HUMA appearance on Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic - April 30, 2020

ESDC

1. Opening remarks
2. Supporting parents and child care during the COVID-19 crisis
3. Food security
4. Homelessness
5. Support for charities
6. Vulnerable population
7. List of ESDC measures
8. EI and CERB services
9. Questions and answers

CMHC

10. Federal Community Housing Initiative
11. Financial stability and the housing market
12. Indigenous housing
13. Support to renters
14. Evictions
15. Commercial rent support
16. Mortgage deferrals

Opening

Mr. / Ms. Chair, Committee members,

I am proud to be here with you today as we continue our important work to support and protect Canadians from the COVID-19 virus and its inevitable consequences.

There is no question that we have to continue working together and quickly to ensure Canadians have the supports they need.

This is why the Government implemented an emergency response plan to protect Canadians’ health and shelter them from financial hardships due to this pandemic.

I am proud to present the Government’s COVID-19 related measures under my portfolio as Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and as the Minister responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Parents

To help families with the cost of caring for their children during this challenging time, the Government of Canada is providing a one-time enhancement to the Canada Child Benefit (CCB). 

This means that families that are currently eligible for the CCB will receive an extra $300 per child as part of their May 2020 payment. 

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) measures

Committee Members, as the COVID-19 situation evolves, Canadians are becoming more and more concerned about their ability to pay their rents and mortgages.

These events remind us all how crucial it is to have the ability to rely on the safety of a home.

This is why we have put measures in place to help Canadians stay in their homes and find appropriate shelter to protect themselves and their families.

Committee members, our first and foremost defense measure for all Canadians who are financially impacted by COVID-19, whether they are homeowners, landlords, or renters, is the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).

This being said, it is important to note that housing providers have a most important role to play in safeguarding public health and protecting our economy.

We are all in this together, and we all have to pitch in.

Here is how the Government can make a difference in helping Canadians shelter in place.

Homeowners

There is help available for homeowners who are having difficulty paying their mortgage due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

If their mortgage is insured through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Genworth Canada or Canada Guaranty, the Government has put the following options in place:

• temporary/short term deferral of mortgage payments for up to 6 months
• loan re-amortization ‑ making lower mortgage payments over a longer period of time
• adding missed payments to the mortgage balance and spreading them over the repayment period
• or a combination of the above options

Canada’s 6 major banks and mortgage lenders have announced measures to support all homeowners, in the eventuality where mortgages would not be insured by the CMHC.

Landlords

Landlords who are also having financial difficulties have access to the same relief measures as homeowners, such as mortgage payment deferral.

These measures will allow landlords to show compassion and patience to their tenants in these extraordinary times.

Renters

Tenants who cannot pay their rent because of financial difficulties related to COVID-19 should contact their landlord.

Most provinces and territories, representing nearly all of Canada’s population have issued full or partial eviction bans.

The Government expects any housing provider to act compassionately and refrain from evicting their fellow Canadians, especially those who have received funding, support or mortgage loan insurance from CMHC.

It is also important that renters, homeowners and tenants who are still able to pay their rents and mortgages on a regular basis continue to do so.

Canadians must remember that financial relief measures are for those who need it most.

Help for our most vulnerable populations

The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is having real, tangible public health, economic and safety impacts on all Canadians.

Those experiencing homelessness are at heightened risk of contracting and transmitting COVID-19.

The Government has to ensure that the homeless-serving sector has the support it needs to prepare for, and manage the impacts of COVID-19.

In addition to the $157.5 million already announced to support people experiencing homelessness through the existing Reaching Home national delivery network, the Government has provided an additional $15 million to help those large urban centres that faced immediate and urgent needs at the start of the pandemic. This included funding to purchase beds and physical barriers for social distancing and to secure accommodation to reduce overcrowding in shelters. The Government is investing this money quickly through our existing community partners.

This funding will enable communities to quickly invest funding in services that will have the most impact based on their circumstances and needs.

Committee members, the Government believes that we all need a safe and affordable place to live.

By addressing the financial needs of Canadian renters, homeowners and landlords and the additional needs of those experiencing homelessness, the Government is doing its part to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus and protect Canadians during the pandemic.

Thank you. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Subject

What is the Government doing to support parents and Early Learning and Child Care?

Key facts

• The federal government is investing $7.5 billion over 11 years, starting in 2017 to 2018, to support and create more high-quality, affordable child care across the country, particularly for families more in need. Our current target of creating up to 40,000 affordable child care spaces has been largely achieved
• We are working collaboratively with the provinces and territories to extend the existing Early Learning and Child Care Bilateral Agreements
• The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) has played a key role in reducing the number of children living in poverty, which has declined by 334,000 between 2015 and 2018
• To ensure that the CCB continues to help Canadian families over the long term, since July 2018, CCB benefits have been indexed each year to keep pace with the cost of living. Indexing the CCB will provide an additional $5.6 billion in support to Canadian families over the 2018 to 2019 to 2022 to 2023 period
• To help over 3.5 million families with children during the COVID-19 crisis, the Government is providing a one-time enhancement to the CCB payment amounts of $300 per child, to be part of the May 2020 payment
• The Government is providing direct financial support to low- and modest-income individuals by doubling the Goods and Services (GST) credit amounts for the 2019 to 2020 benefit year

Response

• The Government of Canada is committed to supporting families and children who are facing hardship as a result of the outbreak, and is taking immediate action to help Canadians
• The Government is implementing a one-time increase to the Canada Child Benefit (CCB). Families currently eligible for the CCB will receive an extra $300 per child as part of their May 2020 payment. The overall increase for families receiving the child benefit will be approximately $550 on average
• The Government is providing direct financial support to low- and modest-income individuals by doubling the Goods and Services (GST) credit amounts for the 2019 to 2020 benefit year (2018 tax year). Pay out of the full increment was done in one lump-sum payment in April of this year
• ESDC has been monitoring the impact of the pandemic on child care centres, as well as the challenges and needs of the sector as it goes through, and emerges from, the pandemic crisis
• I recently spoken to my provincial and territorial counterparts about the impact of COVID in their jurisdictions and ESDC officials are in regular contact with their counterparts. I am in regular contact with stakeholders who continue to express concerns about the ELCC sector, and its availability to support families post-crisis

Background

Citations / Key quotes

Ministers quotes / Quotes by key stakeholders

Prepared by

Name: Charles Gorham

Title: Policy Analyst, Early Learning and Child Care

No phone number: 514-638-3159

Key contact

Name: Elizabeth Casuga

Title: Director, Early Learning and Child Care Policy

Phone number: 819-654-3665

Approved by

Name: Elizabeth Casuga

Title: Director, Early Learning and Child Care Policy

Phone number: 819-654-3665

Date

Date approved in SADMO / COO:

Issue

What is the Government doing to protect families and children from experiencing food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Key facts

• Food insecurity affected 8.7% of Canadian households before the COVID-19 pandemic
• This number is rising during the COVID-19 pandemic as Canadians experience job loss given the link between food and income insecurity
• Statistics Canada data has shown that 3.1 million Canadians were affected by either job loss or reduced hours in March 2020; workers in less secure, lower-quality jobs were more likely to see employment losses
• Rising food insecurity is expected to increase reliance on food banks and other food service organizations and may result in additional pressure on these organizations to deliver these services

Response

• The Government recognizes that, now more than ever, we need to support those who are experiencing food insecurity
• At the same time, we know that emergency food service organizations, such as food banks, are experiencing challenges with meeting increased demands
• For this reason, the Government is making up to $100 million available to food banks and local food organizations, to meet the urgent and increased needs of people facing food insecurity, including Indigenous Peoples and northern populations
• Thanks to this funding, we are helping to ensure communities across Canada will be able to focus on keeping their citizens healthy and safe
• The Government of Canada will continue to work with all levels of government and organizations focused on food security on this issue

Background

Food insecurity measures the number of Canadian households that do not have enough money to purchase or access a sufficient amount and variety of food to live a healthy lifestyle.

According to most recently available data collected through Statistics Canada’s Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), 8.7% of Canadian households were moderately or severely food insecure in 2017 to 2018, similar to 2011 to 2012 (8.3%), but higher than 2007 to 2008 (7.7%).

Within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians living in food insecure households could be at increased risk of experiencing more severe levels of food insecurity due to the economic consequences of the pandemic. There could be an increase in the number of food insecure households as individuals continue to experience income shocks from job losses.

Prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic, a priority for the Government of Canada was ensuring food security:

• Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy recognized that food insecurity is an important dimension of poverty. This is why the Government tracks this indicator in the Strategy’s Dimensions of Poverty Hub, which is publicly available on Statistics Canada’s website
• Budget 2019 announced over $134 million in initial investments to support a Food Policy for Canada. Led by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), the vision is that all people in Canada "are able to access a sufficient amount of safe, nutritious, and culturally diverse food [and that] Canada’s food system is resilient and innovative, sustains our environment and supports our economy"
• the Food Policy for Canada aligns with the objectives of initiatives across the federal government, such as the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, the Heathy Eating Strategy, and the Poverty Reduction Strategy, among others
• as part of the implementation of the Food Policy, AAFC announced  the Local Food Infrastructure Fund, a five-year, $50 million initiative, ending March 31, 2024, which aims to "strengthen food systems and to facilitate access to safe and nutritious food for at-risk populations"

Also as part of the Government’s Food Policy for Canada, Budget 2019 announced its intention to work with provinces and territories towards the creation of a national school food program. To that end, the government has consulted with the provinces and territories and not-for-profit sector on the current landscape of existing school food programs. This helped identify the programs and investments that are currently taking place across the country.

