More COVID-19 related changes are coming, this time to British Columbia. Following suit with Alberta, the province of BC has recently made amendments extending their temporary layoff period from 13 weeks to 16 weeks in a 20-week period. It’s important to note this change is only applicable if the layoff is due to COVID-19 related...
There is some light at the end of the tunnel. Over the past week, provincial governments across Canada have started outlining plans to get businesses up and running again. Some provinces – Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec – have also released health and safety guidelines setting out what businesses must have in...
At long last the Ontario government is allowing some businesses to reopen, with strict guidelines, starting on Monday, May 4th, 2020. This announcement follows several other provinces announcing their reopening plans over the past week. If following proper health and safety guidelines, the following will be allowed to open come Monday: Garden centres and nurseries...
The Federal Government announced today that applications for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) will commence on April 27th, 2020. While you wait for the applications to open, they have provided a subsidy calculation tool to assist employers in figuring out how much wage subsidy they will be eligible for. The calculator can be found...
The Federal Government recently announced changes to the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB). The CERB provides for a taxable benefit of $2,000 a month for up to 4 months payable every 4 weeks from March 15, 2020 until October 3, 2020. New Updates to Who is Eligible: Wage earners and self-employed individuals, including contract workers,...
Details related to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) have now been made available. The CEWS provides a 75% wage subsidy to eligible employers for up to 12 weeks, retroactive to March 15, 2020. The CEWS aims to prevent further job losses, encourage employers to re-hire workers previously laid off as a result of COVID-19,...
A number of changes have been announced in light of the current pandemic for Alberta employers to take note of. Most notably is the extension to the maximum time allowed for temporary layoffs in the absence of an agreement between an employee/employer. In particular, the original maximum layoff period of 60 days has been extended...
The British Columbia Government has released a Ministerial Order, listing what it deems an essential service. It is important to note that this order does not mean that non-essential businesses must close. The order provides that the essential service providers cannot be held liable for COVID-19 related damages during a state of emergency, unless the...
The Ontario Government has released a revised, shorter, list of businesses/workplaces that it has deemed to be ‘essential’ and therefore many businesses that were ‘essential’ previously are no longer considered as such and therefore must be closed as of this past Saturday at midnight. The revised list notably impacts those in construction. Here is the...
We know that a lot of our clients are interested in the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and the Federal Government has just released additional information about the program, which can be found here: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2020/04/government-announces-details-of-the-canada-emergency-wage-subsidy-to-help-businesses-keep-canadians-in-their-jobs.html The above referenced press release highlights details related to eligibility, amount of subsidy, the length of the program, and other...