OGGO appearance on Government’s response to the COVID-19 Pandemic – June 9, 2020 – Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

Official title: Minister of Families, Children and Social Development OGGO Appearance on Government’s Response to the COVID-19 pandemic June 9, 2020

ESDC

Opening remarks
Supporting parents and child care during the COVID-19 crisis
Food security
Homelessness
Support for charities
Vulnerable population
List of ESDC measures
EI and CERB services
Service Canada Centres re-opening
COVID-19 integrity
Questions and answers

CMHC

Federal community housing initiative
Financial stability and the housing market
Indigenous housing
Support to renters
Evictions
Commercial rent support
Mortgage deferrals

1. Speaking notes

Official title: Speaking Notes for the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Appearance before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (OGGO) COVID-19 Emergency Support Measures – Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), Canada Child Benefit (CCB), Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Vulnerable Populations Ottawa, ON June 9, 2020

Check Against Delivery 2020 PA 000582

Opening

Mr. Chair, Committee members,

The Government of Canada continues the implementation of extraordinary measures to protect the health of Canadians and shelter them from financial hardships during 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).

Support for individuals and families

Let me take you back to March 2020. With the pandemic just starting in Canada, it became clear that our normal social safety net would not be able to handle the volume of people that were losing their jobs as part of the quarantine. In truth, no government in the world had programs that could handle such a large number of citizens needing help so quickly. Our Government acted fast and created the Canada Emergency Response Benefit or CERB for short.

Through this benefit, the Government is providing a taxable benefit of $500 per week for up to 16 weeks to eligible workers who have stopped working due to COVID-19.

As of June 2, 15.32M CERB applications have been processed and more than 8 million people have received income support as a result.

Canada Child Benefit

But we knew it was not just families with parents who lost a job that were struggling during Covid. All parents are stretched thin and struggling to keep their families afloat.

To address this, we have modified the Canada Child Benefit program.

As part of its COVID-19 response plan, the Government of Canada gave 3.7 million families currently receiving the CCB a one-time $300 boost per child with their regular May 2020 payment.

Starting next month, on July 20, the CCB will be increased once again to keep up with the cost of living.

This additional tax-free support will help Canadian families pay for things such as healthy food, clothes and activities they can do together at home.

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.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) measures

But Mr. Chair and colleagues, it is not just income support that Canadians needed, these events remind us all how crucial it is to have the ability to rely on the safety of a home.

Here is how the Government has helped Canadians and their families shelter in place through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) measures.

Homeowners

For example, if a homeowner’s mortgage is insured through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Genworth Canada or Canada Guaranty, the following options are 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

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

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.

The Government also introduced the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance which will lower rent by 75 per cent for small businesses that have been financially impacted by COVID-19.

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.

Help for our most vulnerable populations

Sadly, people experiencing homelessness are at heightened risk of contracting COVID‑19 and suffering severe health consequences as a result.

This is why the Government announced an immediate investment of $157.5 million through the Reaching Home program to support the homeless-serving sector to prepare for, and manage the impacts of, this pandemic.

The Government has provided this funding to our existing community partners through the Reaching Home national delivery network. This approach enables communities to quickly invest funding in services that are most needed.

Support for charities and non-profit organizations

Colleagues, charities and non-profit organizations are on the frontlines of this pandemic, acting as lifelines for Canadian families, seniors and persons with disabilities.

They have a large weight on their shoulders despite fewer donations and fewer volunteers.

To help our charities and non-profit organizations continue their very important work of supporting vulnerable Canadians, the Government is investing $350 million through the Emergency Community Support Fund.

Organizations that require financial assistance to adapt their programs and services to respond to COVID-19 can now apply for funding directly through our three partners: the United Way Centraide Canada, the Canadian Red Cross and the Community Foundations of Canada.

Closing

Mr. Chair and colleagues, by addressing the financial needs of Canadian families, renters, homeowners and landlords and the additional needs of vulnerable Canadians, including those experiencing homelessness, as well as non-profits and charities, the Government is doing its part to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus and continue to protect Canadians’ health and financial security during the pandemic.

Thank you.

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

-30-

2. Supporting parents and child care during COVID-19 Crisis

Issue

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 2017-2018, 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 had been largely achieved before the pandemic started in Canada
We are working collaboratively with the provinces and territories to provide $400 million for 2020-2021 through the Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Bilateral Agreements
We continue to collaborate with First Nations, Inuit and the Metis Nation to provide $278 million in 2020-2021 to advance Indigenous-led early learning and child care priorities
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 2018-19 to 2022-23 period
To provide further support for Canadian families facing hardship as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government provided a one-time enhancement of $300 per child for families currently receiving the CCB as part of the May 2020 payment. The overall increase for families receiving the child benefit was approximately $550 on average
In April 2020, the Government provided direct financial support to low- and modest-income individuals and families through a special Goods and Services/Harmonized Sales Tax Credit top-up payment. This payment effectively doubled benefit amounts for the 2019-20 benefit year and delivered the additional support in one lump-sum payment. The average additional benefit is close to $400 for single individuals and close to $600 for couples
The Government is investing $650 million to build upon the work already being done through the $305 million Indigenous Community Support Fund, and the additional $75 million provided for communities and organizations working with Indigenous peoples living in urban areas and off-reserve
The Government also created the $350 million Emergency Community Support Fund to help community organizations who provide services to vulnerable Canadians, including families and children, adjust their services in the face of COVID-19