ESDC officials have been working closely with Agriculture and Agri-food Canada to identify programs that could help address stakeholder interest in school food programs. For example, under the Local Food Infrastructure Fund, community organizations that support school food programs can apply for funding.

Recognizing the unprecedented nature of the pandemic and its potential impacts on food security, the Government is making up to $100 million available to food banks and local food organizations to meet the urgent and increased food needs of people facing food insecurity, including Indigenous Peoples and northern populations.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada will work with key national and regional food serving agencies that have an established network and distribution system for food aid and hunger relief.

Of the funding, Food Banks Canada will receive a total of $50 million. Four other major networks are sharing an additional $20 million including Second Harvest, Community Food Centres Canada, the Breakfast Club and the Salvation Army. Of note, the Breakfast Club deals specifically in the area of school food programs.

The Government of Canada will allocate up to another $30 million under AAFC's Local Food Infrastructure Fund Emergency Funding Stream to address service gaps and to partner with organizations who support people experiencing food insecurity. This remaining $30 million of funding will not be delivered to local-level organizations by AAFC but by the five organizations who are already receiving and delivering funding to local-level organizations.

This funding could be used for a variety of activities, such as the purchase of food or equipment, to assist in the costs of local transportation, or to access new distribution centres to help address new realities caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

These organizations understand the issues many communities are facing and are best positioned to work with local partners to meet the urgent and increased food needs.

Recognizing the increased costs of food items in Canada’s North, the Government is providing an additional $25 million to Nutrition North Canada to increase subsidies so families can afford much-needed personal hygiene products and nutritious food.

In addition, the Government will provide up to $17.3 million to the governments of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut to support northern air carriers. This funding, in partnership with investments by the territorial governments, will ensure the continued supply of food, medical supplies, and other essential goods and services to remote and fly-in communities.

On April 21, 2020, the Government announced a $350 million Emergency Community Support Fund to help community organizations adapt frontline services for vulnerable Canadians – such as seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, newcomers, women, children and youth, LGBTQ2 communities, Indigenous people and racialized people – to the challenges of COVID-19. In addition to expanding home deliveries of groceries or medication, funds may also be used to:

• transport seniors or people with disabilities to appointments
• widen the reach of help lines that give information and link people to services
• replace in-person, one-on-one contact with contact through phone calls, texts or the Internet, and
• train volunteers on health and safety so that they can continue to make their invaluable contributions to the COVID-19 response

The Government will disburse funds through national partners, such as the United Way Centraide Canada, the Canadian Red Cross and Community Foundations of Canada, that will leverage existing community-based networks to ensure a rapid and effective flow of funds in line with local community needs.

Citations / Key quotes

“The Government of Canada strives to support the most vulnerable in our communities. This pandemic means that some of our fellow Canadians need help now, more than ever. That is why we are working with partners to increase the support to ensure organizations on the front lines of COVID-19 can continue to serve those Canadians who need it most.”

“Food banks and local food organizations are on the front lines making sure people get essential food support in their time of need. I encourage all my fellow Members of Parliament to contact the food security organizations in their region to ensure that the entire country is covered. If necessary, other networks will be added to the list of partners.”

Prepared by

Name: Lisa Bacon

Title: Senior Analyst

Phone number: 613.793.8432

Key contact

Name: Elizabeth Allen

Title: Director, Families and Care Policy Division

Phone number: 873.396.1183

Approved by

Name: Karen Hall

Title: Director General, Social Policy Directorate

Phone number:

Date

Date approved in SADMO / COO:

Issue

What is the Government of Canada doing to address COVID-19 for homeless Canadians or those at-risk of homelessness?

Key facts

• As part of Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, the Government announced an additional $157.5 million for Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy to address the needs of those experiencing homelessness in the face of the COVID-19 crisis
• As of April 17, 2020, there have been several confirmed cases of COVID-19 among those experiencing homelessness

Response

• One of the most important roles of our Government during this global pandemic is to support vulnerable Canadians, including those who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness
• This is why as a Government we are monitoring the evolution of the COVID-19 outbreak very closely. The Public Health Agency of Canada continues to work in close collaboration with provincial, territorial and local public health authorities to ensure appropriate responses are in place across the country
• The Government recently announced $157.5 million for Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy, to address the needs of those experiencing homelessness in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. Reaching Home provides a community-based approach to deliver funding directly to municipalities and local service providers
• Beginning on April 1st, 2020, additional funding has been provided to the 58 Designated Communities (including the seven in Quebec), 30 communities receiving funding directly under the Indigenous Homelessness stream, and the three territorial capitals. Funding has also been made available to Rural and Remote communities across Canada
• Overall, the approach to incremental funding has been designed to focus investments on urban centres where the risk of viral spread is highest, while also providing funding to support rural and remote communities. It also provides the flexibility to offer additional support to communities dealing with more significant outbreaks over time

Background

Reaching Home is a community-based program that provides funding directly to specific communities through the Designated Communities, Indigenous Homelessness and Territorial Homelessness streams. Financial support is provided to 64 Designated Communities (urban centres), the 3 territorial capitals, 30 Indigenous communities and rural and remote communities across Canada to support their efforts in addressing homelessness.

Outside of Quebec, Reaching Home funding is delivered under a Community Entity model, under which one organization (a municipality or non-profit) is responsible for identifying and managing projects based on locally-identified needs and priorities.

In Quebec, the Designated Communities stream and the Rural and Remote Homelessness stream are governed by a Canada-Quebec Agreement that reflects the jurisdictions and priorities of both governments. The Indigenous Homelessness stream in the province is administered by Service Canada throughout the province. This stream is not under a Canada-Quebec Agreement.

Over the past month, the governments of Canada and Québec have collaborated to conclude a Canada-Quebec Agreement to support the response of the homelessness sector to the COVID-19 crisis in the province. The Agreement is in its final stages of approval.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, ESDC has been in regular communication with its national partners and key stakeholders from the homeless-serving sector, by means of email communications and teleconference calls.

On March 23, the Public Health Agency of Canada released additional guidance for health authorities and the homelessness-serving sector to better protect people experiencing homelessness during the crisis.

Beyond communications efforts, the Minister approved reallocating $15 million in departmental lapsing Grants and Contributions funding to seven communities late in the 2019 to 2020 fiscal year: Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, and Peel Region.

The Department secured an additional $157.5 million for Reaching Home to address the needs of those experiencing homelessness in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.

The approach provides $133.8 million in additional funding beginning April 1, 2020 to 58 Designated Communities (including the seven in Quebec), 30 communities receiving funding directly under the Indigenous Homelessness stream, and the three territorial capitals; and recipients of the Rural and Remote Homelessness stream and for Indigenous Homelessness stream investments not allocated to specific communities. The majority of the funding has already been provided to communities.

Incremental funding provided to Quebec will be administered under a new COVID-19-specific Canada-Quebec agreement. Over $21.4 million is expected to flow shortly following signature by both governments.

The remaining funds are reserved to invest as needs emerge ($22.8M) and to support Departmental operating expenses ($0.9M).

In addition, using resources already set aside for this purpose ($1.9M in 2020 to 2021) the Minister announced the expansion of the Designated Communities stream to 6 new communities beginning April 1, 2020. These communities are Abbotsford (BC), Cowichan Valley (BC), Chilliwack (BC), Cochrane District (Timmins, ON), Lambton County (Sarnia, ON), Kenora (ON).

The overall approach has been designed to focus investments on urban centres where the risk of viral spread is highest, while also providing funding to support rural and remote communities. It also provides the flexibility to offer additional support to communities dealing with more significant outbreaks over time.

Moreover, the Department adjusted its Directives to provide communities with more flexibility for the duration of the crisis. The guiding principle will be that anything that can improve the capacity of communities and homelessness service providers to respond to the risks that COVID-19 pose to homeless individuals and families is eligible.

In particular, the Directives removes the restriction on using Reaching Home funds to provide general health and medical services, mental health or addiction support services that are already provided by provinces and territories. With this restriction lifted, communities will be able to directly hire health care professionals (for example, nurses and doctors) to provide services directly to clients.

ESDC continues to monitor the situation closely and is exploring ways to further support communities, including: working with other departments in a whole-of-government approach; and, in ensuring complementarity with ongoing provincial, territorial and municipal efforts.

Prepared by

Name: Francis Shin

Title: Policy Analyst

Key contact

Name: Janet Gwilliam

Title: Director,

Phone number: 819-654-7138

Approved by

Name: Kris Johnson

Title: Director General, Homelessness Policy Directorate

Phone number: 819-654-8798

Date

Date approved in SADMO / COO:

Issue

Charities in Canada are requesting supports to withstand the pandemic’s economic disruptions and to pivot their services to support vulnerable groups through COVID-19.

