The Federal Government has announced further measures to assist employers and workers during the pandemic, including the extension of the Canada Recovery Hiring Program until May 7, 2022, at 50%.
The Federal Government is also proposing the creation of two new streams of recovery support. The first is the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program, which will provide supports to hotels, restaurants and travel agencies through wage and rent subsidy programs. The subsidy rate would start at 40% for applicants with a 40% revenue loss, increasing with revenue loss, to a maximum of 75%.
The second is the Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program, which will provide supports in the form of wage and rent subsidy programs to employers who can show deep and enduring losses. The subsidy rate would start at 10% for applicants with a 50% revenue loss, to a maximum of 50% for those with a 75% revenue loss.
These two programs would be available from October 24, 2021 to May 7, 2022, although from March 13 to May 7, 2022, the support will decrease by half.
The Federal Government has also announced that it is creating a new lockdown support program that will be available if further local lockdowns are required. This program will provide wage and rent subsidies to businesses who must lockdown. The government also plans to make adjustments to pandemic income support programs by creating a new Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit. This benefit would provide $300 a week to workers who are subject to a lockdown.
Finally, the Federal Government has announced that it will be extending eligibility for the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit until May 7, 2022, and that it will increase the length of each benefit by two additional weeks.
