Government measures in key jurisdictions 4th edition - Flipbook - Page 26
Canada
Employment
What financial
support is the
government
providing to
businesses and to
individuals on
employment
issues?
As part of the CERP, the federal government originally introduced the Canada Emergency Wage
Subsidy (CEWS) program on April, 11, 2020 which provided a 75% wage subsidy to eligible
employers for up to 12 weeks, beginning on March 15, 2020. The program was subsequently
extended by regulation until August, 29, 2020.
New legislation was recently passed to not only extend but to redesign CEWS, making it available to
a broader group of employers and extending the program until December 19, 2020, but with
details only provided for until November 21, 2020. The legislative changes are deemed to have
come into force on April 11, 2020. More information on the original CEWS program can be found
here.
An overview of the key changes to CEWS, including, most importantly, as it relates to
determinations of eligibility and the calculation of subsidy entitlements, can be found here.
On August 20, 2020, the federal government announced further actions to help support workers
through the next phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. Those actions include an extension of
the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and, temporary changes to the employment
insurance program, and three new income support for essential workers are discussed
programs. Further details on these programs can be found here.
The federal government has amended the Canada Labour Code by creating a new jobprotected leave of absence of up to 16 weeks for employees in federally-regulated workplaces
who are unable or unavailable to work for reasons related to Covid-19.
Several Canadian provinces have similarly amended the
applicable provincial employment standards legislation to create job-protected leaves
of absence for employees who are unable to work due to Covid-19.
For more information
regarding the amendments to the Canada Labour Code and provincial employment
standards legislation, please visit the Cassels Comments located here and here.
The Ontario government announced a “Framework for Reopening
our Province,” a document setting out the public health principles behind its decisionmaking respecting the gradual reopening of the economy in the wake of Covid-19.
The document outlines a three-stage reopening process with progress from one stage to the
next based on whether the criteria in the preceding stage are met. Although there is no
timeline for the commencement of the first stage, it will involve opening “select
workplaces that can meet public health guidelines.”
The Ontario government also published resources for employers on
its website, including sector-specific workplace safety guidelines and
posters. At present, guidelines and posters have been published for the construction, food
processing, restaurant and food services, agriculture, manufacturing, and long-term care
sectors, suggesting that these will be the first “select workplaces” permitted to reopen.
Further information on the Ontario workplace safety guidelines can be found here.
Government measures in key jurisdictions
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