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
We have reached out to multiple partners and stakeholders who have all expressed clear concerns about the ability of the ELCC sector to survive through the pandemic and the reopening of the economy
That is why our government is working with all Provinces and Territories to extend the current bilateral ELCC agreements to provide at, the earliest opportunity, $400 million for 2020
We will also continue our discussions with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners and stakeholders to ensure Canada is ready for a safe, effective restart of the economy, including through affordable, accessible, and inclusive child care
In addition, the Government has taken direct action in support of families
We have implemented a one-time increase to the Canada Child Benefit (CCB). Families currently eligible for the CCB received an extra $300 per child as part of their May 2020 payment. This increase is expected to benefit 3.5 million families and nearly 6.5 million children, including an estimated 566,000 children living in poverty as of 2018
In addition, we have provided direct financial support to low- and modest-income individuals by doubling the Goods and Services Tax (GST) credit amounts for the 2019-20 benefit year (2018 tax year). Pay out of the full increment was done in one lump-sum payment in April 2020. This measure helped approximately 1.8 million families with children
Funds such as the $350 million Emergency Community Support Fund will help community organizations adjust their services in the face of COVID-19. This includes services to children and families in communities across Canada
The Government is investing $650 million to build upon the work already being done through the $305 million Indigenous Community Support Fund, and the additional $75 million provided for communities and organizations working with Indigenous peoples living in urban areas and off-reserve

Background

Early Learning and Child Care

The Government of Canada committed $7.5 billion over 11 years to support and create more high-quality, affordable child care across the country. Since the first agreements were signed in 2017, a significant amount of work has been undertaken across the country. The target of 40,000 affordable child care spaces has been largely achieved. The Indigenous Early earning and Child Care Framework, co-developed with Indigenous partners and jointly released on September 17, 2018 complements the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework.

Federal COVID-19 measures relevant to the ELCC sector

The federal government through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) has increased direct aid to qualifying Canadians by providing $2,000 every four weeks (up to 16 weeks) to those affected by COVID-19.

The Canada Emergency Student Benefit. The Benefit would provide support to students and new graduates (including those who are parents) who are not eligible for the CERB. This benefit would provide $1,250 per month for eligible students or $2,000 per month for eligible students with dependents or disabilities.

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy will support employers and prevent further lay-offs, including in ELCC Centres, by providing up to 75 per cent subsidies of salaries for 3 months.

The Canada Revenue Agency is allowing private businesses, including ELCC operators, to defer the payment of income tax amounts. No interest or penalties will accumulate on these amounts during the deferment period.

Extending Work Sharing through the temporary Work Sharing (WS) measure can reduce the likelihood of layoffs of affected child care workers.

The Government is investing $650 million to build upon the work already being done through the $305 million Indigenous Community Support Fund, and the additional $75 million provided for communities and organizations working with Indigenous peoples living in urban areas and off-reserve.

A new $350 million Emergency Community Support Fund was created to help community organizations adapt their frontline services for vulnerable Canadians to the challenges of COVID-19. The Fund will help community organizations adjust their services in the face of COVID-19, such as by training volunteers on health and safety so they can continue contributing to the pandemic response, replacing in-person one-on-one contact with contact through phone calls, and widening the reach of help lines that give information and link people to the services they need.

Canada Child Benefit

The Government introduced the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) to provide increased support for low- to middle-income families with children. Because it is tax-free and based on income, it provides more support to those who need help the most.

To ensure that all eligible families are able to access the CCB and other federal benefits, Budget 2018 provided $17.3 million over three years, starting in 2018–19, to expand outreach efforts to Indigenous communities, and to conduct pilot outreach activities for urban Indigenous communities.

The CCB has been increasing the incomes of families with children since its inception in 2016. It 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 are 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 2018-19 to 2022-23 period.

Good and Services Tax Credit

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) credit is a tax-free quarterly payment that helps individuals and families with low and modest incomes offset all or part of the GST that they pay. It may also include payments from provincial and territorial programs.

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:

3. Food security

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
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 2017-2018, similar to 2011-2012 (8.3%), but higher than 2007-2008 (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.”

(Source: https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2020/03/29/prime-minister-announces-support-vulnerable-canadians-affected-covid)

“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.”

The Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
(Source: https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2020/04/03/prime-minister-announces-support-food-banks-and-local-food)

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:

4. Homelessness and COVID-19

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 June 3, 2020, there have been several confirmed cases of COVID-19 among those experiencing homelessness, including outbreaks among the shelter populations in Toronto and Montreal

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 has invested $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
In addition, $15 million of reallocated funding was provided to seven large communities at the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year
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 three 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.

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 2019-20 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. All of this funding has already been provided to communities.

