As the Canada Emergency Response Benefit begins ramping down, Canadians who still need financial help as the coronavirus pandemic stretches on are now transitioning to different benefits.
The House of Commons returned from prorogation last week and the government immediately tabled a bill creating three new benefits for those who don’t qualify for Employment Insurance, as well as for caregivers and Canadians who need to stay home from work because they are ill.
And while for many, that transition from CERB to Employment Insurance will happen automatically, others will still need to act to make sure they keep receiving federal benefits, or start receiving new ones.
Here’s what you need to know.
Transitioning from CERB to Employment Insurance
The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) launched in April, but was retroactive to March 15, and was billed by the government as a way to get money out the door as quickly as possible.
It was quickly criticized by the opposition for not including any checks on eligibility criteria and relying instead on retroactive verifications. It also came under fire from some business groups who argued it was providing a disincentive for workers to return to their jobs as the economy tried to reopen.
The six-month benefit began expiring on Sunday for those who have already maxed out the 28-week period for which they can receive the benefit — basically, those who have been receiving the benefit dating from March 15.
Those who haven’t yet hit the 28-week maximum will continue receiving their CERB payment until they max out, and new applicants who now realize they were eligible at any point between March 15 and Oct. 3 can apply retroactively up until Dec. 2.
Those who max out their CERB eligibility are now being transitioned onto Employment Insurance.
The government expanded the eligibility criteria for Employment Insurance to allow for what Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough last week called a “more sophisticated” balance between the need to support workers and the need not to create an incentive to refuse paid work.
The new Employment Insurance program will let Canadians transitioning onto it from the CERB receive the same amount — $500 per week, which is taxable — for at least 26 weeks.
They can also work while on claim up to a maximum of $38,000 per year.
How to apply for Employment Insurance
For Canadians who applied for and received the CERB through Service Canada, the transition to Employment Insurance will happen automatically.
“To ensure a smooth transition to EI, the majority of Canadians still receiving the CERB through Service Canada who are eligible for EI will be automatically transitioned,” Marielle Hossack, press secretary for Qualtrough, said in an email.
“Service Canada will contact all EI clients to confirm whether they need to apply or are being transitioned automatically. Clients can also verify the status of their claim in their My Service Canada Account.”
Anyone who was receiving CERB through Service Canada and maxed out this past weekend should not need to do anything in order for their payments to transition to Employment Insurance.
That’s true for recipients through Service Canada who max out in the coming weeks and months.
For those who maxed out this past weekend, Employment Insurance payments should start for roughly 80 per cent of them by Oct. 14, while others may have a wait of roughly two weeks more.
The exception here is anyone receiving the benefit through Service Canada who is also self-employed or who has a 900-series social insurance number — they will need to apply again.
As well, anyone who applied for and received the CERB through the Canada Revenue Agency will need to apply for Employment Insurance again through Service Canada and a My Service Canada account.
There’s no set date to apply — once you’re eligible, you can apply and once registered, you’ll have to submit biweekly reports on work status in order to keep receiving Employment Insurance.
However, waiting to apply once CERB benefits lapse will result in a waiting period while EI kicks in.
Not eligible for Employment Insurance?
Although the Employment Insurance criteria have changed, there will still be people who don’t qualify based on the number of hours and income lost.
The government has tabled and is in the process of debating legislation to create three new federal benefits aimed at those who don’t qualify for Employment Insurance. And while legislation is never a done deal until it gets royal assent, the NDP has indicated it plans to support the bill.
As a minority government, the Liberals need at least one other party to support their bills and implement the three new federal coronavirus benefits.
The first is the Canada Recovery Benefit. Like the new Employment Insurance plan, the new benefit will provide $500 weekly for 26 weeks but will target people whose income has dropped by at least half. These include self-employed people.
The program requires recipients to be actively seeking work, and states that they must accept work “where it is reasonable to do so.”
The second benefit is the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, which will provide $500 per week for no more than two weeks to Canadians “who are sick or must self-isolate for reasons related to COVID-19.”
The third is the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit, which will provide $500 per week for up to 26 weeks to households where someone is forced to stay home from work to care for either a child under the age of 12 or a family member who would normally be cared for at a school, daycare or care home that is closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The benefit also applies in the event the child or family member has to be quarantined or gets ill.
All three benefits will be run through the Canada Revenue Agency, and Canadians will have to directly apply.
They can do this at any point between now and Sept. 25, 2021.
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Human Resources Officers must be very busy these days what with the general turnover of employees in our retail and business sectors. It is hard enough to find skilled people let alone potential employees willing to be trained. Then after the training, a few weeks go by then they come to you and ask for a raise. You refuse as there simply is no excess money in the budget and away they fly to wherever they come from, trained but not willing to put in the time to achieve that wanted raise.
