News

CJA update - Government implements changes to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)

The Federal Government recently implemented changes to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) that broaden the reach of the program. Applications are now open for Period 5 – the first period of the enhanced CEWS program.

Program changes for Periods 5-9 include: 

• The extension of the CEWS, including redesigned program details, until November 21, 2020.
  
• Increased eligibility, meaning that all eligible employers who've experienced a revenue drop can now qualify for a base subsidy. The subsidy amount is based on the revenue drop. 
  
• Employers who are especially hard-hit can qualify for a top-up of up to 25%. 
  
• Provide certainty for employers that have already made business decisions for July and August, by ensuring they will not receive a subsidy rate lower than they would have under the previous rules.

The CRA's updated CEWS calculator can help small and large employers alike, by guiding them through a step-by-step process to prepare their applications and giving them a preview of the subsidy they may qualify for, based on the information they enter. 

Eligible employers can apply for period 5 of the CEWS through My Business Account or through the CRA's web form application. The CRA reassures applicants that they have added new security measures to the My Business Account portal following the recent cyber attack. Employers can submit their application securely as planned.

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/news/2020/08/canada-revenue-agency-opens-applications-for-enhanced-canada-emergency-wage-subsidy.html?_cldee=cGh5bGxpcy5yaWNoYXJkQHN5bXBhdGljby5jYQ%3d%3d&recipientid=contact-258e1f978dbce811a973000d3af3eb40-5c8882fa37bb4c00ab6bc5e4eed3e055&utm_source=ClickDimensions&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=coronavirus-daily-bulletin&esid=ade9fbce-a9e0-ea11-a813-000d3af3a7a7 

Health Canada has expanded its recall list of hand sanitizers that are made with ethanol or denaturants that are not acceptable ingredients for use in hand sanitizers in Canada. 

For more information and a complete up-to-date list go to https://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2020/73385a-eng.php

 Press Release 

For Immediate Release 

July 15, 2020 

CANADIAN JEWELLERS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES REPLACEMENT ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

The CJA is pleased to announce that Mark Devereaux has replaced David Sexton as the Jewelers Mutual Insurance Group (JM) representative on the CJA Board of Directors upon David’s retirement. 

Mark is Vice President of Sales at Jewelers Mutual Insurance Group headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin. Jewelers Mutual is the only insurance company in the U.S. and Canada that specializes exclusively in protecting jewellery and the jewellery industry. 

Mark’s responsibilities at JM include leading top line distribution and growth in both the commercial and personal lines segments as well as managing the business development efforts in strategic partnerships and jeweller programs. 

Prior to joining Jewelers Mutual, Mark was the Vice President of Marketing and Sales at National General Insurance (formerly GMAC Insurance) in Winston Salem, North Carolina. His responsibilities included overseeing a variety of property and casualty products including auto, property, flood and commercial vehicle totaling over 400 million in direct written premium. His experience also extends into insurance agency automation, holding roles as the Vice President of Marketing/Sales and distribution for Jenesis Software, a leading agency automation provider. 

Mark serves on the Board of Directors of MJSA, a jewellery trade organization supporting jewellery makers, designers, and suppliers. 

The CJA welcomes Mark to the CJA Board of Directors and looks forward to working with Mark. 

Contact: Carla Adams 

Office Manager 

Canadian Jewellers Association 

Phone: 800-580-0942 

Email: carla@canadianjewellers.com 

July 14, 2020 - The Canadian/US border will remain closed to non-essential travel until August 21st. - The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) will be extended until December. The government covers 75% of an employee's wages – up to $847 per week – for eligible employers. Details will follow later this week. Government Update - July 13, 2020 The Canadian Chamber of Commerce representative appears Before The House Standing Committee On International Trade: On July 9, 2020, Mark Agnew, Senior Director of International Policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, appeared as a witness before the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade (CIIT). In his remarks, he discussed the Canadian Chamber’s recommendations for supply chain resiliency, the coming into force of CUSMA and addressing remaining trade concerns with the US, and the urgency of Canada completing a bilateral trade agreement with the UK. To read Mr. Agnew's remarks click on the link below. https://www.canadianbusinessresiliencenetwork.ca/news-and-insights/2020/07/09/canadian-chambers-mark-agnew-appears-before-house-standing-committee-on-international-trade/

July 3, 2020

Health Canada is advising Canadians that certain hand sanitizers are being recalled from the market because they contain industrial-grade ethanol that has not been authorized for use in hand sanitizers in Canada.Stop using these products.

For a complete list of the recalled brands go to:

https://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2020/73269a-eng.php 

CUSMA- A new Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (new NAFTA) comes into effect July 1st, 2020.
https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/cusma-aceum/index.aspx?lang=eng 
Although there are no anticipated changes for the jewellery and watch sectors, apart from some cosmetic changes to forms, here is a link to the key changes https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/services/cusma-aceum/overview-survol-eng.html 
Should you experience any issues or have any concerns please contact info@canadianjewellers.com. 

