Prime Minister Announces Adjustments to the Emergency Wage Subsidy

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the government will broaden eligibility criteria for businesses and not-for-profits to access the Emergency Wage Subsidy. The measures will be presented to Parliament when it returns this week or early next week to pass enabling legislation.

Companies will now be able to compare their lost revenue to what they made in January and February of 2020 and will only need to show a 15% rather than 30% decline in March. The government made these proposed changes to address feedback received that under the previous criteria many start-ups, rapidly expanding businesses and new businesses would be excluded from the subsidy. Under the new proposed measures, not-for-profit organizations will be able to choose whether to include revenues from governments in their calculations when they apply for the wage subsidy.

Mr. Trudeau also announced the government will cover up to 100% of wages for students hired under the Canada Summer Jobs Program to encourage companies to continue to hire students.

The Prime Minister noted that the government will have more to say soon about further help for Canadians not covered by the Emergency Wage Subsidy or the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

All changes are proposed and are contingent on legislative approval.

Federal Engagement

A comprehensive resource for all government programs is available from Sussex here.

As the details of the programs announced today become available, let Sussex help connect you with the right people in government to help your organization get through these extraordinary times.

For more detail, please reach out to your Sussex representative directly or to the Federal Government Relations Team.