Canada’s federal government offered a lifeline to businesses struggling amid the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic by expanding eligibility for two benefit programs.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several members of his cabinet announced Wednesday that due to the increasingly widespread Omicron variant and increasing COVID-19 cases, the government will change the eligibility requirements for its Local Lockdown Program and the Lockdown benefit for Canadian workers.
The Local Closure Program will now offer wage and rent subsidies ranging from 25 to 75 percent to employers who are subject to capacity restrictions of 50 percent or more. Additionally, the current month’s income decline threshold requirement will be lowered to 25 percent.
It will also expand Canada’s job lockout benefit, which provides $ 300 a week to workers who have lost at least 50 percent of their income due to lockouts, to include workers in regions where provincial or territorial governments have introduced capacity restrictions of 50 percent or more.
Until now, these programs required beneficiaries to be in regions where businesses were ordered to close and workers were instructed to stay home.
Wednesday’s announcement loosens that requirement in areas where capacity restrictions have been issued that fall short of a total lockdown.
The new requirements apply to areas where provincial and territorial orders have been issued involving capacity restrictions of 50 percent or more, Jessica Eritou, a spokeswoman for Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office, said in an email.
What people are reading
The government said the new eligibility requirements are retroactive to December 19 and will last until February 12, when eligibility will revert to previously in effect requirements.
Any public company that accepts the grants and increases executive compensation or pays dividends will have the benefits recouped, Freeland said.
Wednesday’s announcement came after business owners spent the last week asking for more government help for businesses facing temporary closures, capacity limits and the growing number of Canadians avoiding in-person shopping, dining and other activities. .
Ottawa relaxes eligibility requirements on pandemic relief for businesses and workers. #CDNPoli # Covid19
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which partnered with Restaurants Canada to call on prime ministers Tuesday to pressure Ottawa to increase support for small businesses, welcomed the new round of aid but said “no it’s perfect. “
“Unfortunately, if you are losing your customers, not because of a capacity restriction / lockdown, but because public health officials and Omicron are scaring them … then you do not qualify for any additional help,” CFIB president tweeted , Dan Kelly. after Trudeau’s announcement.
“So a retailer or dry cleaner that is allowed to open, but loses 40 percent of its business due to Omicron’s fears, qualifies for zero aid from Ottawa.”
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce also had concerns about how the expanded programs would work.
“While questions remain for companies that have capacity restrictions under different definitions, such as table spacing requirements in restaurants, for example, we applaud the government’s swift action to bring peace of mind to businesses across Canada,” he said Alla Drigola Birk, director of the chamber. of the policy of the small and medium company, in a statement.
The owner of the business, Cristina Junca, was glad to know that some relief was coming.
Junca fears capacity measures or other restrictions will be imposed in Calgary, where Crafted operates, a store that sells handcrafted work from emerging Canadian artisans.
“We don’t know what will happen, but my husband and I are preparing for that,” she said.
“We have saved money, but if (restrictions occur), we need to cut working hours.”
The workers have already approached Junca to ask if they will still be cashing a paycheck or if they have asked to enter, if closings are issued. Many are students who really need the money, he said.
Knowing that the government’s relief will be there if the worst comes is a relief for Junca, who is already seeing the impact of the Omicron variant on business.
“Now we have fewer people, we have fewer sales and we have less work,” he said.
“It is a fight for us.”
This Canadian Press report was first published on December 22, 2021.
Reference-www.nationalobserver.com