Message from the Federal Government
-Re-opening business workplaces and public spaces and restarting the economy requires clear, fact-based information on how to protect workers and prevent the spread of infection. Employers and employees both have a role to play to keep worksites safe.
Visit the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety website for posters and other practical tools:
Resources to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace
Pandemic tip sheets for specific occupations and industries
 
- All sectors of our communities are partners in rebuilding the economy—and employers and employees both have a role to play to keep worksites safe.  Visit Canada.ca/coronavirus for links to your provincial or territorial advice.
This guidance may change depending on updated advice or recommendations of local or regional public health authority.
 
- The Government of Canada has partnered with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce to provide an information service to businesses. The Business Resilience Service provides tools and links to help employers and employees continue to operate in accordance with public health guidelines. Business audiences can also sign up to receive daily updates on COVID-19 from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, including the latest network resources and programs to support you and your business.

June 24, 2020

The Canadian Federal Government has extended some COVID-19 relief packages in an effort to help the economy. 

Time periods given to employers to recall employees laid off due to COVID-19 have been extended effective June 22, 2020. 

 -For employees laid off prior to March 31, 2020, the time period is extended by six months or to December 30, 2020, whichever  occurs first.

-For employees laid off between March 31, 2020 and September 30, 2020, the time period is extended until December 30, 2020 unless a later recall date was provided in a written notice at the time of the layoff.

"Without the change announced Tuesday, some of the workers who were issued three-month layoff notices in March or April due to COVID-19 were facing termination as they approached the deadline to be reinstated by their employers.

When a layoff becomes a termination of employment, employees can become eligible for severance and vacation pay, which the government says could become a financial burden employers can’t afford as the pandemic wages on, particularly if their intention is to re-hire staff.

“We know that many employers who have had to temporarily lay off employees intend to bring them back to work. However, there is still a great deal of uncertainty regarding exactly when that will be possible,” Labour Minister Filomena Tassi said in a statement.

The changes, which apply to jobs in the federally-regulated private sector, came into effect on June 22 and will have no impact on any layoffs that occur after September 30."  Rachel Aiello, CTV News

For more details click here

Recalled Hand Sanitizers

Health Canada is advising Canadians that certain hand sanitizers are being recalled from the market because they contain industrial-grade ethanol that has not been authorized for use in hand sanitizers in Canada. As of June 22nd there have been four recalls so far.

Industrial-grade ethanol contains impurities that are not found in the type of ethanol approved for use in manufacturing hand sanitizers, such as technical-grade, food-grade or pharmaceutical-grade ethanol. In addition, chemicals that may not be approved for use in hand sanitizers are added to industrial-grade ethanol.

All of the recalled hand sanitizers contain a contaminant compound called ethyl acetate. 

For an up-to-date list of all recalled hand sanitizers go to https://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2020/73269a-eng.php 

The Canadian Centre For Occupational Health And Safety Creates A Pandemic Information Sharing Portal 

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) is facilitating  a web site to enable businesses to share their pandemic-related good practices and provide some useful tools related to health and safety during the pandemic.

For more information go to https://www.ccohs.ca/outbreaks/ 

There is also a break down of covid-19 measures by province. https://www.ccohs.ca/outbreaks/topics/#covidTopic 

The Federal Government announced today the extension of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit program (CERB) for another 8 weeks.

CERB provides financial aid to unemployed Canadians a taxable benefit of $2000 every 4 weeks.

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html 

The Canada/US border ban for non-essential travel will remain in place until July 21, 2020.

2020 AML Changes for Dealers in Precious Metals and Stones

June 10, 2020, amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) and its enacted regulations were published in the Canada Gazette.

The amendments create new AML obligations for Dealers in Precious Metals and Stones (DPMS)s, effective June 1, 2021.

PEP

DPMSs will have to make a Politically exposed persons (PEP) determination when they enter into a business relationship with a client. In addition, they will also be required to take reasonable measures to determine whether a client from whom they receive an amount of CAD 100,000 or more is a PEP.

A reminder that a business relationship is defined as:

If a person or entity does not have an account with you, a business relationship is formed once you have conducted two transactions or activities for which you have to:

 verify the identity of the individual; or

 confirm the existence of the entity.

If a positive determination is made, the following records must be kept:

(a) the office or position, and the organization or institution, in respect of which the person is determined to be a politically exposed foreign person, a politically exposed domestic person or a head of an international organization, or a family member of, or a person who is closely associated with, one of those persons;

(b) the date of the determination; and

(c) the source, if known, of the person’s wealth.

Beneficial Ownership

The amendments will require DPMSs to comply with existing beneficial ownership requirements that apply to other reporting entities.

This means when identifying an entity, you will need to collect the following information for all Directors and individuals who own or control, directly or indirectly, 25% or more of the organization:

 Their full legal name;

 Their full home address; and

 Information establishing the ownership, control, and structure of the entity.

A record of the reasonable measures to confirm the accuracy of the information, when it is first obtained and in the course of ongoing monitoring of business relationships, must be retained.

A reminder, as a dealer in precious metals and stones, you are responsible for identifying clients for:

 Large cash transactions; and

 Suspicious transactions.

If you have and questions about the changes please contact info@outliercanada.com.