The Province is making changes to offer a smoother and faster application process to help businesses access funding to offset the costs to repair and prevent vandalism to businesses, in consultation with the BC Chamber of Commerce.
After working with the business community and the BC Chamber of Commerce, the Province is making changes to the Securing Small Business Rebate Program, which will come into effect in the coming weeks.
Updates to the application process will include:
* Removing the requirement to provide an insurance claim when applying for funding through the reparative stream of the program. Applicants will now simply be required to provide the name of their insurance carrier and policy number.
* Permitting self-installation of measures. If equipment is self-installed, the rebate will be for eligible equipment only.
* Removing the requirement for the applicant to demonstrate there is vandalism in the community in order to be eligible for the preventative rebate.
* Removing the application deadline of Feb. 29, 2024, for preventative and reparative applications being filed for 2023. Applications will be accepted until the program ends in 2025.
The BC Chamber of Commerce is expediting the changes to the application portal now to ensure the $10.5 million to support small businesses can be used to offset the costs some businesses are facing due to vandalism.

You can read the full press release by clicking on this link.