Canada broadens $300-a-week COVID-19 profit as Omicron prompts new restrictions – Nationwide

The federal government is increasing eligibility for its Canada Employee Lockdown Profit amid new Omicron-related COVID-19 restrictions, permitting any employee to use for the assist if their office has been slapped with capacity-limiting restrictions of fifty per cent or extra.

The announcement comes after provinces throughout the nation have hit bars, eating places and different workplaces with new restrictions — however no lockdowns — to attempt to include the unfold of the Omicron variant. Final Thursday, there have been greater than 43,000 lively COVID-19 circumstances throughout Canada. Simply six days later, there are greater than 72,000.

“We’re quickly increasing eligibility for key packages. For the Canada Employee Lockdown Profit and the Native Lockdown program, it is possible for you to to use if you happen to’re topic to capacity-limiting restrictions,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated on Wednesday.

“Right here’s the underside line: we want, all of us, (to) do what it takes so Canadians are protected and to have what you might want to climate the storm.”

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Eligible employees can obtain $300 — $270 after taxes — for every one-week interval till Might 7, 2022. The expanded eligibility, nonetheless, solely applies till Feb. 12, 2022.

To get the profit, you’ll additionally have to have misplaced 50 per cent or extra of your revenue on account of these capability limits, based on the federal government.

Earlier than the announcement, the Canada Employee Lockdown Profit solely utilized to areas the place a COVID-19 lockdown order had been designated. In response to the federal government of Canada’s web site, nonetheless, no areas in Canada meet the factors proper now — which meant that functions had been “not obtainable.”

Invoice C-2, which introduced this new profit to life, turned regulation final Friday. The profit is the federal government’s newest non permanent revenue assist for Canadians who can’t work due to the pandemic. It follows previous packages just like the Canada Emergency Response Profit (CERB) and the Canada Restoration Profit (CRB).

The federal government’s web site says the “simplest way” to use for the CWLB is on-line, by “CRA My Account.”

Companies are additionally going to get a lift of their COVID-19 helps, the federal government introduced on Wednesday. The Native Lockdown Program may also increase to incorporate any employers which can be topic to restrictions that cap their capability at 50 per cent or extra.

Employers which can be eligible for this program will obtain wage and hire subsidies that may vary from 25 per cent to a most of 75 per cent, relying on how a lot income they misplaced on account of the capability limits.

— Extra to come back

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