Key facts

• Charities and non-profits employ 2.4 million people across approximately 170,000 organizations (86,000 charities and around 90,000 non-profits). They added $169 billion to gross domestic product in 2017 (8.5% of GDP). Community charities and non-profits (those outside the health, education and business sectors) employ 611,000 people
• Charities and non-profits range from very large to extremely small organizations. They work at the local, regional, provincial/territorial and national levels and are active in almost every area of social, economic, environmental and community life. They provide meals to isolated seniors, services to children and youth at risk and people with disabilities, shelter for the homeless, support for those fleeing domestic abuse, addiction counselling, settlement services for recent immigrants, assistance to urban Indigenous people and other countless contributions
• COVID-19 will have a significant negative economic impact on the charitable and non-profit sector. Income has already fallen as charities and non-profits have realized steep drops in sales of goods and services (28% of income to community charities and non-profits in 2017) and donations (18% of income in 2017)
• Imagine Canada, an umbrella group for the charity and non-profit sector, modelled the pandemic’s economic impact on charities (excluding hospitals, universities and colleges). Because of the pandemic, it is estimated that registered charities could see financial losses of between $9.5 billion and $15.7 billion, and layoffs of between 118,000 and 194,000 of 2.4 million total employees

Response

• The Government of Canada sees charities and non-profits as vital partners in the fight to overcome the health, social and economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is why we are working with partners to increase the support to ensure organizations on the front lines of COVID-19 can continue to serve those Canadians who need it most
• Most recently on April 21, 2020, the Government announced an investment of $350 million to support vulnerable Canadians through charities and non-profit organizations that deliver essential services to those in need
• This announcement builds on the work that has been done for vulnerable Canadians, including increased support for those experiencing homelessness, help for women and children fleeing violence, counselling services for children and youth, and support for seniors
• Charities and non-profits can also apply for economic supports offered as part of wider COVID-19 response measures including the Canada Emergency Business Account, Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Temporary 10% Wage Subsidy and the Work Sharing Program if they meet the eligibility requirements
• Workers and volunteers in the charitable and non-profit sector who meet the requirements are also eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit

Background

Over the last number of weeks, the Government of Canada has heard from a large number of stakeholders who have requested support to address impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.

On March 20, 2020, Community Foundations of Canada wrote to the Prime Minister to propose a $1 billion federal contribution to a $1.5 billion fund to keep charities and non-profits in operation. Community Foundations of Canada’s network of 191 community foundations would contribute the other $500 million.

On March 25, 2020, Employment and Social Development Canada received a proposal from United Way for a $150 million Community Response Fund, which included an endorsement for the economic modeling done by Imagine Canada, which demonstrated the need for an $8 billion emergency sector stabilization fund. Additionally, United Way offered its support for the measures suggested by Community Foundations of Canada.

On March 25, 2020, the Emergency Coalition of Canadian Charities, a group of 120 charity leaders, wrote to Prime Minister Trudeau to outline COVID-19’s threat to charities and to call for help. The Coalition proposed an emergency stabilization fund of at least $10 billion to allow charities to stay afloat, pay staff and continue essential services during the pandemic.

The Department has also been hearing from organizations about immediate challenges facing charities and non-profits and actions required to address these needs. This includes Children First Canada, Vanier Institute of the Family, Canadian Camping Association and Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. Imagine Canada, an organization representing the charitable sector, has also written to the Government of Canada to request support on behalf of the sector.

Imagine Canada, Community Foundations of Canada, United Way, the Chantier de l’économie sociale and others have written to the Government of Canada to explain the dire circumstances in which many charities and non-profits find themselves and to seek help. Imagine Canada, with the support of more than 200 major organizations across the country, proposed an $8 billion stabilization fund to preserve charities and non-profits.

The Government of Canada is taking measures to help support charities to ensure that vulnerable Canadians can get the supports they need during the COVID-19 crisis. The Government has made investments to support charities and non-profits including:

• $9 million through United Way Centraide Canada for local organizations to support practical services to Canadian seniors including the delivery of groceries, medications, or other needed items, or personal outreach to assess individuals' needs and connect them to community supports
• up to $50 million to women's shelters and sexual assault centres, including facilities in Indigenous communities, to help with their capacity to manage and prevent an outbreak
• $7.5 million in funding to Kids Help Phone, a registered charity, to provide young people with the mental health support they need during this difficult time
• $100 million for organizations across the country including Food Banks Canada, Salvation Army, Second Harvest, Community Food Centres of Canada, Breakfast Club of Canada, and local-level organizations who serve people experiencing food insecurity, and
• $350 million to the Canadian Red Cross, Community Foundations of Canada and the United Way Centraide Canada to provide funding to ensure business continuity for charities and non-profits who have already started trying to adapt their frontline services to address the social inclusion, well-being and safety needs of vulnerable Canadians during COVID-19

If they meet the eligibility requirements, charities and non-profits can also apply for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Temporary 10% Wage Subsidy, and the Work Sharing Program. Workers and volunteers in the charitable and non-profit sector who meet the requirements are also eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

Charities and non-profit corporations that are eligible for the Canada Emergency Business Account can apply for interest-free loans of up to $40,000, a portion of which can be forgiven if the loan is repaid on or before December 31, 2022. Some charities and non-profits (large organizations who, in normal times, can count on a predictable income) might be able to manage the burden of a loan; many (small organizations of unpredictable income) might not.

Citations / Key quotes

“While COVID-19 is affecting all Canadians, some people are more at risk to the impacts of the pandemic. Recent announcements will further help our most vulnerable Canadians and ensure organizations have what they need to help. Canadians need to look out for one another in these difficult times. We will get through this together.”

“The Government of Canada strives to support the most vulnerable in our communities. This pandemic means that some of our fellow Canadians need help now, more than ever. That is why we are working with partners to increase the support to ensure organizations on the front lines of COVID-19 can continue to serve those Canadians who need it most.”

Prepared by

Name: Jessica Slade

Title: Policy Analyst

Key contact

Name: Susan MacPhee

Title: Director, Social Programs Division

Phone number: 613-567-3607

Approved by

Name: Monika Bertrand

Title: Director General, Social Innovation and Community Development Directorate

Phone number: 613-315-4598

Date: April 21, 2020

Date approved in SADMO / COO:

Issue

What is the Government of Canada doing to address COVID-19’s impact on vulnerable Canadians?

Key facts

• COVID-19 is having a disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations less prepared to deal with the health, social and economic impacts of the pandemic. Risks of stress, hardship and abuse rise as isolation increases and gaps emerge in the social supports on which these Canadians rely. In-person and often in-home contact as well as group activities play a key role in supporting vulnerable populations
• As part of Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, the Government announced, on April 21st, $350 million for an Emergency Community Support Fund to help community organizations adapt frontline services for vulnerable Canadians during the pandemic
• Demands on community support programs are growing rapidly at a time when the number of volunteers is falling. Significant challenges are emerging as front-line staff work to adapt and deliver essential services while minimizing social contact
• The Emergency Community Support Fund will help to ensure safe, uninterrupted service to vulnerable Canadians such as seniors, children and youth at risk, people with disabilities, women and members of the LGBTQ2 community during COVID-19

Response

• One of the most important roles of our Government during this pandemic is to support vulnerable Canadians, including seniors, children and youth at risk, people with disabilities, women and members of the LGBTQ2 community
• The need to reduce social contact to limit the spread of COVID-19 has opened gaps in programs for vulnerable people. It has led to:
  • new challenges in connecting vulnerable persons with the supplies or services they need (for example too few volunteers to deliver meals or take seniors to medical appointments)
  • elimination of in-person, one-on-one support for vulnerable persons (for example cancellation of friendly visits to elderly people or in-home supports for persons with disabilities), and
  • cancellation of group programs (for example cancellation of day programs for seniors)
• The Government will work alongside a small number of national intermediaries, such as the United Way Centraide Canada, the Canadian Red Cross and Community Foundations of Canada. These intermediaries will channel funds through their regional and local partners to local community organizations who support a wide range of vulnerable populations
• The Government anticipates that community organizations receiving funding will, for example:
  • increase volunteer-based home deliveries or transportation services (for example delivery of medications or accompanying/ driving seniors or persons with disabilities to appointments)
  • scale up help lines that provide information and support (for example increasing access to the 211 service of the United Way)
  • provide training, supplies and other supports required so that volunteers can continue to make their invaluable contribution to the COVID-19 response
  • replace in-person one-on-one contact and social gatherings with virtual contact through means like phone calls, texts, teleconferences or the internet
• The intermediary model will focus investments on community-identified immediate needs through local organizations with an intimate knowledge of local priorities. It also provides the flexibility to offer additional support and address the different needs of communities as the pandemic evolves
• The Emergency Community Support Fund complements other recently announced measures to support charitable and non-profit organizations in addressing COVID-19-related issues for vulnerable Canadians

Background

Community organizations are on the frontlines, serving critical community needs both in times of stability and crisis. Many vulnerable Canadians, such as seniors, children and youth at risk, people with disabilities, women, racialized communities such as Black Canadians and members of the LGBTQ2 community rely on these organizations, and that reliance often rises in times of hardship. They provide meals to isolated seniors, services to children and youth at risk, shelter for the homeless, support for those fleeing domestic abuse, addiction counselling, settlement services for recent immigrants, and countless other contributions.

Over the last number of weeks, the Government has heard from stakeholders serving vulnerable populations, such as Children First Canada, Down Syndrome Resource Center Canada, United Way Centraide Canada and the Canadian Red Cross.

