an overview of government relief measures for people

Current as of May 7, 2020

FREE*

We’ve prepared a practical one-stop guide to help individuals understand and access federal and provincial relief measures.

*DISCLAIMER: Information made available in this document is for information purposes only and is current to the date first written above. It is not and should not be taken as legal advice.

Work-Related Relief

Canada Emergency Response Benefit

The Federal Government has rolled out the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) for those who are out of work as a result of COVID-19. Under this new benefit scheme, those who qualify will receive a taxable benefit to individuals of $2,000 a month for up to four months. CERB is currently set to be available from March 15 through October 3, 2020.

Individuals can apply for the CERB through the CRA’s My Account or over the phone. If you have a My Account, but you’ve forgotten your CRA user ID or Password you’ll need your SIN, date of birth, a copy of your assessed individual tax return from one of the last two years and your personalized answers to the security questions you set up when you registered for your account. Individuals can also apply through Service Canada but should only apply through one portal.

Eligible applicants will begin to receive CERB payments by direct deposit (make sure your bank account information is up to date with CRA before electing to receive CERB payments by direct deposit!) within 3 to 5 days of application or within 10 days by mail - the CERB is paid every four weeks. The benefit is available to individuals who:

• reside in Canada and are at least 15 years old;

• have stopped working because of COVID-19 and have not voluntarily quit their job or are eligible for EI regular or sickness benefits;

• who had income of at least $5,000 in 2019 or in the 12 months prior to the date of their application; and
  who are or expect to be without employment or self-employment income for at least 14 consecutive days in the initial four-week period.

On April 15, 2020, the Federal Government announced broader access to the CERB to help more Canadians benefit from the CERB and changed the eligibility rules to:

• allow people to earn up to $1,000 per month while collecting the CERB;

• extend the CERB to seasonal workers who have exhausted their Employment Insurance (EI) regular benefits and are unable to undertake their regular seasonal work as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak; and

• extend the CERB to workers who have recently exhausted their EI regular benefits and are unable to find a job or return to work because of COVID-19.

Each application for CERB will cover a four-week period. Individuals will need to reapply for CERB benefits if they wish to receive benefits for additional four-week periods; individuals can apply a maximum of four times.

It is important to know that CERB payments are taxable and recipients of the CERB will need to report any CERB payments on next year’s tax filing.

Further, you may have to repay your CERB if you return to work earlier than you expected (and made more than $1,000 during the four-week period for which you received CERB payments) or if you applied for CERB and later realized you are not eligible for the benefit. The $1,000 cap on income does not include pensions or student loans and bursaries.

The Federal Government also announced that anybody who is unable to work for COVID-related reasons and applies for (and is eligible to receive) EI benefits will automatically receive payments via CERB instead of through EI. Because of this change, people who are entitled to receive the maximum EI benefit of $573 per week will receive $73 a week less.

Finally, in order to process applications for CERB more quickly, the Federal Government has set up specific application days based on birth month:

Applications are open and eligible individuals can apply here.

Employment Insurance

Canada’s EI program has long provided income replacement to people who are unable to work for a variety of reasons, including where individuals have lost their jobs due to a shortage of work (EI regular benefits) and for those who cannot work due to injury, illness, or the need to be isolated in quarantine (EI sickness benefits).

As noted above, the Federal Government has announced that all COVID-related EI claims will be paid through the CERB program (at the CERB rates). If you have exhausted your CERB payments and you are still unable to work, you may then become eligible for EI benefits. EI benefits remain available to you if your work hours have been reduced due to COVID-19 as part of a Work Share Program.

People who work for an employer or who are self-employed can qualify for EI. In order to be eligible for EI regular benefits or EI sickness benefits, you must be unable to work for the above-noted reasons. You must also have paid into the EI program and worked a minimum of 600 hours in the year before making your EI claim (or since your last EI claim if that was less than a year ago). If you are self-employed, you must have participated in the EI program for at least 12 months before you are entitled to benefits.

EI provides income replacement of 55% of an eligible person’s earnings (the maximum insurable income is $54,200 per year). Individuals receiving EI benefits can receive up to a maximum weekly EI benefit of $573. EI sickness benefits are available for up to 15 weeks and EI regular benefits can be available for up to 45 weeks (depending on the unemployment rate in your region at the time of filing your claim and the amount of insurable hours you’ve accumulated either in the last year or since your last claim, whichever is shorter).

The Federal Government has waived certain requirements for individuals seeking EI benefits due to impacts from COVID. For example, the government has waived the one-week mandatory waiting period for those accessing EI regular or sickness benefits due to COVID. The Federal Government has also waived the requirement to provide a doctor’s note to access EI sickness benefits for claims beginning March 15, 2020, or later.

At the time of writing this guide, Service Canada is still accepting applications for EI via My Service Canada Account, though Service Canada FAQs state that: “If you have stopped working because of COVID-19, you should apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.”