I have had potentials come in and we give them a test to see if they do indeed know how to weld, polish or work with wood. 2-10 we hire, and one of those is gone in a week or two. Ask that they want overtime, and their laughter leaving the building is loud and unsettling. Housing starts are doing well but way behind because those trades needed to finish a project simply don’t come to the site, with delay after delay. Some people’s attitudes are just too funny. A recent graduate from a Ivy League university came in for an interview. The position was mid-management potential, but when we told them a three month period was needed and then they would make the big bucks they disappeared as fast as they arrived.
Government agencies are really no help, sending us people unsuited or unwilling to carry out the jobs we offer. Handing money over to staffing firms whose referrals are weak and ineffectual. Perhaps with the Fall and Winter upon us, these folks will have to find work and stop playing on the golf course or cottaging away. Tried to hire new arrivals in Canada but it is truly difficult to find someone who has a real identity card and is approved to live and work here. Who do we hire? Several years ago my father’s firm was rocking and rolling with all sorts of work. It was a summer day when the immigration officers arrived and 30+ employees hit the bricks almost immediately. The investigation that followed had threats of fines thrown at us by the officials. Good thing we kept excellent records, photos and digital copies. We had to prove the illegal documents given to us were as good as the real McCoy.
Restauranteurs, builders, manufacturers, finishers, trades-based firms, and warehousing are all suspect in hiring illegals, yet that becomes secondary as Toronto increases its minimum wage again bringing our payroll up another $120,000. Survival in Canada’s financial and business sectors is questionable for many. Good luck Chuck!. at least your carbon tax refund check should be arriving soon.
NORMAN WELLS, N.W.T. – Imperial Oil says it will temporarily reduce its fuel prices in a Northwest Territories community that has seen costs skyrocket due to low water on the Mackenzie River forcing the cancellation of the summer barge resupply season.
Imperial says in a Facebook post it will cut the air transportation portion that’s included in its wholesale price in Norman Wells for diesel fuel, or heating oil, from $3.38 per litre to $1.69 per litre, starting Tuesday.
The air transportation increase, it further states, will be implemented over a longer period.
It says Imperial is closely monitoring how much fuel needs to be airlifted to the Norman Wells area to prevent runouts until the winter road season begins and supplies can be replenished.
Gasoline and heating fuel prices approached $5 a litre at the start of this month.
Norman Wells’ town council declared a local emergency on humanitarian grounds last week as some of its 700 residents said they were facing monthly fuel bills coming to more than $5,000.
“The wholesale price increase that Imperial has applied is strictly to cover the air transportation costs. There is no Imperial profit margin included on the wholesale price. Imperial does not set prices at the retail level,” Imperial’s statement on Monday said.
The statement further said Imperial is working closely with the Northwest Territories government on ways to help residents in the near term.
“Imperial Oil’s decision to lower the price of home heating fuel offers immediate relief to residents facing financial pressures. This step reflects a swift response by Imperial Oil to discussions with the GNWT and will help ease short-term financial burdens on residents,” Caroline Wawzonek, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance and Infrastructure, said in a news release Monday.
Wawzonek also noted the Territories government has supported the community with implementation of a fund supporting businesses and communities impacted by barge cancellations. She said there have also been increases to the Senior Home Heating Subsidy in Norman Wells, and continued support for heating costs for eligible Income Assistance recipients.
Additionally, she said the government has donated $150,000 to the Norman Wells food bank.
In its declaration of a state of emergency, the town said the mayor and council recognized the recent hike in fuel prices has strained household budgets, raised transportation costs, and affected local businesses.
It added that for the next three months, water and sewer service fees will be waived for all residents and businesses.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
TORONTO – A new report says many Canadian business leaders are worried about economic uncertainties related to the looming U.S. election.
The survey by KPMG in Canada of 735 small- and medium-sized businesses says 87 per cent fear the Canadian economy could become “collateral damage” from American protectionist policies that lead to less favourable trade deals and increased tariffs
It says that due to those concerns, 85 per cent of business leaders in Canada polled are reviewing their business strategies to prepare for a change in leadership.
The concerns are primarily being felt by larger Canadian companies and sectors that are highly integrated with the U.S. economy, such as manufacturing, automotive, transportation and warehousing, energy and natural resources, as well as technology, media and telecommunications.
Shaira Nanji, a KPMG Law partner in its tax practice, says the prospect of further changes to economic and trade policies in the U.S. means some Canadian firms will need to look for ways to mitigate added costs and take advantage of potential trade relief provisions to remain competitive.
Both presidential candidates have campaigned on protectionist policies that could cause uncertainty for Canadian trade, and whoever takes the White House will be in charge during the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2026.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
