On Monday Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the federal government is extending the emergency wage subsidy program (CEWS) deadline to December.
The program covers 75 per cent of wages up to a weekly maximum of $847 for workers at eligible companies and non-profits affected by the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The wage subsidy program was initially announced in March and had it’s deadline extended to June 6 in May.
“This week we’ll be announcing an extension to the wage subsidy program until December, to give greater certainty and support to businesses as we restart the economy,” Trudeau said during a press conference.
The government announced on May 15 that the CEWS would be extended by an additional 12 weeks, to August 29.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on Canadians in all communities and in all sectors of the economy. We have been listening to concerns raised by employers of all kinds, and we know that extending the duration of the wage subsidy and broadening eligibility will help more workers and will better position Canada for economic recovery. This will allow more businesses and organizations to retain or rehire employees in order to be better positioned when the economy rebounds,” Finance Minister Bill Morneau said in May.
The Wage Subsidy had its budget boosted in the “economic snapshot” last week to $82.3 billion.
As of July 6 the Federal Government has approved 581, 800 claims with 252,720 unique applicants with a dollar value of $18.01 billion according to the federal government’s website.
