Canada COVID-19: Financial assistance from government levels - Auto-Camping
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COVID-19: Financial assistance from government levels
Below is a wealth of information that summarizes the main public plans offered to workers at various
levels of government that may be useful to you depending on your situation.
Canada
Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)
The federal government has set up the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) which
temporarily replaces the regular Employment Insurance program, the Emergency Care Benefit and the
Emergency Support Benefit. The CERB targets employees, self-employed and contract employees.
The allowance provides a payment of $2,000 per month, it will be paid every 4 weeks for a maximum
duration of 16 weeks and it will be offered retroactive to March 15th and will continue until October 3rd,
2020. The CERB is taxable although tax will not be deducted at source. It must be reported as income
for the 2020 tax year.
This allowance is applied to those who have lost their income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no
longer have a pay despite having kept their employment relationship, are quarantined, are suffering
from COVID-19, take care of an affected family member or must care for their children due to the
closure of child care and schools. Workers do not need to have lost their employment relationship to
be eligible for CERB; they must, however, have earned income greater than $5,000 in 2019 and
demonstrate that they have not received income for a minimum period of 14 consecutive days within
each four-week period.
Workers currently on leave under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) and an imminent return
to work was scheduled will also be entitled to CERB, just like employees who have been recently hired
and retirees receiving private or government annuities. However, those who have left work voluntarily
are not qualified for CERB. Those who have already applied for Employment Insurance which has not
yet been processed will not have to apply again, it will be automatically transferred to the CERB. It is
now possible to apply by registering online with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) My Account. You
don’t need to fill out a form, only provide your name, contact information and Social Insurance Number
(SIN). The first checks should be sent 5 to 10 days after requests.
Sickness benefits
Employment Insurance provides sickness benefits for workers who are not covered by private short-
term disability insurance. You must have accumulated at least 600 hours of work in the past year to
have access to it. For up to 15 weeks, eligible workers can receive 55% of their gross wages if they
must be absent for medical reasons such as illness, injury, quarantine other than COVID-19 or any
other condition which prevents you from working. It will be necessary to provide a medical certificate
stating the impossibility to work for any of these medical reasons.
Employment Insurance sickness benefits: 1 833 381-2725
GST and allowances
Low-income workers will see their goods and services tax credit double, which is $443 more for a
single person, $580 if you have a spouse, and an additional $153 per child under the age of 19.
Families who are eligible for the Canada Child Benefit Maximum will also receive an additional $300
per child.
Canada Revenue Agency: 1 800 267-6999 (GST credit and Canada Child Benefit)
1Taxes
Individuals have an additional two months, until June 1st, to file their 2019 tax returns. There will be no
interest or penalties on monies due before September 1st.
British Columbia
Emergency Benefits for Workers
The B.C. emergency benefit for workers is being designed to complement other supports available
from the Government of Canada. It will provide a one-time, tax-free, $1,000 payment for B.C. residents
whose ability to work has been affected due to COVID-19. Comprehensive information about the
emergency benefit will be available soon.
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/covid-19-financial-supports/emergency-benefit-workers
Employment standards
Changes to the Employment Standards Code will allow employees to immediately take unpaid leave
if they are unable to work for reasons related to COVID-19, including illness, self-isolation, care for
child or dependant, or other related reason.
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/employment-standards-advice/employment-standards
Alberta
This temporary program is for working adult Albertans who must self-isolate because they meet the
Government of Alberta’s published criteria for self-isolation, including persons who are the sole
caregiver for a dependent who must self-isolate because they meet the public health criteria, and who
does not have another source of pay or compensation while they are self-isolated. It is distributed in a
one-time $1,146 payment and it bridged the gap until the federal emergency payments begin in April.
https://www.alberta.ca/emergency-isolation-support.aspx
Employment standards
Changes to the Employment Standards Code will allow full and part-time employees to take 14 days
of job-protected leave if they are required to self-isolate, caring for a child or dependent adult that is
required to self-isolate. To be eligible, employees will not be required to have a medical note and do
not need to have worked for an employer for 90 days.
https://www.alberta.ca/employment-standards.aspx
Saskatchewan
Self-Isolation Support Program
The Self-Isolation Support Program will provide $450 per week, for a maximum of two weeks and is targeted
at Saskatchewan residents forced to self-isolate that are not covered by recent federally announced
employment insurance programs and other supports. The program is designed to ensure that all
Saskatchewan residents are covered by either a federal or provincial program to ensure no one is faced
with choosing to work instead of protecting their family and community from COVID-19 by self-isolating.
