$1.1 Billion for a national medical and research strategy on COVID-19 (research, clinical trials, national testing and modeling)
PM's Update - 75% CEWS commencement
75% Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy
Registration will commence on April 27, 2020 and be first processed on May 4 in bulk.
Payments are targeted to begin on May 5.
3,000 auditors have been assigned to manually review certain claims. They will review based on the size of the claims, or the size of employers. For example, 100% of claims made by large employers are expected to be reviewed. Most will be automatically processed. Reviews are intended to be completed in 72 hours.
2,000 agents will be assigned to answer questions on the program.
A revised CEWS website and new calculator is available here.
$350 Million committed to an emergency community support fund
PM's Update - Small Business, Arts, and Energy
April 17, 2020
1) Small businesses:
$962 Million to regional development agencies and the Communities future network.
$270 Million to Futurepreneur and similar programs.
2) Energy sector:
$1.7 Billion to clean up orphan and inactive wells.
$750 Million emission reduction fund (focusing on methane).
BDC and EDC to increase the credit for middle size energy companies.
3) Arts and Sports:
$500 Million to Heritage Canada to support our artists, culture and sports sectors. This will help with job support and financing.
4) $2,000/month Canada Emergency Response Benefit:
7.5 Million payments have been made under CERB.
Update on the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and Other Support (April 15, 2020)
Access to the CERB will be expanded to:
those earning up to $1,000 per month;
seasonal workers who have exhausted their EI regular benefits and are unable to undertake their regular seasonal work as a result of COVID-19; and
workers who have recently exhausted their EI regular benefits and are unable to find a job or return to work because of COVID-19.
These changes will be retroactive to March 15, 2020
Essential workers:
Temporarily topping up the pay of low-income (making under $2,500/month) essential workers that the provinces and territories have deemed essential in the fight against COVID-19.
Coming soon (as announced by the PM):
more support for students;
more support for those paying commercial rent; and
a mental health portal will be launched at Canada.ca/coronavirus.