Federal Government Announces $82B Aid Package, Including $27B of Direct Aid for Canadians

Today, the Federal Government announced a new set of economic measures to help stabilize the economy during the COVID crisis. This includes up to $27 billion in direct support to Canadian workers and businesses.

Some measures include:

  • Waiving the one-week waiting period for those individuals in imposed quarantine that claim Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits. This temporary measure is in effect as of March 15, 2020.
  • Implementing the EI Work Sharing Program, which provides EI benefits to workers who agree to reduce their normal working hour as a result of developments beyond the control of their employers.
  • Providing $305 million for a new distinctions-based Indigenous Community Support Fund to address immediate needs in First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation communities.
  • Placing a six-month interest-free moratorium on the repayment of Canada Student Loans for all individuals currently in the process of repaying these loans.
  • Reducing required minimum withdrawals from Registered Retirement Income To support businesses that are facing revenue losses and to help prevent layoffs, the government is proposing to provide eligible small employers a temporary wage subsidy for a period of three months. The subsidy will be equal to 10% of remuneration paid during that period, up to a maximum subsidy of $1,375 per employee and $25,000 per employer.
  • The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) announced it is lowering the Domestic Stability Buffer by 1.25% of risk-weighted assets, effective immediately.

For a full breakdown of the economic response plan, please see the official release: Finance Canada-Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan: Support for Canadians and Businesses

OSPE will continue to monitor and share responses from our government and industry partners. Please follow us on our social media channels for information relevant to the engineering community. For all of OSPE’s socials, please scroll to the bottom of the page.

For more on COVID-19 and its affect on engineering in Ontario, visit our COVID-19 news page

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