Government Introduces Legislation to Create Jobs and Implement Targeted COVID-19 Support

 

With one of the most successful vaccination campaigns in the world, restrictions are carefully being eased in our communities and at our border. Businesses across the country are safely reopening, the economy is rebounding, over a million jobs have been created, and employment is back to pre-pandemic levels. That’s why, last month, the government announced it is pivoting from broad-based economic support to targeted measures that provide support where it is needed, in order to create jobs and growth and prudently manage government spending.

On Wednesday, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, introduced Bill C-2 in Parliament.

This bill would deliver:

  • Extend the Canada Recovery Hiring Program until May 7, 2022, for eligible employers with current revenue losses above 10% and increase the subsidy rate to 50%. The extension would help businesses continue to hire back workers, increase hours, and create the additional jobs Canada needs for a robust recovery.

  • Deliver targeted support to businesses still facing significant pandemic-related challenges. Support would be available through three streams:

Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program, which would provide support through wage and rent subsidies to, for example, hotels, tour operators, travel agencies, and restaurants, with a subsidy rate of up to 75%.

Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program, which would provide support through wage and rent subsidies to other businesses that have faced deep losses, with a subsidy rate of up to 50%.

Local Lockdown Program, which would provide businesses that face temporary new local lockdowns up to the maximum amount available through the wage and rent subsidy programs.

To ensure workers continue to have support and that no one is left behind, the proposed legislation would:

  • Extend the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit and the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit until May 7, 2022, and increase the maximum duration of benefits by 2 weeks. This would extend the caregiving benefit from 42 to 44 weeks and the sickness benefit from 4 to 6 weeks.

  • Establish the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit which would provide $300 a week in income support to eligible workers who are directly impacted by a COVID-19-related public health lockdown in their region up until May 7, 2022. Eligible workers would be able to apply to receive this support retroactively from October 24, 2021.

The types of business that would be eligible are detailed in the proposed legislation and in the backgrounder associated with the announcement here

Your Voice is Still Needed in Support of Bill C-2

To help ensure a quick passage, Government needs our industry to voice its support as loudly and broadly as possible.

We ask that you help to amplify the key messages, and to directly encourage all Members of Parliament to pass the Bill as quickly as possible. You can do so in a number of ways: issue your own press release in support of the Bill; send an email to your MPs highlighting the importance of the Bill for our sector and explicitly request that they pass it quickly; and use your social media networks to push out these key messages.

 
Thompson OkanaganThompson Okanagan Tourism AssociationGovernment of Canada