Menu

CERB

15853636044-7fb46e0edb-c

Feds Double Checking CERB Verification

, , , , , ,

The federal government is re-assessing eligibility for individuals that received CERB.

Letters have been sent out in the mail from the Canada Revenue that is checking in with past recipients to confirm that you were eligible.

Recipients received $500 a week during eligible time periods that started up again in April 2021.

It’s a repeat from 2020 when more than 441,000 letters were sent out at the end of the year.

People who are getting a letter have tax info on file with the CRA that indicate they might make too much to have received CERB.

CERB handed out cheques first, with no verification necessary until tax time, people then risking having to pay it back after the fact. More than $81.64 billion went out to almost nine million recipients.

TrudeauWageExt

A Promise To Get More Canadians Vaccinated For COVID-19

, , , , , , , , ,

The federal government promises as many as 14.5 million Canadians will receive the COVID-19 vaccine by June.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in his address Friday, indicated the updated vaccine timeline indicates there is the capability to promise the large numbers of vaccinations:

  • A shipment of over 400,000 doses of COVID vaccine arrived in Canada on Wednesday
  • Next week another shipment of nearly 500,000 will be in the country
  • Canada is set to receive six million doses of both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine by the end of March
  • 84 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine will be delivered to Canada by September

“We have shared an updated vaccine delivery schedule with the provinces and territories so that they’re ready to roll out almost a million and a half doses over the next three weeks,” says Prime Minister Trudeau.

The Prime Minister also announced the extension of COVID-19 emergency benefits including:

  • A 12 week continuation of the Canada Recovery Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (38 weeks total)
  • Employment Insurance will now be available for 50 weeks
  • The $500-per-week Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit will be offered for up to four weeks of missed work
trudeau-outside-cpac-dec20

Trudeau Addresses CERB Repayment

, , , , , ,

There’s some reassurance if you got extra CERB or weren’t qualified for the payments you received.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the topic after some Canadians got letters from the Canada Revenue Agency saying they’ll be taxed for mistaken CERB payments if they don’t pay them back by the end of the year.

“Any good-faith mistakes will not be penalized, will not be pursued. We’re going to work with people over the coming weeks and months to ensure that people get the support they need,” he says.

In an update on the COVID-19 vaccine, Trudeau says Canada will receive 125,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine each week in January.

The Moderna vaccine hasn’t been approved yet for use in Canada, but Health Canada says that could change in over the next few weeks.

Employee-Benefits

Replacing The CERB In Three Ways

, , , , , , , ,

The replacement for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit takes effect in two parts.

It’s the beginning of the COVID-19 Response Measures Act, which creates new benefits to help out of work or at home Canadians for a year.

Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB)

$500/week for up to 26 weeks per household

  • If you’re unable to work for at least 50% of the week because you need to care for a child under the age of 12 or a family member due to schools, day-cares or care facilities being closed
  • If you need to care for a child or family member who is sick and/or required to quarantine or is at high risk of serious health implications because of COVID-19

Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB)

$500 per week for up to a maximum of two weeks

  • If you’re unable to work for at least 50% of the week you’ve contracted COVID-19
  • If you need to self-isolate for reasons related to COVID-19
  • If you have underlying conditions, are undergoing treatments or have contracted other sicknesses (in the opinion of a medical practitioner, nurse practitioner, person in authority, government or public health authority) that makes you more susceptible to COVID-19

The money will be paid on a weekly basis, which means you’ll need to reapply each week they’re eligible.

 

Taking effect next Monday, October 12th will be the Canada Recovery Benefit

$500 per week for up to 26 weeks

  • If you’ve stopped working and aren’t eligible for Employment Insurance
  • If you’ve had your employment/self-employment income reduced by at least 50% due to COVID-19

This money will be paid on a bi-weekly basis

 

You can find out how to apply for any of the benefits here

Government Extends CERB By Four Weeks

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Canadians expecting to exhaust their Canada Emergency Response Benefits at the end of August will now have more support.

Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough announced Thursday that the CERB will be extended by four more weeks to a maximum of 28 weeks.

“For Canadian families who rely on the CERB, this means that they’ll be supported as they figure out what’s happening with school and daycare for their kids in the fall,” said Qualtrough.

Most people who are still receiving the benefit as of Sept. 27 will be transitioned to a revamped Employment Insurance program.

Canadians with a minimum of 120 hours of insurable work will receive at least $400 a week for a minimum of 26 weeks.

To help people qualify with a minimum of 120 hours of work, EI claimants will receive a one-time credit of 300 insurable hours for regular benefit claims and 480 insurable hours for special benefit claims.

“Very simply, this means that most Canadians who’ve worked during the qualifying period will now be able to claim EI,” said Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

According to the federal government, 8.5 million individuals have benefitted from the CERB as of early August, and more than four million have transitioned off the CERB and returned to work.

The federal government is also proposing three new recovery benefits to help those who may not qualify for EI benefits and those who become sick with COVID-19.

The Canada Recovery Benefit would provide $400 per week for up to 26 weeks to workers who are not eligible for EI, mainly the self-employed and those working in the gig economy.

The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit would provide $500 per week for up to two weeks for workers who are sick or must self-isolate for COVID-19-related reasons.

The Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit would provide $500 per week for up to 26 weeks per household for eligible Canadians unable to work because they must care for:

  • a child under age 12 due to the closures of schools or daycares because of COVID-19.
  • a family member with a disability or a dependent because their day program or care facility is closed due to COVID-19.
  • a child, a family member with a disability, or a dependent who is not attending school, daycare, or other care facilities under the advice of a medical professional due to being at high-risk if they contract COVID-19.

