COVID-19 Developments and Legal Updates

The Federal Government just announced various COVID-19-related measures in its Canada’s Covid-19 Economic Response Plan: Support for Canadians and Businesses.  The full statement can be found here.

The following may be of particular interest to employers:

Emergency Care Benefit

The “Emergency Care Benefit provides up to $900 bi-weekly, for up to 15 weeks. This flat-payment Benefit would be administered through the Canada Revenue Agency and provide income support to:

• Workers, including the self-employed, who are quarantined or sick with COVID-19 but do not qualify for EI sickness benefits.
• Workers, including the self-employed, who are taking care of a family member who is sick with COVID-19, such as an elderly parent, but do not quality for EI sickness benefits.
• Parents with children who require care or supervision due to school closures, and are unable to earn employment income, irrespective of whether they qualify for EI or not.”

Small business relief

“To support businesses that are facing revenue losses and to help prevent lay-offs, the government is proposing to provide eligible small employers a temporary wage subsidy for a period of three months. The subsidy will be equal to 10% of remuneration paid during that period, up to a maximum subsidy of $1,375 per employee and $25,000 per employer. Businesses will be able to benefit immediately from this support by reducing their remittances of income tax withheld on their employees’ remuneration. Employers benefiting from this measure will include corporations eligible for the small business deduction, as well as non-profit organizations and charities.”