NDIT's Forestry Affected Business Consulting Rebate

Courtesy of the Northern Development Initiative Trust:

Northern Development announced today that it will now offer a consulting rebate to small and medium sized businesses in its service region that may be affected by permanent mill closures or curtailments.

The Forestry Affected Business (FAB) Consulting Rebate will reimburse small and medium sized businesses for contracted consulting services. A rebate of up to 75 per cent, to a maximum of $15,000, can be recovered for the cost of hiring a consultant to assist with business efforts.

This newly introduced program is an offshoot of the Competitiveness Consulting Rebate program, which offers rebates to businesses in the industrial supply and services sector.

FAB however targets industries outside of that sector such as retail, tourism operators, hospitality, accommodations and agriculture/ranching.

This program is designed to help businesses recover the costs of third-party consulting projects. These types of projects must focus on ways to sustain businesses during the economic downturn in the forestry industry. Eligible projects can include: business planning and management, market development, quality and safety management, cash flow and financial management, and business coaching, to name a few.

In order to be eligible, potential businesses must be privately owned with less than 500 employees and annual revenues of less than $100 million. Start ups and publicly traded businesses are not eligible.

For more information on eligibility and how to apply, visit northerndevelopment.bc.ca.

Joel McKay - CEO of the Northern Development Initiative Trust stated:

“The Trust is very aware of the potential economic impacts mill closures and curtailments may have on communities and businesses in our service region. This program seeks to help offset those impacts and sustain our communities during this difficult time.”