Canadian govt unveils new financial assistance plan for economic recovery

OTTAWA - The Canadian government has announced a new financial assistance plan for Canadians to recover the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

At a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, along with Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough, announced the new plan for the next phase of economic recovery when Canada continues to face the worst economic downturn in history.

The new plan includes the extended Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and the creation of three new benefit programs.

The CERB will be extended by another four weeks to September, and a new benefit that pays 400 Canadian dollars (about $303) a week for up to 26 weeks will replace it for those ineligible for employment insurance.

Anyone eligible for employment insurance will get the same minimum for at least 26 weeks and will need to have worked 120 hours to qualify, well below current employment insurance requirements, since many Canadians have been unable to work to the pandemic.

The second new benefit is a caregiving benefit of 500 Canadian dollars a week. This benefit is meant to help anyone who has to stay home because school or daycare is closed.

The third new benefit will provide 500 Canadian dollars weekly for up to two weeks for those who don't have paid sick leave and become sick or must self-isolate due to reasons linked to COVID-19.

The CERB, which has already paid out more than 69 billion Canadian dollars to more than 8.6 million recipients, will be in place until Sept 27. The CERB pays people 2,000 Canadian dollars a month.

Applications for the new benefits are scheduled to open in October.

However, the new benefits require parliamentary approval. The Canadian parliament is currently suspended until September when the House of Commons will begin a new session.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the suspension of the parliament was to allow his government to focus on its post-pandemic economic recovery strategy.