Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government plans to move out-of-work Canadians into the employment insurance system and provide parallel support for millions set to exhaust emergency pandemic aid who don’t have EI to fall back on. The $80-billion Canada Emergency Response Benefit is set to wind down over the coming weeks, with those who […]
A new report is urging the federal government to introduce new types of leave and make broad changes to employment insurance. The report, by the YWCA Canada and the Institute for Gender and the Economy at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, is advocating for an equity-informed economic recovery plan that will ensure gender and sexual […]
The federal government is for the second time extending its program to subsidize wages in companies hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, this time until at least December. But the government is being warned it may have to move the end date into 2021. The program is the heart of the Liberals’ promise to help […]
More than eight million Canadians have received the $2,000 monthly Canada Emergency Response Benefit over the course of the pandemic. But labour experts say its very existence, while a triumph of policy-making on the fly, proves the need for significant reform to Canada’s employment insurance system. The pandemic quickly exposed long-standing issues with the EI […]
While Foodora announced in April that it’s shutting down its Canadian operations, its Toronto and Mississauga drivers, nevertheless, have voted to join the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, making them the first app-based workforce to unionize. “The truth is free — we are a union and we deserve respect and rights from our employer,” said Iván Ostos, a […]
The federal government is extending the Canada Emergency Response Benefit for an additional eight weeks to support Canadians who haven’t been able to find employment as provinces start to reopen their economies. “The reality is that even as we start to reopen, a lot of people still need this support to pay their bills while they look for […]
Employers with registered supplemental unemployment benefit plans aren’t able to use them to top up laid-off employees who are receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. In an online question and answer session on the CERB, the federal government confirmed that due to the “simplified design” of the benefit, the provisions existing under the employment insurance […]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has confirmed he’ll work with the provinces on creating 10 days of paid sick leave for all Canadians. “Nobody should have to choose between taking a day off work due to illness and having to pay their bills,” he said in his daily briefing on Monday. “That’s why the government will continue discussions […]
The federal government is expanding the Canada Emergency Response Benefit to include workers whose monthly income has been reduced to $1,000 or less, in response to concerns from gig economy workers who didn’t qualify for the original version of the benefit. The benefit will also now apply to seasonal workers who won’t have work because […]
The federal government will now only require employers to demonstrate a 15 per cent drop in revenue during the month of March due to the coronavirus to be able to access the new 75 per cent emergency wage subsidy. For all subsequent months that the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy is available, employers will be required to show a revenue drop […]