The federal government announced on Thursday that the Canada emergency response benefit (CERB) will be extended an additional month and then transition to a modified employment insurance (EI) program.
The changes will come into effect on Sept. 27 and will be in place for one year, with three additional programs proposed for those who do not qualify for EI.
Here’s what you need to know about the developments and how you can qualify ahead of the transition.
I’m currently receiving CERB. What happens when it ends?
CERB, the federal income assistance program that has provided more than 8.5 million individuals $2,000 a month since April 6, will end on Sept. 27.
Canadians who having been receiving CERB through Service Canada and are already eligible for EI will automatically transition to EI benefits once CERB ends next month.
Those who are eligible for EI but have been receiving CERB through the Canada Revenue Agency will need to apply through Service Canada.
Who qualifies for EI under the new changes?
The federal government has two kinds of EI that apply generally to workers: regular benefits and special benefits.
EI regular benefits provide assistance to employees who lose their jobs involuntarily and are actively looking for work. Those who are eligible will receive a minimum of $400 for up to 26 weeks, or $240 per week for extended parental benefits.
EI special benefits provide assistance to employees or self-employed individuals who are absent from work due to specific life circumstances, including sickness, maternity, parental benefits, as well as compassionate care or family caregivers.
In both cases, individuals must report at least 120 hours of work — approximately 3.5 weeks of full-time hours — in the past 52 weeks, or since their last claim in order to qualify for EI. Normally, the number of hours of insurable employment required to be eligible for EI regular benefits ranges from 420 to 700 hours, and 600 hours for special benefits, depending on the region.
Individuals are required to apply after every two-week period for which they need support and can report that they continue to meet the requirements.
Under the new changes, and to encourage recipients to work, individuals can still earn income from self-employment while receiving the benefit. However, recipients would need to repay $0.50 of the benefit for each dollar earned above $38,000.
Those who don’t qualify might be eligible for one of the three new proposed benefits.
WATCH | $37B aid package includes CERB extension, new benefits:
The federal government has announced a $37-billion aid package that extends the CERB and expands EI benefits to help those still struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the deal requires the approval of Parliament, which is prorogued until late September. 2:01
What if I don’t have enough hours to be eligible for EI?
The federal government has introduced a one-time credit system to make it easier for workers who are unable to meet the required hours of eligibility for both regular and special benefits prior to the new changes coming into effect on Sept 27.
This will apply retroactively to workers who could not establish their EI claim from March 15 to Sept. 26 due to not having worked enough hours and wanted to switch to EI from CERB early.
For those applying for regular benefits, a credit of 300 hours will be applied. For special benefits, a credit of 480 hours can be claimed retroactively starting from March 15.
Both of these credits are available for one year.
What about EI premiums?
EI insurance premium rates will be frozen for two years at the 2020 rates. That means for every $100 of insurable earnings, $1.58 will be deducted from the worker and $2.21 from the employer.
According to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, these are the lowest rates since 1980.
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion Carla Qualtrough, left, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland announced new supports for workers whose CERB benefits will run out in August. The new benefits still require parliamentary approval. (Sean Kilpatrick, Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
What are the 3 new benefit programs?
For individuals who are not eligible for EI and are in need of temporary income support, the following three benefits will be introduced:
The Canada Recovery Benefit will provide $400 per week for up to 26 weeks for workers who are self-employed and cannot resume or return to work.
The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit will provide $500 per week for up to two weeks for workers who are ill or must self-isolate due to COVID-19-related reasons.
The Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit will provide $500 per week for up to 26 weeks per household for those who are unable to work because they care for a child under 12 or another dependent whose school, daycare or other day program facility is shut down due to COVID-19.
Applications for the new recovery benefits are scheduled to open in October, with payments expected to flow in three to five days.
But the recovery benefits still require parliamentary approval in order to become available. Parliament is currently prorogued until Sept. 23, after which a new bill will have to be adopted after the speech from the throne.
How many Canadians will qualify?
According to Freeland, 4.5 million Canadians are currently on CERB. When the program ends, an estimated three million will enter the EI system, and another one or two million are expected to use the recovery benefits.
As of early August, more than four million individuals have moved off CERB and have returned to the workforce.
How much will all these programs cost?
All told, $37 billion. The government says the three new recovery benefits, which will be taxed at source, are expected to cost $22 billion; the extension of CERB another $8 billion; and added EI costs are set at $7 billion.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