These stakeholders raised concerns and offered suggestions on how the Government could best provide support in this challenging time. Stakeholders provided up-to-date information on COVID-19 realities, such as the challenges of pivoting services to keep clients safe while at the same time meeting rising demand.

To-date, the Government of Canada has announced a number of initiatives that support charitable and non-profit organizations in addressing COVID-19-related issues. Examples include: $100M for Food Banks and Local Food Organizations, $9M to United Way Canada through the New Horizons for Seniors Program to support isolated seniors in all regions across Canada, $157.5M in additional funding to the Reaching Home-funded communities to support people experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness during the COVID-19 outbreak, and $50 million to women’s shelters and sexual assault centres to help with their capacity to manage or prevent an outbreak in their facilities.

The $350 million Emergency Community Support Fund will complement these investments and support community organizations serving vulnerable populations to adapt and reorient their services in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.

The Emergency Community Support Fund will be delivered through the Social Development Partnerships Program (SDPP) of ESDC. SDPP is a flexible and responsive program focused on supporting children and families, including seniors, persons with disabilities and Black Canadians. ESDC has pioneered innovations in federal funding to charities and non-profits, and has found the intermediary model to be an efficient mechanism that can rapidly distribute funds in a manner that is responsive to community needs.

To support a wide range of community organizations serving vulnerable populations, the Emergency Community Support Fund will rely on three main intermediaries, the United Way Centraide Canada, the Canadian Red Cross and the Community Foundations of Canada.

Those 3 intermediaries will:

• flow funding quickly to local organizations that need it the most
• conduct fair and transparent assessment processes
• minimize duplication through national and local coordination, and
• be accountable for the use of the funds and its results

In addition, ESDC will work with the Canadian Red Cross to train and equip the volunteers of community organizations to safely provide services; and the United Way to explore the enhancement of the social services helpline 211.

Prepared by

Name: Jessica Slade

Title: Policy Analyst

Key contact

Name: Susan MacPhee

Title: Director, Social Programs Division

Phone number: 613-567-3607

Approved by

Name: Monika Bertrand

Title: Director General, Social Innovation and Community Development Directorate

Phone number: 613-315-4598

Date: April 18, 2020

Date approved in SADMO / COO:

Measure

Waive the one - week waiting period for EI sickness: for individuals in imposed quarantine and are EI eligible

Measure

Working-Sharing program: extending eligibility to 76 weeks, easing eligibility requirements and streamlining the application process

Measure

Waive the requirement to provide a medical certificate to access EI sickness

Measure

Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB): provide income support for workers aged 15 and older who have stopped working and who are without employment or self-employment income for reasons related to COVID-19 for 14 consecutive days within a four week period

Measure

Temporary Foreign Worker program: air travel exemptions, additional authorities (Quarantine Act, IRPR), arrivals readiness, LMIA and other flexibilities

Measure

Six-month interest free moratorium on repayment of Canada Student Loans.

The proposed Canada Emergency Student Benefit, which would provide support to students and new graduates who are not eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. This benefit would provide $1,250 per month for eligible students or $1,750 per month for eligible students with dependents or disabilities. The benefit would be available from May to August 2020.

Double the Canada Student Grants for all eligible full-time students to up to $6,000 and up to $3,600 for part-time students in 2020 to 2021.The Canada Student Grants for Students with Permanent Disabilities and Students with Dependents would also be doubled.

Broaden eligibility for student financial assistance by removing the expected student’s and spouse’s contributions in 2020 to 2021, in recognition that many students and families will struggle to save for school this year.

Enhance the Canada Student Loans Program by raising the maximum weekly amount that can be provided to a student in 2020 to 2021 from $210 to $350.

Measure

Supporting students through expanded student and youth programming

• $153.7 million for the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy to help youth develop the skills and gain the experience they need to successfully transition into the labour market. Funding will support a range of measures in high-demand sectors such as agriculture, technology, health and essential services, creating over 6,000 additional job placements
• Changes to the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy's Canada Summer Jobs program, including increased wage subsidies, expanded eligibility and new flexibilities for employers, to ensure it can continue to support up to 70,000 student job placements in 2020 to 2021. These new measures are being supported by a reallocation of existing resources
• $80 million for the Student Work Placement Program to support up to 20,000 post-secondary students across Canada to obtain paid work experience related to their field of study
• $15 million for the Supports for Student Learning Program to serve an additional 14,700 youth through support to complete high school and transition to post-secondary education in order to help ensure that vulnerable children and youth do not become further marginalized as a result of COVID-19

Measure

Delivering essential services to those in need: $350 million to support vulnerable Canadians through charities and non-profit organizations that deliver essential services to those in need.

The investment will flow through national organizations that have the ability to get funds quickly to local organizations that serve vulnerable populations.

Context

Please refer to the following article from the Toronto star: https://www.thestar.com/business/2020/04/21/frustration-mounts-as-cerb-payments-come-quickly-for-some-while-others-have-yet-to-see-a-cent.html

Questions

• Some Canadians applied for CERB and did not receive their benefit. Can you explain?
• How many cases are outstanding?
• Which cases take longer to process?
  • What is the percentage
  • Why does it take longer?
• Please provide an update on duplicate CERB payments
• What are the measures in place to improve call centre accessibility and wait times?

Current status of payments and processing update

Since March 16, 2020, over 10.3M CERB applications have been received by Service Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency, and over 98% of these applications have been processed. Over $25B in CERB and EI benefits have been paid during this time period.

These applications are continuing to be processed as they are received with the objective of paying Canadians their benefits as quickly as possible.

New processing capacities, both for the online service as well as for reporting by telephone, have been added to the system in order to respond to these growing needs, and more capacity will be added in the coming weeks. Service Canada has also recently redeployed almost 3,000 additional staff from other less critical activities to focus on supporting the delivery of EI and the new CERB. 

Since the implementation of the CERB, the program policy parameters have continued to evolve, requiring the systems to be adjusted on an ongoing basis, which may cause some delays in processing as the updates take place. For example, last week an additional 170,000 claims were processed as a result of the new Interim Orders, allowing seasonal workers and exhaustees to be included as EI-CERB eligible.

Claimants who applied for the CERB through Service Canada and the Employment Insurance program, must complete bi-weekly reports to prove their eligibility and continue receiving benefits.

In order to complete these bi-weekly reports, claimants will require an access code, which can be found on the EI benefit statement that is mailed to them shortly after they submit their EI application. Once they receive their access code, the bi-weekly reports can be competed online or by telephone.

There have been issues identified when clients are trying to complete their reports, then getting blocked and advised to contact the Call Centre to provide further information to proceed. As of April 9th, an automated solution was put into place to address the majority of trip down issues to address this issue for most claimants. However, for some claimants, depending on the information they submitted, they may still be required to contact Service Canada to speak to an agent to resolve their issue. Additional measures continue to be pursued to further increase the automation of claims and address these outstanding issues.

To better help clients understand the process, the Department has initiated an active campaign to educate clients, by way of email, updated web content and social media, of their obligation to report on a bi-weekly basis to continue to confirm entitlement. These changes were made as of April 24th, and efforts have resulted in an increase of approximately an additional 200,000 reports completed and clients paid. Further, in regular circumstances, clients must complete their reports no later than three weeks after each due date of their next bi-weekly report; however, to allow clients more time to action these reports, this deadline has been temporarily extended to 6 weeks. The Department continues to actively monitor the situation.

Duplicate CERB payments

The CERB is being jointly administered by Service Canada and the CRA to ensure that Canadians receive the money they are entitled to as quickly as possible.

As 2 organizations are administering the CERB independently, there may be situations where clients mistakenly applied for the benefit through both streams, which would result in a double payment. For example, millions of workers who applied for EI benefits were processed for the CERB and received a payment through Service Canada. If they were not aware that the payment was coming, they may have applied through CRA in error and thereby received a double payment – one from each organization.

Efforts have been made to mitigate against double payments including:

• before sending the $2,000 payment, we do a data match with CRA. A stop payment can be made before issuance of payment
• CRA has now implemented a validation check at the application stage. If the applicant has already been approved for benefits with EI/Service Canada, they will be redirected to continue through the EI stream. They will not be able to continue further with the CRA-CERB application

There have been 221,000 duplicate payments to clients.

Canada and CRA are working together to ensure that these situations are reconciled and payments to eligible clients do not exceed the maximum allowable benefit of $8,000 over a 16 week period.

For those clients that have received 2 payments of $2,000, they will be proactively contacted by letter with details on how to repay the amount owed. They do not need to contact the call centre.

Update on EI and CERB call centres and wait times

The EI Call Centre is experiencing an unprecedented volume of calls, impacting accessibility and increasing wait times. While the current average wait time for the EI Call Centre is approximately 2 hours, we are working hard to increase the capacity of our call centres.

• A great number of clients can resolve their enquiry through our CERB informational automated service, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is 100% accessible to clients
• To support the CERB, a New Virtual Call Centre was established on April 6 within Service Canada, which has approximately 1,500 staff, most of whom were deployed from other Service Canada operations was opened on April 6th
• This virtual call centre serves clients who have already applied through EI for CERB has shortened wait times and 100% accessibility
• This week we increased the technical capacity of the telephone reporting service for EI and this service now has nearly 100% accessibility, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

The key message for clients is to call the number which is most appropriate to respond to their needs, and if in doubt, they should start with the CERB automated telephone service at 1-833-966-2099.