Temporary Wage Boost for Essential Workers

Low income essential workers earning less than $2,500 per month will receive a temporary top up through this program. This will apply to workers in service sectors such as health care, food supply and essential retail services. Workers will likely include auxiliary nurses, senior-caregivers and grocery store workers. This program will be delivered jointly by the Federal and Provincial Government; the Federal Government will provide up to $3 billion and the Provincial Government will determine which workers will be eligible and how much support they will receive. Additional details will follow as they become available.

Canada Emergency Student Benefit

The Federal Government recently proposed a Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) to support post-secondary students and recent graduates who don’t qualify for the CERB or EI and who cannot find full-time employment or cannot work due to COVID-19. Under the current proposal, the CESB would pay $1,250 per month for eligible students from May through August 2020 and $1,750 for students with dependents and those with permanent disabilities.

Like the CERB, the CESB will be run by the CRA. We will provide more details about this benefit when they become available.

Canada Student Service Grant

The Canada Student Service Grant (CSSG) will help students gain valuable work experience and skills while they help their communities during the COVID‑19 pandemic. For students who choose to do national service and serve their communities, the new CSSG will provide up to $5,000 for their education in the fall. More details will be provided when they are available.

B.C. Emergency Benefit for Workers

The BC Provincial Government has enacted the BC Emergency Benefit for Workers which will provide a one-time payment of $1,000 to people whose ability to work has been affected by COVID-19.

BC residents who receive the CERB are eligible for this emergency benefit. This includes people who have run out of EI benefits and now qualify for the CERB. Other eligibility requirements include that recipients must have been a resident of BC on March 15, 2020, have been approved for CERB, be at least 15 years old, have filed or agreed to file a 2019 BC income tax return and not received provincial income or disability assistance. Applications are open as of May 1, 2020 and can be completed online or by telephone. Click here to apply.

B.C. COVID Leave

The Government of British Columbia has temporarily amended the BC Employment Standards Act. If you are an employee in BC, you may be entitled to an unpaid leave of absence if:

• you have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and cannot work as a result of either medical advice (from a medical practitioner, nurse practitioner, or registered nurse) or the advice of a medical health officer;

• you are in quarantine or self isolation because of an order from the provincial health officer, an order under the Quarantine Act, or guidelines from the BC CDC or the Public Health Agency of Canada;

• your employer has directed you not to work due to concerns of exposure to others;

• because you are a care provider (in some circumstances); or

• you are out of the province and cannot return to work due to travel or border restrictions.

This COVID-19 leave is available for as long as the circumstances that gave rise to the need for the leave continue.

If you have requested a COVID-19 related leave, your employer may ask for “reasonable” proof to support the reason for your request but your employer cannot ask you to provide medical notes. You cannot be fired for having requested a COVID-19 related eave and, unless there are business-related reasons (such as a loss of business related to COVID-19, or a business closure/shutdown), you are entitled to return to your job (or a similar job) at the end of your COVID-19 related leave.

Relief to Reduce Cost of Living

Tenancy Protections + Rent relief

In addition to the Temporary Rental Supplement Program, the BC Residential Tenancy Act (the “RTA”) has been amended to provide increased protection to tenants in BC. The amendments to the RTA are in effect as long as BC is in a state of emergency. The two most significant temporary changes relate to rental increases and evictions.

During the state of emergency, landlords cannot increase rent (they can provide notice of a rent increase when the state of emergency ends). If your landlord has increased rent during the state of emergency, you are entitled to deduct the amount of the increase from future rent payments.

Your landlord cannot give you a notice to end your tenancy (for any reason) during the state of emergency. In very limited circumstances, landlords may apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch to end a tenancy. While the RTA still requires tenants pay rent in full and on time, landlords cannot evict tenants for failing to pay rent in full and on time during the state of emergency. However, if you do not pay rent you could face eviction once the state of emergency is over.

If you are struggling to pay rent, the BC Temporary Rental Supplement Program provides temporary relief for eligible renters of up to $500/month for April, May and June of 2020. It will cover part of the rent for low- and moderate-income renters who have lost income as a result of COVID-19. The renter and the landlord both have sections to complete in the application, but you will only have to apply once.

Payments are made directly to the landlords of eligible households. The program gives $300 per month for eligible households with no dependents and $500 per month for eligible households with dependents. Tenants must be renting a primary residence in British Columbia and the unit must be covered under the Residential Tenancy Act, the Manufactured Home Act, or the Cooperative Association Act.

Tenants are not eligible if their rent is subsidized by any other government program. Other government programs include: subsidized housing; rent supplements such as Shelter Aid For Elderly Renters (SAFER) or the Rental Assistance Program (RAP); Income Assistance; and Disability Assistance. Members of housing co-ops can get the benefit if they meet all other eligibility criteria. These criteria include paying the maximum unassisted housing charge and the co-op cannot be receiving any ongoing operating funding from BC Housing.