2Employment standards
Changes to the Employment Standards Code will allow unpaid leave of absence in situations of a health
emergency for duration of the declared health emergency. The employees required to care for children
during this period are included. The employees are exempt from 13 weeks eligibility criteria. The employees
are entitled to full wages and benefits if able to work from home.
https://www.saskatchewan.ca/business/employment-standards
Manitoba
Employment standards
https://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards/index.html
Ontario
Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID‑19
To help parents pay for the extra costs associated with the closure of schools and daycares during the
COVID‑19 outbreak, the government is providing a one-time payment of $200 per child up to 12 years
of age, and $250 for those with special needs, including kids enrolled in private schools.
https://budget.ontario.ca/2020/marchupdate/action-plan.html
Employment standards
The Employment Standards Act has been amended to include an unpaid, job-protected infectious
disease emergency leave. This leave is available to employees who are not performing the duties of
their position for certain reasons related to COVID-19, including personal illness, quarantine or isolation
in specified circumstances, concern by the employer that the employee may expose other individuals
in the workplace to COVID-19, to provide care or support to certain family members for a reason related
to COVID-19, including school or day care closures, or due to certain travel-related restrictions.
Employers cannot require employees to provide medical notes to prove they are eligible for the leave.
https://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/
Quebec
Temporary Aid for Workers Program
This program offers financial assistance to meet the needs of workers who, because they are in
isolation to counter the propagation of the COVID-19 virus, cannot earn all their work income and are
not eligible for another financial assistance program. The lump-sum amount granted to an eligible
person is $573 per week, for a period of 14 days of isolation.
Phone line: 1 800 863-6582
Labor standards
Employee who has at least three months of continuous service is entitled to two days of paid sick leave
per year.
https://www.cnt.gouv.qc.ca/en/accueil/index.html
3New Brunswick
Workers Emergency Income Benefit
A one-time income benefit of $900 is available for workers or self-employed people residing in New
Brunswick who have lost their job due to the state of emergency. The benefit will help to bridge the
gap between when a person lost their job or closed their business on or after March 15, 2020, to when
the national benefit takes effect. Applications will close at 8pm on Thursday, April 9, 2020. The benefit
is offered by the Government of New Brunswick, in partnership with the Canadian Red Cross.
https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/post-secondary_education_training_and_labour/promo/nbweib.html
Employment standards
http://laws.gnb.ca/en/ShowPdf/cs/E-7.2.pdf
Nova Scotia
Worker Emergency Bridge Fund
The government of Nova Scotia is contributing $20 million to help self-employed people and laid-off
workers who don’t qualify for Employment Insurance. Government provides a one-time payment of
$1,000 to bridge the gap between layoffs and closures and the federal government’s Canada
Emergency Response Benefit
https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/
Income Assistance
To help vulnerable Nova Scotians, the province has made the announcement that every individual and
family member on income assistance will receive an additional $50 starting on March 20th. People do
not need to apply.
Employment standards
Due to changes to the Employment Standards Code, employers cannot require a doctor's note if
employees must be off work because they are be sick or need to self-isolate at home during the COVID-
19 period.
https://novascotia.ca/lae/employmentrights/infoonspecificrules.asp
Prince Edward Island
COVID-19 Income Support Fund
The Prince Edward Island COVID-19 Income Support Fund provides financial support to residents of
Prince Edward Island to bridge the gap between the loss of their job/lay-off, loss of their primary source
of income, Employment Insurance benefits have expired or loss of all revenues through self-
employment as result of COVID-19. This emergency income fund is a one-time lump sum payment of
$750 from the Government of Prince Edward Island. This emergency income is taxable.
https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/service/covid-19-income-support-fund
Employment standards
https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/sites/default/files/legislation/e-06-2-employment_standards_act.pdf
4Newfoundland and Labrador
Following the advice provided by the Federal Government on Friday, March 13th, the Provincial
Government will provide compensation to private sector employers to ensure continuation of pay for
employees required to self-isolate for a period of 14 days upon their return to Canada. Details on the
required documentation and processes for reimbursement to private sector employers will be released
in the coming days. Only those individuals who are scheduled to return to work within this period will
be compensated.
Employment standards
https://www.gov.nl.ca/aesl/files/publications-labour-labour-relations-work.pdf
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