If they have already applied to CERB through the employment insurance and want to ask additional questions, they can reach a Canada Emergency Response Benefit agent at 1-833-699-0299.

For information on EI Maternity, Parental, Fishing, Family Caregiving and Compassionate care benefits, as well as all other claims established prior to March 15th, or if they have completed your bi-weekly reporting and need to speak to an agent, they can contact the EI call centre at 1-800-206-7218.

1. Service delivery

A. How is the Government of Canada supporting Canadians affected by COVID-19?

The government established the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). This taxable benefit provides $2,000 every 4 weeks for up to 16 weeks to workers who lose their employment income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government of Canada’s priority is to ensure that Canadians receive the money they are entitled to as quickly as possible. That is why the CERB is being jointly administered by Service Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency.

Eligible workers apply through a simple portal. There is no waiting period and direct deposit payments will be delivered into accounts within 3 business days of applicants being eligible to receive it, and cheques within 10 days.

B. What are you doing to address wait times?

As of April 16, 2020, CRA and Service Canada have received 7.9M applications, and processed more than 7.5M of them.

The Department is putting in place strategies to ensure the timely delivery of benefits.

1. We have redeployed significant number of staff from other functions to focus on processing
2. We are focused on processing new claims and leaving adjustments aside
3. We are deploying strategies to increase automation and increase self-service opportunities for clients
4. With the new flexibilities in the Act, we would take additional steps to radically speed up our processing capability by implementing streamlined design changes

Taken together these measures will ensure we get Canadians the benefits they need when they need them most.

We have been able to get payments out to the overwhelming majority of applicants ahead of our EI service standard of 28 days.

C. I have been advised not to visit or enter a Service Canada Centre if I am experiencing symptoms such as cough, fever or difficulty breathing; in self-isolation or quarantine; or have travelled outside of Canada in the past 14 days. If this applies to me, how can I access services?

As an alternative to in-person service, Service Canada programs and services are available online at Canada.ca/service-canada-home or by telephone at: 1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232) - TTY: 1-800-926-9105.

You are encouraged to apply online for benefits and/or to mail your applications or supporting document to us. Service Canada services and mailing instructions are available online at Canada.ca/service-canada-home.

Additionally, you can contact our specialized call centres for program specific support:

Employment Insurance: Toll-Free: 1-800-206-7218, TTY: 1-800-529-3742.

Canada Pension and Old Age Security: Toll-Free: 1-800-277-9914, TTY: 1-800-255-4786.

Hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. local time, Monday to Friday.

Please Note: Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we are experiencing higher than normal call volumes. We encourage you to use self-serve options to access our programs and services online, and to avoid calling Service Canada if your request is not urgent.

We ask Canadians for their patience at this time so that we can focus our efforts on the most vulnerable Canadian population.

D. How are we reaching Indigenous communities; how can they apply if they don’t have internet access or access to a Service Canada Office?

To support access to critical programs and services for Indigenous communities, Service Canada Community Outreach and Liaison Service (COLS) staff are contacting communities to identify how we can support them accessing critical programs, services and benefits. These may include an on-line for those with connectivity, dedicated phone lines to support clients, and other measures as developed with communities.

2. Employment Insurance

A. Will foreign students and persons with work permits be able to apply for CERB?

Foreign students and persons with work permits may qualify for CERB if they meet the eligibility requirements, which includes, for instance, residing in Canada and having a valid Social Insurance Number.

B. Will we adjust EI so persons with fewer hours be able to obtain EI?

The Government of Canada is continuing to take strong, immediate and effective action to support all Canadians who are impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) is helping Canadian workers impacted by COVID-19 put food on the table and keep a roof over their head.

We are aware that not everyone is eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. The Government is continuing to explore ways for Canadians to get the support they need in these challenging and unprecedented times.

C. Will we eliminate the one-week waiting period on regular EI?

For anyone who became eligible for EI regular or sickness benefits on March 15, 2020 or later, the Employment Insurance claim will be automatically processed through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit that has no waiting period.

D. Will parents receiving maternity/paternity benefit, or parents that are expecting a child, be able to obtain EI or CERB when laid off?

Workers who are receiving EI maternity or parental benefits may continue to receive those benefits as usual. They may apply for CERB benefits after receiving EI maternity or parental benefits as long as they meet the eligibility requirements for CERB.

Parents expecting a child can apply for EI maternity/parental benefits through the normal EI channel.

E. Are claimants who indicate they will be going on maternity/parental benefits later in their claim eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit?

The rules applying to EI maternity and parental benefit claims have not changed.

Workers who are going on maternity or parental leave soon may apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit if they meet the eligibility criteria

Claimants who have indicated to Service Canada that they intend to claim EI maternity and parental benefits in the coming weeks are currently processed under the traditional EI rules. This interim approach is intended to facilitate the future transition from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit to EI maternity or parental benefits. A permanent approach is under development. Entitlements to EI maternity or parental benefits will not be reduced as a result of this transition.

F. Can employers keep their employees on payroll and top up their CERB without the employees being penalized?

In order to meet the CERB requirements, employees do not need to be laid off, the employer-employee relationship can be maintained. Employers may provide support to their employees provided that it does not exceed $1000 within the 4-week benefit period.

G. Will we extend EI Regular benefits for those who are currently on them and are soon going to run out? In other words, Seasonal Workers

The government has extended the CERB to workers, including seasonal workers, who exhaust their EI regular benefits between December 29, 2019 and October 3, 2020 and are unable to return to work as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

H. Is there a way for employees to receive financial support without having to be laid off first?

Workers do not need to be laid off to qualify. The employer-employee relationship can be maintained. In addition, to help more Canadians benefit from the CERB, the government has changed the eligibility rules to allow people to earn up to $1,000 per month while collecting the CERB.

3. Work sharing

A. Are we able to streamline the work-sharing program?

• The Government of Canada has taken steps to reduce the time to put an agreement in place from 30 days to just 10 days
• The Government of Canada has also taken concrete steps to significantly simplify mandatory requirements. Such actions include:
  • include broadening eligibility requirements for businesses
  • easing recovery plan requirements
  • removing the requirement to provide detailed financial information and reducing the time required for processing and approving applications
• These temporary changes are allowing more employers and workers across various sectors and industries to access the program when they need it most
• The COVID-19 special Work-Sharing measures are in effect until March 14, 2021

B. What other changes have been made to the work-sharing program?

• In addition to streamlining mandatory requirements of the work-sharing program, temporary special measures have been introduced that extend the duration of agreements from 38 to 76 weeks
• The mandatory cooling-off period between agreements has also been waived, allowing employers with recently expired agreements to immediately apply for a new one
• Eligibility has also been broadened temporarily to allow more employers access to the program. For example, Government Business Enterprises (Crown Corporations, other public corporations that run as profit-oriented entities that do not rely solely on public funds to operate) and essential staff who are typically not included

4. Emergency benefits

A. What is the eligibility criteria for these new benefits?

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit is available to individuals residing in Canada who are age 15 and over and who are employees or self-employed. To be eligible, individuals must:

• have stopped working because of reasons related to COVID-19 or are eligible for Employment Insurance regular or sickness benefits or have exhausted their Employment Insurance regular benefits between December 29, 2019 and October 3, 2020
• have had employment and/or self-employment income of at least $5,000 in 2019 or in the 12 months prior to the date of their application, and
• have not quit their job voluntarily

When submitting the first claim, an individual cannot have earned more than $1,000 in employment and/or self-employment income for 14 or more consecutive days within the 4 week benefit period of the claim.

When submitting subsequent claims, the individual cannot have earned more than $1,000 in employment and/or self-employment income for the entire 4 week benefit period of the new claim.

B. Will self-employed, contractors, gig economy workers, seasonal workers, etc. be eligible?

Yes, the benefit is available to workers, regardless of the nature of their employment, provided that they meet the eligibility criteria.

C. If someone who is Canadian earned income abroad, is he/she eligible? Are international student eligible? Can they earn the income outside of Canada or does it have to be income earned on Canadian soil?

The intent is to support workers in the Canadian labour force who stopped working as a result of COVID-19.

• The income does not have to be earned in Canada
• The person does have to be residing in Canada, and
• The person needs to have to have a SIN

A Canadian who earned income abroad and who is now residing here is eligible as long as the other conditions are met (if they ceased working due to COVID-19, etc.).

An international student with a SIN and currently residing in Canada is eligible if other conditions are met (if they ceased working due to COVID-19, etc.).

A Canadian residing in the UK is not eligible (even if he/she worked in Canada last year).

D. Is someone self-isolating and not in quarantine eligible for the emergency benefits?

Yes, the benefit is available to all workers who meet the eligibility criteria, including having not quit their job, but having no more than $1,000 employment income for at least 14 consecutive days within the initial 4 week benefit payment period as a result of ceasing work for reasons related to COVID-19.

E. Does someone have to have been without work for 14 days (is there a waiting period) before they can apply for the Benefit?

