A webinar will be held for local businesses to gain information on the Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI). Invest WindsorEssex and the Windsor Essex Chamber of Commerce will be hosting an informative hour-long webinar starting at 10 a.m. Monday morning. The webinar is presented by the Government of Canada, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). This session will speak about the Regional Tariff Response Initiative, which is a $1 billion, three-year federal initiative that is designed to help small and medium-sized businesses or not-for-profits who have been affected by tariffs. This is primarily for those businesses who have experienced a 25 per cent change or disruption in sales, costing, or other areas of their business because of tariffs. Ryan Donally, president and CEO of the Windsor Essex Chamber of Commerce, said this is a great opportunity to learn more about the funding available. “That will be the focus of discussion, so essentially it’s a question/answer time, it’s the ability for representative from FedDev to speak about the tariff funding... who’s eligible, the amount of money that’s available out there,” he said. He said this is for businesses that have between five and 500 employees. “Businesses can request funding anywhere from $125,000 up to $10 million of repayable funding... you can get it at a discounted rate and pay it back. Or $125,000 to $1 million of non-repayable funding. Not-for-profit organizations can request anywhere from $125,000 all the way up to $10 million.” He said local businesses are feeling the pinch due to tariffs. “The federal government has identified that Windsor-Essex is an area that’s been harder hit than most. We’ve been in regular, constant contact with them, and they want to roll out money, they want to roll out these relief funds, they want to help us diversify our economy. So, you’ve got very much a willing dance partner in the federal government here.” Donally said over 70 people have already registered, but they’d love to see more people take part. The Regional Tariff Response Initiative is still in the process of receiving and reviewing applications. No official funding announcements have been made to date. A link to register to the event can be found by clicking here.
