The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy will be extended until December as the country鈥檚 economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Trudeau announced Monday (July 13).
Trudeau said the extension of the $82 billion program will 鈥済ive greater certainty and support to businesses鈥� through the fall and winter.
The wage subsidy provides employers with up to $847 each week per worker to help with wages, or up to 75 per cent of weekly pay for each worker, for businesses that have lost up to 30 per cent of their revenues due to COVID-19. The program had been set to expire at the end of August prior to the extension.
So far, approximately 11 million people have received either the wage subsidy or the federal government鈥檚 $2,000 per month emergency response benefit (CERB). In the past, federal ministers have admitted that the $2,000 per month benefit for out-of-work Canadians has had a much higher uptake than the wage subsidy program.
As of early July, the wage subsidy had paid out $18.01 billion to 252,370 companies in payroll help.In comparison, CERB paid out $54.8 billion to 8.25 million people by July 5.
The emergency response benefit is set to run out at the end of the summer.
READ MORE:
READ MORE:
鈥� With files from The Canadian Press
Like us on and follow us on .
Want to support local journalism during the pandemic? Make a donation
