OTTAWA – The new Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), aimed at those people who don’t qualify for Employment Insurance, is now in place, which is good news says Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP Carol Hughes.
“The only vote that took place this week on the Throne Speech was for the CRB (Canada Recovery Benefit), which the NDP was supporting,” said MP Hughes. “The NDP was able to negotiate some further relief by the government which had been looking at putting in place an eligible benefit of $400 per week. We were able to get them to increase this to $500 per week.”
“There are still a lot of individuals who are not able to work because of COVID-19, or their company has not had them return to work as of yet because of the pandemic,” said MP Hughes. “The CRB is for them as well as for those who don’t qualify for EI because they never paid into it or don’t have enough hours. The pandemic was beyond anyone’s control,” she said, explaining, “for the first time in Canada’s history a sick leave benefit has also been created. It pays up to $1,000 over two weeks to people who can’t work because they contracted COVID-19 or much self-isolate because of the virus.”
Applications also opened last week for a new caregiver benefit, providing adding support for parents and others who are forced to miss work to care for a dependent due to COVID-19. This benefit applies to people who miss work because of school or daycare closures, and whose children who miss school or daycare because they have contracted the virus or may have been exposed. It also applies to people forced to miss work to care for family members who need specialized care that is unavailable to them due to COVID-19.
Applications for CRB, which will pay $500 per week for up to 26 weeks, can be made through Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
