Minister Bains announces extension of Innovation Assistance Program
by CM Staff
Funding will help protect Canadian jobs and support businesses dealing with economic impacts of COVID-19
Navdeep Bains Official Portrait/ Portrait officiel
Ottawa, ONTARIO, Canada on 21 November, 2019.
© HOC-CDC
Credit: Mélanie Provencher, House of Commons Photo Services
OTTAWA — On Nov. 6, Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry, announced the Government of Canada is providing over $155 million to extend the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program’s (NRC IRAP) Innovation Assistance Program (IRAP IAP).
“Our Government is committed to ensuring the health and safety of all Canadians, and our COVID-19 Economic Response Plan has helped protect millions of jobs and support businesses throughout the pandemic,” said Bains in a prepared statement. “By extending the Innovation Assistance Program, we are continuing to support the high-potential, innovative small- and medium-sized businesses that are the backbone of the Canadian economy.”
Since April 1, IRAP IAP has assisted more than 2,200 Canadian firms and supported more than 24,000 Canadian jobs so that Canadians can focus on their health, not their job security. The new funding announced today will ensure that Canada’s high-potential, innovative firms can continue to weather the economic storm of COVID-19.
The extension of IRAP IAP will allow existing recipients meeting the eligibility criteria to access funding, on a priority basis, for the period of June 24 through Dec. 19, and will apply a declining scale of support, similar to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, meaning the maximum benefit will gradually decline as the program progresses.
