Ottawa is extending its emergency wage subsidy for Canadian businesses until December 19.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau says his Liberal government is also are easing the eligibility rules for the emergency wage subsidy and changing the amounts businesses can receive.
The government had been under pressure to make the subsidy more accessible, specifically by loosening the requirement of a 30% drop in revenues, so more companies under that cut-off can qualify for the government support.
Speaking in Toronto, Morneau says the rules will be changed so amounts paid out will be proportional to revenue declines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is the heart of the Liberals' promise to help Canadians get back to work..
Morneau's fiscal update last week boosted the budget for the program to $82.3 billion from $45 billion in a sign of impending changes and an extension beyond this summer. Morneau says the program will now end on December 19.
The most recent federal figures for the program show the government has given almost $20.4 billion in payroll help to about 262,200 companies. The government's proposed changes to the wage subsidy are part of a bill that will be debated when the House of Commons resumes sitting this week.
Related Stories
