The federal government is working out the specifics of its  package for small and medium-sized Indigenous businesses across Canada, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) officials told reporters in a teleconference on Wednesday.

The funding, announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on April 18, is one of OttawaSA国际影视传媒檚 latest assistance programs during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The aid will take the form of short-term, interest-free loans of up to $40,000 per business, of which $10,000 will be non-repayable. 

Darrell Beaulieu, CEO of Denendeh Investments Incorporated in Yellowknife, said in an email that the $306.8 million in assistance is appreciated but more is needed. 

His firm operates as an umbrella organization for several Indigenous member companies in the NWT. 

In BeaulieuSA国际影视传媒檚 view, if companies in his organization received some of the federal funding it would be used for food security and housing, infrastructure problems and support for training and employment programs. 

SA国际影视传媒淒enendeh Food Services (DFS) is the most at risk because a majority of our business is in the mining sector,SA国际影视传媒� Beaulieu said. SA国际影视传媒淲e understand there are programs for service providers such as DFS and DFS will be prepared to apply, if needed.SA国际影视传媒�

The pandemic has taken a toll on mining in the NWT, with Dominion Diamond Mines announcing on Wednesday that it had filed for insolvency protection as a result the economic impacts of the pandemic. 

RELATED REPORTING: Dominion Diamond Mines files for insolvency protection

Bobby Drygeese, owner of tour operator B. Dene Adventures in Yellowknife, said he was looking into the federal funding and plans to apply because his company needs assistance to pay its ongoing expenses. 

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檒l help a lot to make sure we survive as a business,SA国际影视传媒� he said.  

He told SA国际影视传媒 in March that the economic downturn caused by Covid-19 had reduced his customer numbers by 70 per cent. He said on Thursday that he closed the business on March 19 because the other companies his works with had also closed down. 

SA国际影视传媒淲e may have to think of innovative ways to revive from the mandatory business shutdown. We hope everyone overcomes the pandemic and everyone is healthy enough to get back to normal so we can see our family, friends and visitors once again,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

[the_ad id="136054"]

Northern access points

The National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA), which works with First Nations, M茅tis and Inuit businesses across Canada, will channel the funding to the 59 Aboriginal Financial Institutions (AFIs) in the country.  

Qualified Indigenous businesses in the NWT will be able to access funding through the six AFIs in the territory: the Akaitcho Business Development Corporation in Yellowknife, Deh Cho Business Development Centre in Fort Simpson, Dogrib Area Community Futures in Whati, NWT M茅tis-Dene Development Fund in Yellowknife, Sahtu Business Development Centre in Norman Wells and Thebacha Business Development Services in Fort Smith. 

Being in rural or remote locations and having less access to capital disproportionately affects Indigenous businesses during the pandemic, ISC Minister Marc Miller stated in a new release.  

The funding package was determined based on an analysis of Indigenous businesses across the country. 

SA国际影视传媒淲e looked at historic data to see what business would be most vulnerable,SA国际影视传媒� said Christopher Duschenes, director general of the Economic Policy Development Branch with ISC, during Wednesday's teleconference. 

Numerous Indigenous businesses were found to have outstanding loans and in working with the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association SA国际影视传媒渋t was determined they were in desperate need of relief,SA国际影视传媒� Duschenes said, and the funding has been targeted at 6,000 Indigenous-owned businesses. 

Funding criteria

While the funding is aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, Duschenes said some of the details of the program were still being fine-tuned.

Some types of businesses, like limited partnerships, are outside of the program's scope. But Duschenes explained that special consideration will be given to various kinds of companies in the application process, and that those issues were under active discussion so that businesses donSA国际影视传媒檛 fall through the cracks.

SA国际影视传媒淲ith the allocation of the $306 million we hope ... it wonSA国际影视传媒檛 be a matter of picking and choosing recipients but the ones who are deemed the most at need will have access to the $40,000.SA国际影视传媒�  

Since several pandemic economic relief programs have been offered for Canadians and businesses -- -- ISC hopes to ensure there is due diligence SA国际影视传媒渟o that there is no double dipping,SA国际影视传媒� as Duschenes calls it. However, businesses should be able to access different funding sources for different reasons, he noted. 

SA国际影视传媒�(Applicants) will be assessed on an individual basis. The AFIs have come forward and said they'll play a pathfinding role to help businesses navigate through the programs to identify which one is the most appropriate,SA国际影视传媒� he said. 

Impatience with Ottawa

The funding package might come as good news to some people, but impatience is growing among some Indigenous groups in regards to Ottawa's pandemic response. 

After Trudeau announced $305 million in Covid-related assistance for Indigenous communities on March 18, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) said on Wednesday that some of its members have been left out in the cold.

"This is an atrocity SA国际影视传媒�- people have been waiting over a month, and now theySA国际影视传媒檙e being told no help is coming" said CAP National Chief Robert Bertrand in a news release. "There is no way these funds will meet even the most basic needs for off-reserve and non-status Indigenous communities. In crisis when help is needed most, announcements of token funding such as $250,000 to CAPSA国际影视传媒檚 communities prove the governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 neglect and discrimination against off-reserve and non-status Indigenous people."

Although $290 million was allocated to the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Metis National Council, Bertrand said those groups "represent a minority of Indigenous people" and hundreds of non-Status and urban Indigenous groups "must compete for only $15 million."