Today the federal government announced that the government is extending the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) by eight weeks.
This extension will make the benefit available to eligible workers for up to a total of 24 weeks.
The government has also made changes to the CERB attestation, which will encourage Canadians receiving the benefit to find employment and consult Job Bank, Canada’s national employment service that offers tools to help with job searches.
Over the next few weeks, the government will monitor international best practices, the economy, and the progression of the virus and, if needed, make necessary changes to the program so more people can have the support they need.
They also announced they intend to continue to review other financial supports, including the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and Employment Insurance (EI).
The CERB is a taxable benefit of $2,000 over a four-week period for eligible workers who have stopped working or whose work hours have been reduced, due to COVID-19.
The CERB is available to workers who:
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live in Canada and are at least 15 years old
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have stopped working because of reasons related to COVID-19, or are eligible for EI regular or sickness benefits, or have exhausted their EI regular or fishing benefits between December 29, 2019 and October 3, 2020
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had employment and/or self-employment income of at least $5,000 in 2019, or in the 12 months prior to the date of their application
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have not earned more than $1,000 in employment and/or self-employment income per benefit period while collecting the CERB
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have not quit their job voluntarily
Notably, the CEWS was also extended, as announced on May 15. The CEWS is being extended to August 29, 2020.
