AgriAssurance Program – Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Component

1. AAFC — a maximum of 50%
2. You — a minimum of 50%

Your portion of the cost-share must be cash contributions. In-kind contributions are ineligible.Endnote 1

Total government funding (inclusive of federal departments, agencies and crown corporations, provincial/territorial, and municipal governments) should not exceed 85% of total project funding.

Program costs can be eligible as of April 1, 2023; however, any costs incurred before Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) deems your application complete are ineligible for reimbursement, nor will those costs be considered part of your cost-share.

To help you complete your budget, following is a list of eligible costs under this program and limitations or explanations related to those eligible costs.

Salaries and benefits

Salaries and benefits — Eligible cost items

Salaries and benefits paid to or on behalf of staff to execute activities outlined in the project work plan. These costs do not include completing financial or performance reports for the project.

1. Including Mandatory Employment Related Costs (MERCs), Employment Insurance (EI), Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Quebec Pension Plan (QPP), vacation pay and benefits
2. Benefits mean payments an employer is required to make by virtue of company policy or a collective agreement such as contributions to a group pension plan

Salaries and benefits — Limitations/Explanations

1. Salaries and benefits must be additional to existing costs
2. Timesheets must be maintained for employees who work less than 100% of their time on the project. If your application is successful, you should expect to complete timesheets for employees working on the project.
3. For further clarification, salary and benefit costs do not include incentive amounts such as performance pay (for example, bonuses), or benefits that are considered perks, such as a gym membership or parking allowance
4. Benefit costs must not exceed 25% of the eligible salary costs for each employee who works on the project

Contracted Services

Contracted Services — Eligible cost items

Professional or specialized services for which a contract is entered into, such as:

1. inspection
2. consultant/expert services
3. financial auditing (required for the project)
4. environmental assessment
5. research
6. interpretation and translation services
7. project management to undertake activities

Contracted Services — Limitations/Explanations

1. A contract should be in place with the contractor, including payment terms and deliverables
2. Recipients must use a fair and competitive or otherwise justifiable and generally accepted sound business process that results in competent and qualified contractors working on the project
3. Materials developed for domestic activities must be available in French and English

Travel

Travel — Eligible cost items

Travel costs directly related to the project, such as:

1. per diems (accommodations, meals, incidentals and taxis)
2. transportation, such as airfare, rail and ground transportation
3. the purchase of eligible carbon offset credits from a vendor that has received third-party verification and adheres to internationally agreed standards, including Gold Standard, VER+, VERRA (formerly VCS, Verified Carbon Standard), or B.C. Offset System

Travel — Limitations/Explanations

1. When travel is approved, claimants have an option to claim for these expenses using one of the following options:

• claim the established per diem or
• claim actual expenses incurred which are less than the established per diem

2. The per diems will contribute to covering the costs for individual travel including:

• daily accommodation
• meals
• local or in-city transportation (buses, taxis, vehicle rentals, etc.)
• ground transportation at the place of origin (parking, travel to and from the public carrier terminal)
• entry documents (passports and visas)
• insurance (all types)
• Required inoculations, vaccinations, x-rays and certificates of health
• dependent care
• incidentals (personal phone calls, laundry, gratuities, currency exchange fees, etc.)

3. Whether using option (a) or (b), invoices for daily travel costs will not be required, however, proof of travel is required for the claim (for example, boarding pass, hotel invoice, trip report). Recipients must also keep all invoices and proof of payment per the terms of their Agreement.
4. If using option (a), per diems can be claimed for every day on travel status as follows:

• travel within Canada:
• trip outside the traveler's headquarters with no overnight stay: $100 CAD/day
• trip outside the traveler's headquarters with overnight stays: $400 CAD/day
• travel outside Canada:
• trip outside the traveler's headquarters with no overnight stay: $125 CAD/day
• U.S. trip outside the traveler's headquarters with overnight stays: $475 CAD/day
• Any International (non-U.S.) trip outside the traveler's headquarters with overnight stays: $575 CAD/day