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July 30, 2021 – Federal government updates on the COVID-19 pandemic

Here is an update on recent decisions and actions by the Canadian government in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Benefits and support for businesses extended

Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, announced the extension of COVID-19 support measures for Canadian citizens and businesses.

Extensions include the following:

  • Prolonging the eligibility period for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) and the Lockdown Support to October 23, 2021, and increasing the subsidy rates that employers and organizations can receive between August 29 and September 25, 2021.
  • Extending the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), the Canadian Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) and the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) to October 23, 2021.
  • Increasing the maximum duration of the CRB by four weeks to 54 weeks at a rate of $300 per week. People who have exhausted their EI benefits will be eligible for these additional weeks.

The government is proposing to provide businesses with greater flexibility in calculating the revenue decline used to determine eligibility for wage and rent subsidy programs and the new Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP).

More information on these extensions and the proposed changes to COVID-19 support for businesses can be found in the backgrounder that accompanied today’s announcement.