Individuals will be asked to certify that they have stopped or will stop working for reasons related to COVID-19, have not quit their job and will be earning no more than $1,000 as employment income for at least 14 consecutive days within the initial 4 week claim period. The is no waiting period for the benefit.

F. Does someone have to be laid off to access the new Benefit?

No.

They can remain attached to their company.

Individuals will be asked to certify that they have stopped or will stop working for reasons related to COVID-19, have not quit their job and will be earning no more than $1,000 as employment income for at least 14 consecutive days within the initial 4 week claim period.

G. How much will people receive?

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit provides a flat $500 weekly amount for up to 16 weeks.

H. How will the new benefits be administered?

Applicants are able to receive the Canada Emergency Response Benefit for up to 16 weeks. The design of the measure has been kept as simple as possible to make the measure accessible and ensure that payments are issued quickly. The measure is being delivered through both Service Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency.

5. Service Canada

A. What are we doing to address wait times?

As of April 16, 2020, CRA and Service Canada have received 7.9M applications and 7.55M have been processed.

The Department is putting in place strategies to ensure the timely delivery of benefits.

• We have redeployed significant number of staff from other functions to focus on processing
• We are focused on processing new claims and leaving adjustments aside
• We are deploying strategies to increase automation and increase self-service opportunities for clients
• And with the new flexibilities in the Act, we would take additional steps to radically speed up our processing capability by implementing streamlined design changes

Taken together these measures will ensure we get Canadians the benefits they need when they need them most.

We have been able to get payments out to the overwhelming majority of applicants ahead of our service standard of 28 days.

B. Will there be higher IT capacity?

The Department has been working with Shared Services Canada to increase its IT network and system capacity to address the significant increase in EI applications. Measures taken to-date include enhancing the IT infrastructure to enable more staff to telework and adding new servers to improve processing capacity.

6. Temporary Foreign Workers

A. What flexibilities has the Government introduced to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to ensure employers have access to workers?

Recognizing the continued importance of foreign workers to ensuring Canada’s food security, on a temporary basis, we have streamlined requirements for employers hiring workers in occupations related to agriculture and food processing, and are prioritizing those applications.

Given the persistent need for foreign workers in full-time/full-year positions under the low-wage stream of the program, which include occupations related to meat, fish and seafood processing, we have introduced a pilot to increase the maximum duration of a Labour Market Impact Assessment from 1 to 2 years. This initiative is expected to reduce processing times and costs for employers and the Government.

We have also implemented additional administrative flexibilities to enable employers to adapt to the COVID-19 situation, such as expediting the process for employers wishing the change the name of an already identified foreign worker, and eliminating the requirement for an employer to advise us of minor administrative changes.

B. With so many Canadians unemployed, why can’t we require employers to hire them rather than foreign workers?

I share this concern, and acknowledge that there may be cases where a temporary foreign worker fills a position that could have been filled by a Canadian. That being said, these are extraordinary circumstances, the situation is evolving rapidly, and it is critical that we ensure continued trade, commerce and food security.

With respect to agriculture, temporary foreign workers have been integral to Canada’s food production since the 1960s. Last year, approximately 60,000 temporary foreign workers came to Canada to work in agriculture and food processing jobs.

The agriculture and agri-food sectors have traditionally had difficulty in recruiting and hiring Canadians, despite the requirement that they advertise to Canadians first. The jobs are seasonal, often located outside of major urban centers, and based on recruitment efforts to date, do not appear to be attractive to many Canadians.

In the current context, especially where many farms have already started planting for the season, pivoting quickly to an all-Canadian agriculture workforce would pose significant challenges. At the same time, it is likely that fewer temporary foreign workers will come to Canada this year, putting additional pressure on the sector.

We continue to encourage employers to hire Canadians, and jobs are posted – and continue to be available – for Canadians who are interested. In addition, we are exploring additional ways to shore up our domestic labour supply.

C. Given the rapid rise in unemployment due to COVID-19, how is ESDC assessing employer applications for temporary foreign workers?

Applications to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program involve an extensive assessment of a number of factors, including labour market need, with a view to ensuring that Canadians and Permanent Residents are considered first for available jobs. This includes an assessment of labour market information.

While the rapidly evolving situation has reduced the usefulness of current labour market information to make objective assessments of labour shortages, the Program’s assessment of employer requests includes a number of criteria that take into account the state of the labour market.

For example, most employers must prove that they have made credible efforts to hire Canadians or Permanent residents, and will have their Employment Insurance history reviewed to ensure that they have not recently laid off Canadians.

Further, the Program has strengthened its assessment criteria to ensure that a potential employer has a genuine need for the foreign worker, particularly if the work is not considered an essential service by the federal or provincial and territorial governments.

Given the current context, demand for workers has also decreased, and as a result, the Program has observed a corresponding decrease in applications.

We are also exploring other potential adjustments to enable the program to adapt to the evolving context more quickly.

D. What is the role of employers of temporary foreign workers in safeguarding public health during this pandemic?

Like all travelers to Canada, temporary foreign workers are responsible for complying with orders made under the Quarantine Act, including the current requirement for mandatory quarantine or isolation. Contravening these requirements could lead to fines or imprisonment, and under proposed regulations, foreign workers could be deemed inadmissible to Canada and face removal.

Employers have an important role to play in helping to prevent the introduction and spread of COVID-19. Like all Canadians, employers are expected to follow the latest public health and safety requirements and guidance from the Government of Canada and their provincial/territorial and local authorities.

Amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, which entered into force on April 20, 2020, also compel employers of temporary foreign workers to meet additional requirements, including:

• paying workers for the initial quarantine/isolation period upon entry into Canada, regardless of whether they can work
• not prevent a worker from meeting their requirements under orders made under the Quarantine Act and/or the Emergencies Act, as well as provincial/territorial public health laws related to COVID-19, and
• additional requirements for employers who provide accommodations to workers

Employers who do not comply with the requirements could be subject to penalties of up to $1 million and a ban from hiring foreign workers, depending on the seriousness of the situation and number of workers affected.

E. How will you enforce employer compliance with the new requirements?

Communication has been the cornerstone of our approach to ensuring employers understand and comply with the new requirements related to COVID-19.

Along with the Minister of Health, I outlined the Government’s expectations of employers in a letter dated April 1st. That letter was shared with all employers of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, and is posted online.

Additional guidance to employers, informed by the expertise of public health officials, as well as extensive stakeholder engagement at the officials’ level, have also taken place.

Amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations which entered into force on April 20, 2020 will enable enforcement of the new requirements through inspections and the application of penalties for non-compliance under the existing administrative monetary penalties framework.

Given the critical importance of protecting public health, these amendments include the ability for enforcement officers to conduct inspections regarding COVID-19 early, quickly, and make final determinations faster. Inspections would be initiated proactively, but also reactively, such as through tips, or reports of confirmed cases of COVID-19 at a worksite.

The Government will continue to work with provinces/territories, partner countries, employer associations, worker support organizations, and other stakeholders to address issues and questions, and communicate additional information on requirements for inspections in the coming days.

F. Why doesn’t the Government take responsibility for quarantining workers?

Together, we all have an important role to play in protecting public health throughout this pandemic, and we share a key objective – to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Government of Canada has implemented a number of measures to screen travellers, including temporary foreign workers, before they leave for Canada, and upon arrival. Government quarantine facilities have been established, and using a risk-based approach, officers will determine whether workers should be quarantined in a Government facility, or at their final destination.

In addition, I understand that some provinces are imposing additional requirements for foreign workers upon arrival.

Under current program rules, many employers of temporary foreign workers, especially those in agriculture, provide housing to workers. We have been engaging with employer groups, and communicating with employers directly, to ensure that this housing enables workers to meet the requirements of quarantine.

In addition under new regulations employers are required to provide accommodations that enables workers to meet the requirements to quarantine, such as maintaining a 2 metre distance.

And, we are offering compensation to employers in key sectors to defray some of the additional costs they may incur as a result.

Importantly, this approach will help to ensure the health of the public, including foreign workers, is protected not just for their first 2 weeks in Canada, but throughout their entire period of employment.

7. Canada Summer Jobs program

A. How is CSJ changing for summer 2020 to respond to COVID-19?

When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, the implementation of CSJ was well underway. The program will continue to serve the same client group (youth aged 15 to 30) and the Department will work with employers which have already submitted applications in order to roll out CSJ 2020.

However, there may be some employers that may now have to withdraw while at the same time there may be other areas of the country where employers are able to hire and where CSJ could make a significant impact in addressing the economic challenges posed by COVID-19.

To encourage job creation through additional flexibilities are supports, CSJ 2020 will:

• increase the wage subsidy from 50% to 100% of the provincial/territorial minimum wage for small businesses and public sector employers
• allow for part-time work placements
• allow for placements to extend longer—up until the end of February 2021
• allow employers approved for funding to amend the activities to support the delivery of essential services

MPs have also been invited to identify local organizations that support the delivery of essential services but have not applied for funding and could provide youth a job placement.

B. What program adjustments have been put in place to better support the delivery of essential services?

All employers approved for funding will be provided with the flexibility to amend project and job activities to support the delivery of critical services.

MPs have also been invited to work with the Department to identify local organizations that provide critical services that have not applied for CSJ funding but could be solicited to submit an application to offer job placements.

