Chamber News

The government released details of the proposed extension and improvements to the CEWS program.  Legislative approval is still required, however those changes include:

• Allow the extension of the CEWS until December 19, 2020, including redesigned program details until November 21, 2020.
• Make the subsidy accessible to a broader range of employers by including employers with a revenue decline of less than 30% and providing a gradually decreasing base subsidy to all qualifying employers. This would help many struggling employers with less than a 30% revenue loss get support to keep and bring back workers while also ensuring those who have previously benefited could still qualify, even if their revenues recover and no longer meet the 30% revenue decline threshold.
• Introduce a top-up subsidy of up to an additional 25% for employers that have been most adversely affected by the pandemic. This would be particularly helpful to employers in industries that are recovering more slowly.
• Provide certainty to employers that have already made business decisions for July and August by ensuring they would not receive a subsidy rate lower than they would have had under the previous rules.
• Address certain technical issues identified by stakeholders

READ MORE on the proposed improvements to CEWS.