Applications are now open for the expanded Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit, the government said Thursday after adding most provinces and territories to the eligibility list.
The benefit, announced in November but expanded on Dec. 22, allows any worker to apply for the support if their workplace has been slapped with capacity-limiting restrictions of 50 per cent or more amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eligible workers can receive $300 — $270 after taxes — for each one-week period until May 7, 2022. The expanded eligibility, however, only applies until Feb. 12, 2022.
Who is eligible for COVID benefits?
To get the benefit, workers will also need to have lost 50 per cent or more of their income as a result of these capacity limits, according to the government.
Earlier this month, no province or territory met the criteria for residents to apply for the benefit, despite several of them having introduced new public health restrictions by then to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.
The eligibility list now includes every province and territory that has reduced capacity for bars, restaurants and other workplaces: British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut.
National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier said in a statement Thursday that the government will expand eligibility to remaining regions once similar measures are introduced there. Officials in Saskatchewan and Yukon have publicly stated they would not introduce restrictions during the holiday season.
3:05 COVID-19: Freeland discusses details, qualifications for $300-a-week benefit
COVID-19: Freeland discusses details, qualifications for $300-a-week benefit – Dec 22, 2021
Bill C-2, which brought this new benefit to life, became law on Dec. 17. The benefit is the government’s latest temporary income support for Canadians who can’t work because of the pandemic. It follows past programs like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB).
The CWLB, however, does not renew automatically and Canadians who qualify are expected to reapply each week.
The number of confirmed active cases nationwide has now surged to over 230,000 thanks to the highly transmissible Omicron variant. On the day the benefit’s expansion was announced last week, there were about 72,000.
Further restrictions have been enacted by some provinces since then. On Thursday, Quebec reintroduced a nighttime curfew to try to curb the spike in COVID-19 cases, which surpassed 14,000 the same day.
Nunavut imposed a “circuit-breaker” lockdown on Christmas Eve after the Omicron variant was detected there among a surge in cases, while the Atlantic provinces have scaled back capacity limits on most businesses and gatherings.
Thanks to the language of Bill C-2, the government was able to immediately expand its COVID-19 benefits in reaction to these new restrictions — without having to pass any new legislation. As part of C-2, the government gave itself regulatory authorities that allowed it to temporarily expand the definition of a “lockdown,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland explained last week.
She said they expanded that definition to include capacity limits of 50 per cent or more.
“These expanded federal support measures will ensure that provinces and public health authorities across the country can continue to make the right difficult decisions they need to make to save lives,” Freeland said.
“The federal government will be there to financially support workers and businesses as we finish this fight.”
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
