Get funding for small businesses impacted by disaster

The Yukon Disaster Financial Assistance Program for Small Businesses helps business owners recover from a natural disaster. If the event causes significant damage to your small business, you can apply for funding to repair it.

Funding amount

You can apply for a maximum of $500,000 per business. You must submit 1 claim to recover all eligible costs.

Who’s eligible?

You can apply to the program if:

• you're a small business owner; and
• an eligible natural disaster caused significant damage to your business.

Your Yukon small business is eligible if it meets the following requirements.

• You own at least 50 per cent of the business.
• You work as the day-to-day manager of the business.
• Your business was operating when the natural disaster occurred.
• Your business had a yearly gross revenue that is at least $10,000 and less than $2 million in the year preceding the disaster.
• Your business employs no more than 20 full-time employees.
• Your business is in good standing with:
  • Yukon Corporate Registry; and
  • Yukon Workers' Safety and Compensation Board.

You are also eligible if you are a self-employed:

• fisher;
• trapper;
• logger; or
• harvester of other natural resources.

Eligible costs

Disaster-related costs that are essential to repair the business are eligible. This includes:

• Reasonable compensation to clean a business and prepare it to re-open. This includes payment to employees or contractors for:
  • debris clean-up;
  • removal of hazardous material; and
  • waste disposal.
• Reasonable fixed expenses incurred from the disaster, including renting:
  • office space and equipment;
  • production equipment,
  • rolling stock; and
  • facilities.
• Reasonable fixed expenses to repair or replace eligible business structures. This includes but is not limited to:
  • parking areas;
  • pumps;
  • services and connections; and
  • space and water-heating equipment.
• Costs to repair to or replace eligible business materials. This includes but is not limited to:
  • books and papers required to carry out the business;
  • tools and equipment essential to the business; and
  • inventory at replacement cost.
• Costs for commercially operated apartment buildings. This includes the roads servicing them if they're part of an eligible business.
• Landscaping may be eligible if it's an essential function of a facility, such as a:
  • recreation facility;
  • botanical garden; or
  • golf course.

What is not eligible?

• Lost wages
• Business operation income
• Loss of business opportunity
• Costs to repair or replace non-essential items such as company-owned recreational property or works of art and furnishings
• Applicable GST on any eligible expenses 

Insurance

If you could not buy insurance for the entire value of the building, some of the uninsured losses may be eligible.

If you do not have insurance, only losses that insurance would not cover for a reasonable cost will be eligible. This is to ensure equal treatment for people who had insurance coverage. Standard insurance policy deductible amounts are not eligible.

Commercial tenants

Commercial tenants cannot apply for funding to repair or replace business structures.

You are a commercial tenant if you:

• occupy rented or leased space in exchange for a monthly fee; and
• are not the registered owner of the property.

The property owner can apply for funding to repair structural damage. Owners need to meet all program eligibility requirements to qualify for funding.

When you apply

You’ll need to provide:

• a copy of your business’s most recent income tax return;
• a copy of your current insurance policy;
• documentation of the damages; and
• copies of invoices or quotes for all eligible costs.

We may request additional documents if required.

How to apply

If the Government of Yukon declares a disaster eligible, the Disaster Financial Assistance Program may be activated.

We’ll provide information about how to apply after the program has been activated for a particular disaster.