SMART Program

Effective December 1, 2014, FedDev Ontario will re-open the SMART program, a grant benefitting small businesses in the manufacturing sector. The SMART program will fund up to 35 per cent of eligible costs to a maximum contribution of $100,000 for advancements focused on improving productivity through the adaption or adoption of new or upgraded advanced technologies, materials or processes.

The criteria for eligibility include:

  • the manufacturer must be based in southern Ontario;
  • it must employ between 15 and 1000 employees;
  • it must demonstrate it is engaged in international markets; and
  • it must propose a project that focuses on adapting or adopting advanced technologies.

Canada Summer Jobs program

The  Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program, benefitting small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, is available from December 1, 2014, to January 30, 2015.

Eligibility

To be eligible for CSJ, a summer job position must provide meaningful work experience for a student. It must not contribute to the provision of a personal service to the employer (i.e. the job must not involve gardening, domestic services, child care services, etc., for the employer). Jobs that take place outside of Canada are not eligible. A student hired for employment under the CSJ initiative must work in Canada for the entire duration of the approved funding period. Private sector employers must have 50 or fewer full-time employees across Canada to be eligible. Full-time employees are those working 30 hours or more per week with the employer.

To be eligible to participate in the CSJ initiative, individuals must:

  • be between 15 and 30 years of age at the start of the employment;
  • have been registered as full-time students in the previous academic year and intend to return to school on a full-time basis in the next academic year;
  • be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; and
  • be legally entitled to work in Canada in accordance with relevant provincial/territorial legislation and regulations.

Refund

Any weeks during which the employer provides fewer than the minimum 30 hours of work may be deemed ineligible. Some exceptions may be made for students with disabilities or with other barriers to working full-time.

An employer may choose to pay more than the minimum wage, but the percentage reimbursed through CSJ will apply only to the applicable provincial/territorial adult minimum wage rate. For example, if a private-sector employer pays a student $10.00 per hour in a province in which the adult minimum wage is $8.50, the subsidy that will be provided through CSJ will be 50 per cent of the minimum wage, or $4.25.

Contact your Collins Barrow advisor for more information on the funding opportunities available to small businesses. 

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