Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced another update to the massive wage subsidy program, more help for students, and says he’ll be attending this afternoon’s cabinet meeting in person after spending the last month largely in COVID-19 self-isolation. And, while the government has yet to offer its pandemic predictions for case spread, Trudeau is forecasting that the March job numbers, which will be released on Thursday will be grim.
In yet another update to the $71 billion wage subsidy the federal government is in the process of rolling out, Trudeau announced the parameters to qualify are being relaxed. Previously the government said that businesses would have to show a 30 per cent drop in revenues compared to this time last year, which some start-ups and new businesses would not be able to do. Now, companies can now compare their lost revenue to what they made in January and February of 2020, and will only need to show a 15 per cent decline in March.
“Because most of us only felt the impact of COVID-19 halfway through the month,” he said. The subsidy would be on 75 per cent of employees’ salaries, up to $847 a week per employee, retroactive to March 15, for companies big and small.
Charities are also being granted the ability to choose whether or not to include government revenues in their calculations of lost revenue when applying. The government has also announced temporary changes to the Canada Summer Jobs program. Now, employers who hire summer students can apply for a subsidy of up to 100 per cent of the provincial or territorial hourly minimum wage.
This will help create up to 70,000 jobs for Canadians between the ages of 15 and 30, and will help give them work experience and an income despite the current economic situation. The time frame for the job placements are also being extended until the end of February, given some jobs will “start later than usual,” Trudeau said. The student hires can also be employed part-time, given many businesses have had to scale back their operations.