Covid-19 Business Resources

The Cape Breton Regional Chamber of Commerce is closely monitoring and assessing new developments pertaining to COVID-19, as well as its impacts on our local business community.

As business owners, employers, employees, and citizens, we recognize that this rapidly changing situation with COVID-19 is causing worry and concern.

To support you through this uncertainty, we have gathered and prepared several resources that you can navigate through on the drop-down menu (on mobile) or on the left-hand navigation (on desktop).

We fully recognize that we are living in extraordinary times where extraordinary measures are being taken as a province and as a nation. It’s a difficult time for all of us as we try to navigate what’s best for the health and wellbeing of our businesses, communities, loved ones and ourselves.

Right now, the Chamber’s role during this time is simple, yet important:

• to advocate for access to support, resources and tools for our business community from our government
• to share and communicate accurate information as soon as we are informed, and provide clear and easy to understand steps with how to access the support, resources and tools available

As restrictions are starting to ease, businesses are starting to open, and we head towards economic recovery the chamber is working to gather information on how we can best support and advocate for you during the recovery phase of the pandemic.

• Advocacy to Federal & Provincial Governments for policy and business support needs
• Policy Development is conducive to business recovery and business innovation
• Connectivity & collaboration to build capacity, continuity, and development of community business supports and programs, including support for the accelerated adoption of new or emerging business models that can thrive in a post-COVID environment
• Marketing campaigns, events, or other collaborations that can stimulate recovery

Our Chamber’s mission is to empower businesses to thrive here in the CBRM and beyond.

More than ever, we are called to this mission and we are taking this call seriously. We know will see this tough time through and we will support you in any way that we possibly can, with the resources we have, to come out on the other side of this.

It is times like this where we can all look to our values- both our personal values, as well as our organizational values. Our values influence our actions and our thoughts. They also drive our purpose and inform who we are and who we strive to become.

Here is how we are living by our values as an organization and supporting you in the coming weeks and months ahead:

We are a catalyst for business growth by listening to advocating for our members’ needs. 

We are working and collaborating with our government to advocate for your needs during this time. We have been in daily contact with MP Kelloway’s office and a comprehensive brief, which had our Chamber’s input and insight, was sent by MP Kelloway to Ottawa on behalf of Cape Breton-Canso. Rest assured, we will communicate any information and announcements to you as soon as the information becomes available. We will also be continuing to work with our governments on your behalf as this pandemic continues to unfold.

We cultivate positively by changing the conversation about business in the CBRM.

We will continue to spread accurate and helpful information about the resources and tools that become available. We will also be sharing the good stories from our incredible community of people and businesses. This is the time to spread positivity. This is the time where we need to dig deep and find the optimism and silver linings in all of this hardship. We are all being called to rise to be our best selves right now- let’s cultivate the positivity across our region.

We challenge the status quo and encourage innovation amongst our membership. 

We are now being presented with the opportunity to be creative and innovative with our services and our time. What can you do to encourage the support of your business? What can you do to support other small businesses within our community? If you are adjusting your business model to service your business and our community at this time, please feel free to share with us and we can share across our networks.

We create a stronger business community through collaboration, networking, advocacy and education.

We are living in a time of uncertainty, but we can be certain of this: We are in this together. We will overcome this together. We have to support one another now, more than ever, when our country and our region begin to rebuild as we move out of this crisis. Please reach out to us if you have any questions, need support, are looking for information, etc. Collaboration is key during this time.