases, with an average of 390 cases being reported daily during the most recent seven days.

As we continue our collective effort to limit the spread of COVID-19, we are closely monitoring disease activity indicators in order to inform, adjust and adapt our actions as needed. Nationally, average daily case counts have remained stable over the past three weeks and the number of hospitalizations and deaths remain low overall. However, increases in case counts in provinces west of Ontario over the last few weeks serve as reminders that the virus can emerge anywhere and we must not let down our guard.

Young adults aged 20 to 39 years continue to make up the highest proportion of cases reported in recent weeks. Learning to live in the time of COVID-19 will be an ongoing challenge for us all, but it is worth taking care to protect yourself and others as you work, study, socialize and go about your everyday activities in the community. While COVID-19 control measures can slow you down, COVID-19 can have a more harmful impact on you and those around you.

August 20, 2020 
Government Of Canada To Make EI Changes, Extend CERB And Introduce Three New Benefit Programs 

The federal government announced its intention to make changes to simplify EI applications, extend the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) an additional four weeks, and introduce three new benefit programs to take the place of the CERB once it expires: the Canada Recovery Benefit, the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit. The new benefit programs require legislative approval.

Chamber & Other Info