C. How is role of MPs changing for CSJ 2020 to respond to COVID-19?

CSJ is delivered through a constituency based funding model and MPs play an important role in CSJ.

Typically, MPs participate by promoting the program to potential employers in their constituency, identifying local priorities, providing input on project lists, and ensuring that local circumstances are reflected. MPs also notify employers when their project is approved for funding.

It is expected that even with the temporary flexibilities for CSJ 2020, there will be employers who will not be able to hire youth this year amid the current pandemic and the withdrawal rate of employers will be higher than previous years.

In order to maximize opportunities for employers to hire youth, MPs are being asked to play a larger role than usual.

MP engagement has started earlier than previously planned (April 9) to help identify local organizations that provide essential services but may not have applied for CSJ funding.

This will allow the department to take advantage of MP’s real time understanding of the current situation in their area given how quickly things are changing.

These organizations will be solicited to submit applications to offer job placements.

In order to be approved for funding, organizations would need to meet the eligibility criteria for CSJ 2020 (in other words, quality job placements in safe, healthy and inclusive work environments).

D. How much funding is being provided to the CSJ Program in 2020?

The Government of Canada is investing $263 million in funding for the Canada Summer Jobs program in 2020 to support the creation of 70,000 youth jobs with an average duration of 8 weeks, 35 hours.

8. Youth Employment and Skills Strategy

A. What changes are being introduced under the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS) program in response to COVID-19?

Additional investments in the YESS program will increase employment opportunities and supports for youth across the country who are impacted by the pandemic by:

• funding employers and not-for-profit organizations to create youth employment opportunities in critical sectors and services supporting vulnerable populations impacted by COVID-19
• offering additional training opportunities for youth to increase job readiness and employability, and
• provide relevant supports, such as mentorship, access to computers, access to mental health supports, to ensure youth, including those who face barriers, can benefit from these new employment opportunities

B. How many jobs for youth will be created in emergency sectors through additional investments?

With approximately $153.7 million in funding, the Government will support the creation of at least 6,000 jobs in critical sectors.

C. What youth will benefit? Will these changes support youth facing barriers?

YESS programming is available to all youth aged 15 to 30.

Additional supports, such as mentorship, access to computers, access to mental health supports, are aimed at ensuring youth facing barriers to the labour market, can benefit from these new opportunities.

These enhancements to YESS complement other measures introduced to support youth and students impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, including the enhancements to Canada Summer Jobs Program.

D. Which critical sectors will these additional job placements help? What type of jobs are being created?

These youth jobs will begin quickly to support critical sectors including, but not restricted to: agriculture and agri-food; biosciences and research; transport; environment; and, community service.

These critical service jobs will protect the health and safety of youth. Examples of jobs created include: telephone and online health and social support services, research and administrative roles, supporting roles for services to vulnerable populations, etc.

9. Student Work Placement program

A. What changes are being made to the Student Work Placement Program in response to COVID-19?

A 1 year additional investment of $80M will be made, and temporary measures introduced, to increase access to the Student Work Placement Program for students and businesses impacted by COVID-19.

This includes:

• $50M to create an additional 3,000 student placements in the health-care sector
• 2,000 placements in other front line sectors in 2020 to 2021, like agriculture, food processing, transportation and retail
• $30M for temporary program flexibilities to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on student hiring, and increase the offer of student work-placements to post-secondary students

This includes:

1. increasing the wage subsidy of up to 75% (up to a maximum of $7,500 per placement) of the cost of wages across all placements, from the current 50% for regular placements and 70% for placements targeting under-represented youth
2. waiving the criteria requiring employers to offer more placements than they did in previous years, in order to receive Student Work Placement Program funding

These additional investments and program changes are expected to create up to 20,000 additional placements for post-secondary students in 2020 to 2021.

10. Financial support for students

A. How is the Government of Canada supporting students facing financial challenges as a result of COVID-19?

The Government of Canada has introduced a new Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB), which will provide financial relief to students and recent graduates who are unable to find work because of COVID-19. The benefit provides $1,250 a month for up to 4 months, with an additional $500 per month for students with disabilities, as well as those with dependants.

The Government has also increased the value of Canada Student Grants and Loans and relaxed their eligibility criteria to support new and returning students for the 2020 to 2021 academic year. The value of Canada Student Grants will be doubled, the expected contributions from students and spouses will be exempted from the calculation of a student’s financial need, and the cap on Canada Student Loans will be increased from $210 to $350 per week of study.

These measures are in addition to the recent pause on repayment and interest for student loans for the period of March 30 to September 30.

B. Who is eligible to receive the CESB?

The CESB is available to students who are enrolled in a post-secondary education program leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate; or who ended their studies no earlier than December 2019. It is also available to recent high school graduates who are enrolled in PSE in the fall.

C. Do students need to do anything to receive this benefit?

In order to receive the CESB, students will have to complete an application and be required to attest that they are not eligible for the CERB. Eligible students must reapply for the CESB every month.

D. Why is the government increasing the student loan burden for students?

The Government will increase the Canada Student Grants amount by doubling it to up to $6,000 as well as expand their eligibility. To ensure that students are not left with ‘unmet needs’, the Government will increase the cap on student loans, which has not changed since 2005.

Any increase in student debt is expected to be mitigated by the recent lowering of the interest rate on Canada Student Loans and enhancements to the Repayment Assistance Plan.

Issue

How is The Government implementing phase 2 of the Federal Community Housing Initiative (FCHI-2) in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Key facts

• N/A

Response

• The Federal Community Housing Initiative is a new rental assistance program for community housing providers that are reaching the end of their federally administered operating agreements from past social and affordable housing programs. This program will provide rental assistance to low-income households
• The launch date of FCHI-2 has been delayed from April 1, 2020, to September 1, 2020. For eligible housing providers who have opted-in to FCHI-2, and who have federally administered assistance expiring in the coming months, current levels of financial assistance will be maintained until the end of August 2020
• Amid the ongoing global COVID-19 outbreak, the delay allows adequate time for a successful enrolment to the FCHI-2 program, including the submission of the enrolment package, and the review and signature of the new FCHI-2 agreements by housing providers

Background

• N/A

Citations / Key quotes

• N/A

Prepared by/ Key contact

Name: Etienne Caouette-Fraser

Title: Senior Officer, Parliamentary Affairs

No phone number: 613-748-2350

Approved by

Name: Derek Antoine

Title: Manager, Parliamentary Affairs and Correspondence

No phone number: 613-748-2248

Issue

How is the Government ensuring Canada’s financial stability as well as the stability of the housing market?

Key facts

• In a legislative costing note released on April 2, 2020, the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated that the total net savings of the Insured Mortgage Purchase Program would be $13 million in 2019 to 2020 and $428 million 2020 to 2021.

Response

• It’s too soon to determine how much of an impact COVID-19 will have on the housing market. CMHC will continue to monitor this issue and report any impact it may have on the market in future reports as appropriate
• The Government, through CMHC ensures it has access to sufficient liquidity to meet its obligations and to continue to support housing activity and financial market stability
• CMHC has also started stress-testing a pandemic scenario to better assess impacts as events unfold
• On March 16, 2020, the Government also announced the launch of the Insured Mortgage Purchase Program (IMPP)
• This $150-billion IMPP will help Canadian financial institutions by providing access to funding for banks and mortgage lenders in order to ensure continued lending to Canadian consumers and businesses
• IMPP was successful during the global financial crisis of 2008 in moderating credit conditions for Canadians and providing stability to both the mortgage credit and consumer credit markets
• Given current market conditions, the IMPP will be a reliable source of funding for Canadian financial institutions when needed in times of market volatility due to COVID-19
• This relief to Canadian homebuyers and consumers comes at no added cost to the taxpayer, as these securities will earn a rate of return for the Government that is well above the Government's own cost of borrowing
• The IMPP supplements our standard mortgage funding activities, which support stability in Canada’s mortgage market through consistent and reliable access to mortgage funding

Background

• N/A

Citations / Key quotes

• N/A

Prepared by/ Key contact

Name: Etienne Caouette-Fraser

Title: Senior Officer, Parliamentary Affairs

No phone number: 613-748-2350

Approved by

Name: Derek Antoine

Title: Manager, Parliamentary Affairs and Correspondence

No phone number: 613-748-2248

Issue

How is the Government supporting Indigenous communities during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Key facts

• N/A

Response

• We recognize that many Indigenous communities are facing unique and unprecedented challenges as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak 
• We are closely monitoring the situation and our priority is to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of Indigenous communities during this period of uncertainty 
• Across the federal government, there are various relief measures underway and new funding available to support Indigenous communities and housing providers in managing this pandemic
• We continue to explore other solutions and flexibilities that will alleviate some of the financial impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak
• Through CMHC, we have introduced loan payment deferrals, reporting and agreement flexibilities, work-arounds for on-site progress inspections, and have stopped subsidy suspensions to support Indigenous communities, housing providers and homeowners during this difficult time 
• CMHC is also working hard to ensure funding continues to flow for on-reserve programs that help build new and repair existing housing, while being sensitive to the working environments of many First Nations right now, who have needed to close or restrict access to their communities
• Funding for capacity development, skills training and youth internships remain available to Indigenous communities to assist them in meeting their ongoing housing needs
• Most of all, we are trying to ensure that Indigenous communities know that we are here for them and will work with them explore solutions if they are encountering difficulties or financial hardship

Background

• N/A

Citations / Key quotes

• N/A

Prepared by/ Key contact

Name: Etienne Caouette-Fraser

Title: Senior Officer, Parliamentary Affairs

No phone number: 613-748-2350

Approved by

Name: Derek Antoine

Title: Manager, Parliamentary Affairs and Correspondence

No phone number: 613-748-2248

Issue

What is the government doing to help renters affected by the COVID-19 crisis?