To be eligible, households must meet three criteria:

1.    They must have a 2019 gross household income of less than:

• $74,150 for singles and couples without dependents

• $113,040 for households with dependents

2.    As a result of COVID-19:

• Be receiving or eligible for EI; or

• Be receiving or eligible for CERB; or

• Have experienced and be able to provide evidence of a drop of 25% or more in monthly household employment income and;

3.    Be paying more than 30% of current household income towards rent.

Debt Related Relief

Student Loans

Students are not required to make payments on their student loans until September 30, 2020. The National Student Loan Service Centre announced that the pause on payments and interest accumulation takes effect automatically as of March 30, 2020. Pre-authorized debits will be stopped.

There have also been changes to Canada Student Grants; once approved, they will come into effect on August 1, 2020 and be available for one year. Canada Student Grants will be doubled to a maximum of $6,000 for full-time students and $3,600 for part time students. Canada Student Grants for students with permanent disabilities and students with dependents will also be doubled. For the 2020-2021 school year, students will not be required to make their fixed student contribution, nor will the spousal contribution be required. The weekly maximum loan limit will increase from $210 to $350, allowing a maximum of $11,900 in student loans for the coming year.

If you are a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident who attends one of BC’s 25 public post-secondary institutions and you are struggling financially, you may be eligible to receive assistance. BC’s Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training has earmarked $3.5 million in emergency financial assistance that will be distributed by BC’s public post-secondary institutions. You should reach out to your school’s financial aid office for information about applying for these funds.

Federal Tax Filing and Payment Extensions

The table below summarizes tax filing and payment extensions for individuals. Deadline extensions apply to certain tax balances due, as well as instalments, under Part I of the Income Tax Act.

Deferral of GST/HST Remittance

GST/HST payments have been deferred until June 30, 2020 for the following GST/HST registrants:

• Monthly filers remitting amounts collected for the February, March and April 2020 reporting periods;

• Quarterly filers remitting amounts collected for the January 2, 2020 through the March 31, 2020 reporting period; and

• Annual filers whose GST/HST return or instalments are due in March, April, or May 2020 and who are remitting amounts collected and owing for their previous fiscal year and instalments of GST/HST in respect of their current fiscal year.

GST/HST returns are still required to be filed by their regular deadlines, however the Canada Revenue Agency has stated that no penalties will be imposed for late returns, provided they are filed by June 30, 2020.

Increases to Existing Benefits

Benefits Related to Children

The Federal Government has increased the Canada Child Benefit and increased the maximum annual payment by up to $300.00 per child. This additional payment will be part of the May benefit payment. Those who already receive this benefit do not need to re-apply.

Provincial child care supports include the Temporary Emergency Child Care for Essential Workers. Workers in an essential service role with children under the age of five can apply to be matched with childcare in their communities. Priority will be given to those employed in health care and social services, law enforcement, first response and emergency response.

Eligible B.C. families with children with special needs can access the Emergency Relief Support Fund, which provides $225 per month for the next three months (April-June 2020). The emergency funding will support 50% more of the eligible families that are currently awaiting services.

Families with children in care on a special needs agreement or a voluntary care agreement will not have to make monthly maintenance payments for the duration of the pandemic period. Eligibility and access to At Home Program medical benefits will be relaxed and any families receiving benefits will continue to do so without the need for a reassessment during the pandemic period. Parameters on services purchased with Autism Funding will be expanded, allowing families to use up to 35% of funding to purchase equipment and items that assist in home learning and virtual instructional approaches. Families may direct their child’s Autism Funding to access family counselling and therapy services with a qualified provider.

Income and Disability Assistance

If you are not receiving EI payments or the CERB and are on, Income Assistance, Disability Assistance, Comforts Allowance or the BC Senior's Supplement you will automatically receive a $300 supplement on your cheques issued in April, May and June. No action is required on your part.

If you are on Disability Assistance and are receiving the BC Bus Pass, you will automatically receive the $52 Transportation Supplement on your cheque starting in April. This will continue for as long as BC Transit and Translink are suspending fares. No action is required on your part. Your bus pass will not be cancelled and will remain active for use on Sky Train and Sea Bus services. You will not need to re-apply once fares are re-instated.

GST Payment

The Federal Government is providing a one-time special payment starting April 9 through the Goods and Services Tax credit, for low and modest income families. The average additional benefit will be close to $400 for single individuals and close to $600 for couples. There is no need to apply for this payment; if you are eligible, you will receive it automatically.

BC Climate Action Tax Credit

A one-time enhancement to the climate action tax credit will be paid in July 2020 for moderate to low-income families. An adult will receive up to $218, increased from $43.50 and a child will receive $64 increased from $12.75. You must file your income taxes to be eligible for the B.C. Climate Action Tax Credit.

RRIFs

The Federal Government has reduced the required minimum withdrawals from Registered Retirement Income Funds (“RRIFs”) by 25 per cent for 2020. They are also contributing $9 million through United Way Canada for local organizations to support practical services to Canadian seniors. These services could include the delivery of groceries, medications, or other needed items, or personal outreach to assess individuals' needs and connect them to community supports.

DISCLAIMER: Information made available in this document is for information purposes only and is current to the date first written above. It is not and should not be taken as legal advice.