By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG
The Village of Valemount hosted representatives from the Red Cross on November 7th to provide information on the Support to Small Businesses and Not-for-Profits Program. The program grants $1000 to small businesses affected by the Jasper wildfire, including those in Valemount.
Additionally, Valemount CAO Anne Yanciw offered a brief update on the Village’s advocacy for small businesses. The provincial elections posed an obstacle for this work, as ministerial positions will remain empty until a new cabinet is appointed on November 18th. The Village is distributing a second survey on the impacts of highway closures following the Jasper wildfire, asking business owners to estimate the amount of revenue their business lost during the three-week-long closures.
“On November 12th at the Council meeting, we’re asking Council to appoint a recovery manager,” Yanciw said. “We want that recovery manager to be able to hit the ground running when the new cabinet is sworn in. The data we collect on an estimate of the financial losses experienced will really help us when we go forward with our asks to the Province.”
According to the initial survey distributed by the Village and Tourism Valemount, 70 per cent of respondents said their current financial resources are not sufficient to tide them over until tourism picks up again, and about 53 per cent estimated that they lost over 60 per cent of their typical summer revenue during the closures.
The Red Cross took note of how Valemount was affected by the Jasper fires, said presenter Tanya Mullally.
“We recognize this is a small amount – it’s $1000, which certainly doesn’t speak to the losses you had,” Mullally said. “But what we try to do immediately after an event is launch immediate assistance to give you something while you’re waiting for insurance, if that’s an opportunity you have… the intent is really to give a bit of assistance to local organizations.”
The application only takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete, according to Mullally. To be eligible, a business must have 50 or less full-time employees and a net income of less than $350,000.
The application, which can be accessed at https://redcross.smapply.ca/, asks whether the respondent’s business was impacted by the fire – no need to specify exactly how the business was impacted, Mullally said – and whether the business has a business license, or a charitable registry number if it’s a not-for-profit. The application can still be submitted if you don’t have the license number on hand, she added: applicants can email [email protected] or call 1-833-966-4225 to tweak their application afterwards. Red Cross staff will also check with the Village of Valemount to confirm that details like the business license number are correct, according to Mullally.
The application portal closes on December 13th, and Mullally encourages anyone who’s eligible to apply. While the program is not described as a way to make up for revenue loss, it can be used for anyone who faced unexpected operating costs as a result of the highway closures or evacuations.
“This is assistance to buffer a little bit of the impact,” Mullally said. “Don’t say, ‘It wasn’t that bad. Other people have other needs.’ This is for you as well. We really want folks to apply for it so we can support you guys.”
