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A coronavirus economic aid package has been announced for Canadians impacted by fallout from the emergency pandemic measures.
As of Friday afternoon, Canada has more than 800 confirmed cases reported of COVID-19, or commonly known as coronavirus. According to Health Canada, 11 deaths due to the virus have been reported, along with 10 recoveries.
Announcement of the emergency economic aid package was made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday, Mar. 18; however, the legislation will still have to be approved by Canada’s Parliament. According to Global News Canada, if approved, the coronavirus aid package will help workers without sick benefits as well as those who are laid off or become underemployed due to pandemic measures, like closing non-essential businesses.
“Canadians should not make health decisions based on their financial needs,” said the Prime Minister in his statement announcing the economic aid package. “No matter who you are or what you do, this is a time when you should be focused on your health and that of your neighbours, not whether you’re going to lose your job, not whether you’re going to run out of money for things like groceries and medication.”
The economic aid package will support workers who, as a result of coronavirus, are in quarantine or self-isolating, but who do not have paid sick leave to cover their time away from work. Canadians who believe they qualify for these benefits can apply for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits without a medical certificate. This process is different from the usual application for EI, which would require employment records and a medical certificate.
In addition, under the Coronavirus economic aid package, those who are too sick, quarantined, or self-isolating can backdate their EI claim if they are unable to apply for benefits right away.
Those who believe they qualify for EI benefits can use the Employment and Social Development Canada website to apply; however, Global News Canada reports that the website is faltering because of the sheer number of applications that have been submitted in the wake of self-isolating measures taken in the face of the pandemic.
“We are currently receiving a high number of EI applications,” states the agency’s website. “If you are unable to access the system, or if you receive an error message, please try again later. We are aware of this issue and are working to resolve it. Thank you for your patience.”
Those who intend to apply for benefits need to take the following steps to apply;
- Obtain employment records
- Gather contact information for employers from the past year
- Collect employment dates
- Gather other documentation, such as Social Insurance Number and bank information
- Obtain a benefits statement and access code from My Service Canada by mail
My Service Canada will provide status updates on applications for EI benefits. Additionally, the agency recommends getting started with the application, even if all of the supporting documents, such as employment records are not available.
There is a one-week waiting period for all EI applications, but according to Global News Canada, applicants can ask for a waiver by calling 1-833-381-2725 or visiting a Service Canada location if they are not experiencing any coronavirus symptoms.
The amount each worker will get under EI depends on their work hours over the past year and is capped at $573 a week.
Further, the coronavirus economic aid package announced by Trudeau will also provide an emergency care benefit to those who contract the virus and become sick or are in quarantine, along with those who must stay home to care for family members.
If approved by Parliament as announced, the benefit will provide up to $900 every two weeks for 15 weeks to those who do not qualify for the workers’ EI benefit. Those who believe they qualify for the emergency economic aid will be able to apply online through Canada Revenue Agency MyAccount or by calling a toll-free number; however, applications for this benefit are not yet available.
A number of other emergency economic aid measures related to the coronavirus pandemic was announced by Prime Minister Trudeau. The first is an increased Canada Child Benefit. Benefits will be boosted by $300 in May, according to Global News Canada.
Trudeau also reportedly announced that lower income families will get a one-time special payment in early May. This payment will be made through the goods and services tax credit and will put $400 in the pockets of single people and $600 for couples.
What do you think about the recently announced coronavirus emergency economic aid package? Will these payments help you and your family? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below!
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6 thoughts onEconomic Aid Package Unveiled for Canadians Impacted by Coronavirus
Add me please
…so the poorest families get a one-time payment of $600 and that’s supposed to last for the months and months that this has gone on?….what about the months and months yet to come before any semblance of normality returns?
Sad, but once again, those who need it the most…get the least.
Cant pay bills now… business has ground to a halt… 500-600 in EI will not make much of a difference… tax breaks will come to late… child tax increase is 2 months away…. We can not rely on Govt. to save us people…
I agree with Karen, especially about disability and seniors . I have been on disability for more than few months now and have a measly 47$ left a month to buy food !
How are u gonna help my family at this virus time.we are afraid to go to work but i need to or we wont make due.
This package is no where near big enough to help people out and there is nothing in the package to help out the seniors or people on disability, this could last for months and ,this package is a joke all the money is alway given to other countries we need to look after canadians first if not there will be no country.