New legislation to support the new benefits is expected to be introduced when Parliament resumes in late September.

Parliament-2-April-2017_0

CERB Recipients Will Move To EI: Trudeau

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Those receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit will soon be transitioned to the Employment Insurance program.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement Friday, saying more details will be available before the end of August.

“But to people who need this program, don’t worry. No one will be left behind,” said Trudeau during a news conference.

More than 8.4 million Canadians have applied for the program as of July 26, according to figures from the federal government.

Trudeau said they will also create a transitional, parallel benefit for those who do not qualify for EI, such as gig or contract workers.

“It will include access to training and being able to work more hours and earn more money while receiving the benefit. That’s only appropriate as our economy reopens and brings back more jobs,” he said.

There will also be a sickness and caregivers benefit for Canadians not covered at work if they get COVID-19 or if their kids or parents get it and they have to take care of them, he said.

“We intend to cover every Canadian who is looking for work with a better, 21st century EI system. That is our goal,” he said, adding that there will not be an increase to EI premiums “during this challenging time.”

Trudeau also announced the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program will be extended through August.

“Over 700,000 employees have benefitted from the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance – people who’ve been able to keep their jobs because of the help businesses got through this program. We know there are even more people still to reach,” he said.

Also announced Friday was nearly $59 million to protect the health and safety of migrant workers on farms across the country.

The money will fund more farm inspections, provide emergency relief when needed, and improve the overall living conditions on farms, said Trudeau.

jttuesday-1-1

Border Closure And CERB Both Extended

, , , ,

The federal government has announced the Canada/U.S. border closure has been extended to July 21st.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says both governments have agreed to extend current border measures by 30 days.

“It was the right thing to further extend by 30 days our closure of the Canada/US border to travellers other than essential services and goods. We will continue to watch carefully what’s happening elsewhere in the world.”

Trudeau adds “this is an important decision that will keep people in both of our countries safe.”

He notes the situation is changing rapidly and they are adjusting constantly to ensure the right measures are in place for Canada.

Meantime, the government is also extending the Canada Emergency Response Benefit eligibility period by eight weeks as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

The Prime Minister says if you’ve been getting the CERB and you still can’t work or still can’t find work, you will keep getting $2,000 a month over the next few weeks.

Justin Trudeau says over the next couple of weeks they will monitor the economy and the progression of the virus to determine if changes need to be made to relief programs.

He notes other programs including the wage subsidy and employment insurance will be reviewed to ensure they are working effectively.

Trudeau says the primary goal for the government is to make sure these programs are working for everyone who need it.

ericmelillothur-1

Kenora MP Pushing For Extension Of Benefit Programs

, , , ,

Kenora MP Eric Melillo is hoping the Prime Minister stays true to his word on providing more clarification on the future of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

Justin Trudeau indicated Monday an announcement about extending the CERB program would be coming this week.

Melillo says “That program can actually be extended without legislation until October. They need to provide some clarity so that folks across the riding know, and across Canada know, how long the benefit will exist for.”

He is also pushing for an extension to the wage subsidy for businesses which ends on Friday, which requires legislation.

Melillo says “The Conservative party actually brought forward a motion in Committee last week which would have recalled the House of Commons so that we could debate and pass legislation that would extend the wage subsidy, however the government prevented that from happening.”

He adds “With our limited Parliament right now and the fact that we’re not having regular sessions and we don’t have our regular powers. We’ve been severely limited by this government on what we are able to do and therefore they have put us in a situation where we are not going to be able to extend these programs as much as we need to.”

 

thumbnail_Justin-Trudeau-jun9-2020-serious-1

CERB Fraud Could Net Fines, Charges

, , ,

The Prime Minister is defending proposed penalties for fraudsters who take advantage of the Emergency Response Benefit.

Justin Trudeau says the legislation coming forward tomorrow will not target people who made an honest mistake when claiming the money.

“We’re making sure that we do have the tools, hopefully we will not have to use them very much at all, because the vast majority of people are of good faith and just trying to support their families,” Trudeau emphasized.

Trudeau said while more people are moving to the wage subsidy as they return to work, the CERB is not ending yet.

“Obviously, with around three million people unemployed and looking for work, it is going to be a while before we get enough jobs to consider that things are back to normal. So we are looking very carefully at how we will move forward,” he pointed out.

The PM also shot down the idea of a financial update, which the Opposition has been calling for. Trudeau says his government will be open about its spending but can’t make any accurate predictions about the economy.

“As the economy starts up again, it’s very difficult to know what that will look like. We can certainly have a range of projections that will vary widely, depending on how many businesses re-open and to what percentage,” Trudeau admitted.

Qualtrough-1

Applications Open Friday For Student Benefit

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Applications are open Friday for a benefit aimed at students.

Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, said the Canada Emergency Student Benefit will provide temporary income support.

“(It’s) a direct support to students who are struggling to find work during the summer months and who are worried about paying their bills and tuition in the fall,” she said.

Qualtrough said students can apply through the Canada Revenue Agency.

“Through this benefit eligible students will receive $1250 dollars from May to August 2020 or $2000 per month for students with disabilities or students with dependents,” she said.

Qualtrough said to manage the volume of applications, students will be asked to apply over 4 days depending on their month of birth.

“This money will not have to be paid back. Just like the CERB, students can make up to a thousand dollars over the four week period for which they are applying,” she said.

Qualtrough said students can expect their payment within 3 to 5 business days via direct deposit after the application is approved.

Load More