Government of Canada unveils three new support programs for business, extends hiring program and worker benefits
Today, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, introduced Bill C-2 in Parliament to implement the recently announced measures. This bill would:
- Extend the Canada Recovery Hiring Program until May 7, 2022, for eligible employers with current revenue losses above 10% and increase the subsidy rate to 50%. The extension would help businesses continue to hire back workers, increase hours, and create the additional jobs Canada needs for a robust recovery.
- Deliver targeted support to businesses still facing significant pandemic-related challenges. Support would be available through three streams:
- Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program, which would provide support through wage and rent subsidies to, for example, hotels, tour operators, travel agencies, and restaurants, with a subsidy rate of up to 75%. The types of business that would be eligible are detailed in the proposed legislation and in the backgrounder associated with today’s announcement.
- Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program, which would provide support through wage and rent subsidies to other businesses that have faced deep losses, with a subsidy rate of up to 50%.
- Local Lockdown Program, which would provide businesses that face temporary new local lockdowns up to the maximum amount available through the wage and rent subsidy programs.
To ensure workers continue to have support and that no one is left behind, the proposed legislation would:
- Extend the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit and the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit until May 7, 2022, and increase the maximum duration of benefits by 2 weeks. This would extend the caregiving benefit from 42 to 44 weeks and the sickness benefit from 4 to 6 weeks.
- Establish the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit which would provide $300 a week in income support to eligible workers who are directly impacted by a COVID-19-related public health lockdown in their region up until May 7, 2022. Eligible workers would be able to apply to receive this support retroactively from October 24, 2021.
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Ontario invests $90 million in skilled trades career promotion
Ontario is investing an additional $90 million over three years to further promote the skilled trades to young people. This investment responds to the Apprenticeship Youth Advisors report, released today, which includes several recommendations to help solve the shortage of skilled workers Ontario is currently facing.
As part of today’s announcement, the government is also investing an additional $2.9 million, for a total of $20 million annually, to expand the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) and provide more opportunities for students. The OYAP now has 63 recruiters across more than 800 schools so that students can learn about the skilled trades at a younger age.
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Reading Recommendations
Chapman’s Ice Cream faces backlash and boycott over vaccination policy
CBC News
When Ashley Chapman announced a new vaccine policy at his Ontario ice cream company, he never expected people would boycott his product, send him hate mail, and call his elderly father a Nazi.
Chapman is the vice-president of Chapman’s Ice Cream, a family business in Markdale, Ont., that has been distributing ice cream products across Canada for 48 years.
His company is now at the centre of what he calls a “nasty” campaign by some anti-vaccine organizations and activists.
“The reaction was pretty brutal, actually very, very aggressive. People were calling us, leaving messages after hours. I’ve been sent, the only thing I can say is hate packages in the mail,” Chapman told As It Happens host Carol Off.
“Even my father, my 78-year-old father, got a voicemail on his phone, telling him he was like Hitler, and obviously a Nazi, and we should be convicted of war crimes, essentially.”
Becoming a More Humane Leader
Harvard Business Review
As a leader, how do you do the hard things that come with taking on the responsibility of leadership, while remaining a good human being? This is an eternal conundrum for all leaders. Most of us think we have to make a difficult, binary choice between being a good person or being a tough, effective leader. This is a false dichotomy. Being human and making hard leadership decisions are not mutually exclusive. In truth, doing hard things is often the most human thing to do. There are two key ingredients: wisdom and compassion.
Niagara COVID-19 statistics tracker
Niagara COVID vaccination tracker
Free rapid COVID-19 testing kits are now available to businesses. Visit gncc.ca/workplace-self-screening-kits to learn more and reserve kits for your organization.
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Through the Daily Updates, the GNCC aims to deliver important business news in a timely manner. We disseminate all news and information we feel will be important to businesses. Inclusion in the Daily Update is not an endorsement by the GNCC.
