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Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance

COVID-19: Ottawa announces Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program

The federal government today confirmed an agreement with the provinces to launch the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program (CECRA), a new commercial rent relief measure to assist landlords and small businesses struggling due to COVID-19. The measure would reduce rent for small businesses by 75 per cent, while providing loans to mortgaged commercial property […]

Canada Emergency Student Benefit

COVID-19: Ottawa launches $9 billion student support program

COVID-19 relief funds continue to flow from Ottawa with yesterday’s announcement of a new Canada Emergency Student Benefit, a package to support students and recent graduates not eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. The nearly $9 billion package is designed to provide assistance to students who are unlikely to find work this summer as […]

Taxation Specialists

COVID-19: How to apply for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy

The federal government yesterday announced that it would begin accepting applications for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) on April 27th, 2020. Businesses should expect to receive funds in May. Ottawa also released details on how to apply for the CEWS, which for organizations registered with the Canada Revenue Agency, can be managed through their […]

Government of Canada benefits

COVID-19: Ottawa enhances Canada Emergency Response Benefit eligibility

Adjustments to new federal relief programs designed to help support Canadians impacted by COVID-19 continues. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday announced a much-anticipated expansion of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), which faced heavy criticism due to eligibility rules that disqualified large swaths of the population. The government has since acted to close many of […]

COVID-19: Federal government passes Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy legislation

After an extraordinarily compressed timeline for debate and amendment, Bill C-14, the legislation to enact the new Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy that will provide relief to employers struggling to remain operational due to COVID-19, has received royal assent. The legislation is highly technical and laden with definitions and exceptions that make it complex—if there was […]

Proposed draft changes to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy would enhance SME relief

News today that the federal government is, indeed, considering changes to the new Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy to aid organizations struggling in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, was lauded by many in the business community. As we reported previously, the $71 billion program would provide a subsidy of up to 75 per cent of […]

Hospital emergency ward

Federal government clarifies CERB eligibility for Canadians seeking COVID-19 relief

By all accounts, today’s rollout of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) has gone relatively smoothly. Ottawa estimated that more than 240,000 Canadians, in search of financial support due to the COVID-19 crisis, had successfully applied for the program this morning alone. But at his daily press briefing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed criticism over […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Federal government promises to fill ‘gaps’ in Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy

It’s challenging to design a multibillion-dollar piece of legislation at the best of times. Factor in the raging global coronavirus pandemic, a collapsing national economy and a business community in desperate need of support due to COVID-19 business closures, and we can all appreciate the uphill battle facing the federal government as it works to […]

KRP LLP COVID-19 response

Ottawa outlines new 75% Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy

The federal government today announced details of the much-anticipated Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy.  As we noted in a previous blog, the program is designed to support Canadian businesses struggling to meet payroll and other operational needs in the face of the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, while protecting jobs and discouraging further layoffs. Under the proposed plan, […]