Key facts

• N/A

Response

• These events remind us all how crucial it is to have a sanctuary. We believe that we all need a safe and affordable place to live
• The first defense for renters is the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)
• CMHC has reached out to its clients to offer assistance with a range of tools available to help mitigate temporary financial hardship related to COVID-19 pandemic
• This will give everyone the chance to shelter safely and provide the time needed for emergency funds from the federal government to be dispersed to Canadians
• To support community housing providers and co-operatives who have a CMHC-financed loan, and are experiencing financial hardship as a result of COVID‑19, CMHC is offering a series of tools and relief measures to alleviate some of the financial impacts, including up to six months of deferral of loan payment, capitalization, special payment arrangements, advancing flexibilities, and any combination of tools
• To support CMHC-insured multi-unit loan borrowers during this difficult time, CMHC is permitting lenders to defer up to 6 monthly mortgage payments in cases where borrowers are facing financial difficulties as a result of COVID-19
• At the first sign of financial difficulty, multi-unit borrowers should contact their lender. This will give landlords the financial flexibility they need to show compassion and patience to their tenants in these extraordinary times
• In addition, we are concluding agreements for the Canada Housing Benefit (CHB), which took effect on April 1st, 2020, with a number of provinces and territories, and our government is continuing discussions with the other provinces and territories on the CHB and looking at ways to accelerate the flow of funding into the hands of Canadians in need of assistance
• Housing providers, lenders, and landlords have an important role to play to support impacted borrowers in a compassionate manner and by extension renters and households, so that their home remains their sanctuary. We are all in this together to preserve our economy during these extraordinary times

Background

BC and PEI are the only jurisdictions to provide a rent support. The initiative in BC provides up to $500 support monthly to qualified persons, while the PEI initiative provides a total of $1,000 over 3 months ($500 in the first month, and $250 each for the following 2 months).

The Canada Housing Benefit is a $2 billion ($4 billion with cost matched funding from PTs) initiative to provide support to Canadians to improve their housing affordability. Co-developed and delivered by provinces and territories, the CHB will respond to their unique contexts and needs. It will align with NHS principles, mitigate inflationary effects, and be coordinated with local programs.

To support non-profit and co-operative housing providers with CMHC loans in good standing who are experiencing financial difficulties due to COVID-19 may be able to access a series of tools and relief measures including deferral of loan payment, capitalization, special payment arrangements, advancing flexibilities, and any combination of tools. CMHC will work with co-operative and non-profit housing providers to find the solution that best meets their needs.

Citations / Key quotes

• N/A

Prepared by/ Key contact

Name: Etienne Caouette-Fraser

Title: Senior Officer, Parliamentary Affairs

No phone number: 613-748-2350

Approved by

Name: Derek Antoine

Title: Manager, Parliamentary Affairs and Correspondence

No phone number: 613-748-2248

Issue

How is the Government mitigating tenant evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Key facts

• The Federal Government has limited capacity to respond to eviction and rent control regulations in Canada as provinces and territories exercise jurisdictional control in these areas
• Currently all provinces and territories, except Nunavut, have instituted some level of moratorium on evictions in their jurisdictions

Response

• These events remind us all how crucial it is to have a sanctuary. We believe that we all need a safe and affordable place to live
• The first defense for renters are income support measures. This is why the Government of Canada launched the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, to help Canadians through these unprecedented times
• We expect any housing provider, especially those who have received funding, support or mortgage loan insurance from CMHC, either directly or through their province or territory, to act compassionately and refrain from evicting their tenants
• Our government is working closely with all provinces and territories on behalf of renters. I am pleased that most provinces and territories, representing nearly all of Canada’s population (99.89%), have issued full or partial eviction bans. For those who are able, continue paying your rent or mortgage to ensure that assistance is available for those who need it
• Housing providers have an important role to play in preserving our economy during these extraordinary times. We are all in this together. Landlords with CMHC-insured multi-unit loans facing financial difficulties can request a loan payment deferral through their lender’s default management department. This will help them further provide financial help to support their tenants

Background

As at April 20, 2020, 12 provinces and territories have announced some level of moratorium on evictions as a result of their response to COVID-19. Currently, the only jurisdiction without an eviction moratorium is Nunavut, which has no reported cases of COVID-19. There is very little rental housing in Nunavut for which the Territory is not the landlord. The Territory rarely evict tenants, thus such a moratorium is not required.

The scope of these moratoria range from community housing only (PE, NT), to those affected by COVID-19 (NL, NS, YK) to full moratoria (BC, AB, SK, MT, ON, QC, NB).

The end dates of moratoria on eviction range from until April 30, 2020 (AB), to May 31, 2020 (MT, NB), June 30, 2020 (NS, PE, YK) up to until the end of the jurisdiction's state of emergency (BC, SK, ON, QC, NL, NT).

Citations / Key quotes

• N/A

Prepared by/ Key contact

Name: Etienne Caouette-Fraser

Title: Senior Officer, Parliamentary Affairs

No phone number: 613-748-2350

Approved by

Name: Derek Antoine

Title: Manager, Parliamentary Affairs and Correspondence

No phone number: 613-748-2248

Issue

How is the Government helping small businesses make rent payments during the COVID‑19 pandemic?

Key facts

• N/A

Response

• Small businesses across the country are the backbone of our communities, and they are now facing significant challenges. That is why the Government of Canada and provincial and territorial partners are taking strong, immediate, and effective action to protect Canadians and businesses from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
• As a result, we introduced the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance for small businesses which will lower rent by 75% for small businesses that have been affected by COVID-19
• The program will provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50 per cent of three monthly rent payments that are payable by eligible small business tenants who are experiencing financial hardship during April, May, and June 
• The loans will be forgiven if the mortgaged property owner agrees to reduce the eligible small business tenants’ rent by at least 75% for the 3 corresponding months under a rent forgiveness agreement, which will include a term not to evict the tenant while the agreement is in place. The small business tenant would cover the remainder, up to 25% of the rent
• Impacted small business tenants are businesses paying less than $50,000 per month in rent and who have temporarily ceased operations or have experienced at least a 70% drop in pre-COVID-19 revenues. This support will also be available to non-profit and charitable organizations
• The government continues to assess and respond to the impacts of COVID-19, and stands ready to take additional actions as needed to stabilize the economy and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic

Background

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation will administer and deliver the CECRA, a collaboration between the federal government and provincial and territorial governments, which are responsible for property owner-tenant relationships. 

Provinces and territories have agreed to cost share total costs and facilitate implementation of the program. They will cost share up to 25%t of costs, subject to terms of agreements with the federal government.

It is expected that CECRA will be operational by mid-May, with commercial property owners lowering the rents of their small business tenants payable for the months of April and May, retroactively, and for June.

Further details on CECRA will be shared in the near future once final terms and conditions are available. The federal government and provincial and territorial governments urge property owners to provide flexibility to tenants facing hardship in this uncertain time.

Under a rent forgiveness agreement, which includes a moratorium on eviction, the mortgaged commercial property owner would reduce the small business tenant’s monthly rent by at least 75%. The tenant would be responsible for covering 25%, the property owner 25%, while the federal government and provinces would share the remaining 50% of the monthly rent. The forgivable loans would be disbursed directly to the mortgage lender.

Citations / Key quotes

• N/A

Prepared by/ Key contact

Name: Etienne Caouette-Fraser

Title: Senior Officer, Parliamentary Affairs

No phone number: 613-748-2350

Approved by

Name: Derek Antoine

Title: Manager, Parliamentary Affairs and Correspondence

No phone number: 613-748-2248

Issue

What is the Government doing to help homeowners affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and are having issues paying their mortgages?

Key facts

• N/A

Response

• We recognize that many homeowners in Canada are facing challenges as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak 
• The Government, through CMHC, in addition to Genworth Canada and Canada Guaranty, have provided increased flexibility to defer mortgage payments on its insured homeowner mortgage loans to borrowers who may be experiencing financial difficulties related to COVID-19, which means lenders are now able to defer payments on a borrower’s insured mortgage up to six months without the insurer's approval
• The total amount of the deferred payments, plus the outstanding balance, can exceed the original insured mortgage under the deferral program  
• The Government, through CMHC, also offers a variety of tools to lenders that can assist homeowners who may be experiencing financial difficulty in meeting their mortgage obligations. For CMHC-insured mortgages, CMHC’s default management tools include: payment deferral, loan re-amortization, capitalization of eligible expenses and special payment arrangements

Background

• N/A

Citations / Key quotes

• N/A

Prepared by/ Key contact

Name: Etienne Caouette-Fraser

Title: Senior Officer, Parliamentary Affairs

No phone number: 613-748-2350

Approved by

Name: Derek Antoine

Title: Manager, Parliamentary Affairs and Correspondence

No phone number: 613-748-2248