Over $21.4 million of this funding has been allocated to Quebec under the Designated Communities and Rural and Remote Homelessness funding streams. This funding is administered under the Canada-Quebec Agreement to support the homelessness sector's response to COVID-19 under Reaching Home, which was announced by the Governments of Canada and Quebec on April 29, 2020.

The remaining funds were reserved to invest as needs emerge ($22.8M) and to support Departmental operating expenses ($0.9M). A process to allocate the $22.8 million in reserved funding was recently launched and gave all current recipients the opportunity to request additional funding. Over 50 requests for additional funding have been received and are currently being assessed by officials.

In addition, using resources already set aside for this purpose ($1.9M in 2020-21) the Minister announced the expansion of the Designated Communities stream to six 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 remove 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 (e.g., 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:

5. Support for charities during the COVID-19 pandemic

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 that are not public bodies like hospitals and universities, and those that are not serving the business sector, like trade associations) represent approximately 150,000 organizations and 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). Early estimates from March found that registered charities could see financial losses of up to $15.7 billion, and layoffs of nearly 200,000 employees. Surveys have since found that organizations in the sector are seeing revenues fall by an average of 30% - far higher than expected, and charities have been forced to lay off over 84,000 employees
While some charities and non-profits will benefit from a range of measures announced by the federal, provincial and territorial governments, these measures do not fully address the needs of the sector as a whole. The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, for example, will help organizations like the YMCA to re-hire employees through the summer months. But over half of Canada’s registered charities are entirely volunteer-run, and will not be eligible for this assistance

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
This is why the Government of Canada announced a $9 million investment 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
In addition, organizations currently funded under the New Horizons for Seniors Program have been allowed to re-orient their current projects, collectively valued at over $50M, to respond to the social inclusion needs of seniors. Now those projects can focus on activities such as helping seniors access technology and devices to stay in touch, telephone wellness check-ins with seniors or virtual social gatherings
Most recently on May 12, 2020 the Government announced an expansion the New Horizons for Seniors Program with an additional investment of $20 million to support organizations that offer community-based projects that reduce isolation, improve the quality of life of seniors, and help them maintain a social support network
On April 21, 2020, the Government also announced an investment of $350 million to support vulnerable Canadians, including seniors through charities and non-profit organizations that deliver essential services to those in need. The Emergency Community Support Fund will provide funding to national intermediaries with networks across the country, including United Way Canada, the Canadian Red Cross, and Community Foundations of Canada
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 Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage, and Sport Organizations; the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance; 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
We continue to look at ways to support Canada’s charities and non-profits to weather the impacts of COVID-19, so these critical partners for our communities’ wellbeing are ready and able to serve Canadians long into the future

Background

Over the last number of months, 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.

Most recently on May 18, 2020, Employment and Social Development Canada received a revised proposal from Imagine Canada (an umbrella group for the charitable and non-profit sector) for a $3.75 billion grant program for charities and non-profits that would complement recent investments and help guarantee the survival of critical social infrastructure across Canada.

Charities and non-profits are facing significant financial hardship as a result of COVID-19, even as many face rising demand for services. Like businesses, charities and non-profits are losing revenues from the sale of goods and services due to the economic shutdown. These organizations will also see disruptions in donations and other fundraising for months to come. Individual Canadian donors are experiencing their own hardships and major fundraising events are cancelled due to social distancing.

Charities and non-profit organizations are Canada’s summer camps, soccer clubs, museums, mental health services, women's shelters, immigrant services, community health centres, food banks, local places of worship, nature conservancies and affordable housing organizations. Beyond employment and economic contribution, the organizations in this sector are of critical importance to Canada’s social and environmental welfare: delivering key services, supporting creative expression and contributing to Canada’s social fabric.The organizations in this sector are critical to the kind of recovery Canadians want.

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
$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, and
$20 million to support organizations that offer community-based projects that reduce isolation, improve the quality of life of seniors, and help them maintain a social support network through an additional investment in the New Horizons for Seniors Program

Furthermore, new flexibilities under the community stream of the New Horizons for Seniors Program will allow organizations across the country to use previously approved project funding, approximately $50 million, for essential services to seniors affected by COVID-19. Organizations that were approved for funding for the 2019-20 call for proposals can now use their funding for activities such as helping seniors stay connected to their community and family, and supporting the delivery of food and medication to seniors at home.

The New Horizons for Seniors Program is the single largest funder of programming to combat social isolation among seniors in Canada with an annual budget of $70 million. While it is well-known for its small grants that support social participation, the Program also funds volunteer services that are essential to seniors’ quality of life and ability to live independently, such as Meals on Wheels and supports for seniors who are caregivers.

Charities and non-profits can also apply for economic supports offered as part of wider COVID-19 response measures including: the Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage, and Sport Organizations; the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance; 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 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) will 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 Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

“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.”

—The Hon. Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

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: June 6, 2020

Date approved in SADMO / COO:

6. Vulnerable populations and COVID-19

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
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

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, people experiencing homelessness, 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 such as seniors with the supplies or services they need (e.g. too few volunteers to deliver meals or take seniors to medical appointments)
elimination of in-person, one-on-one support for vulnerable persons (e.g. cancellation of friendly visits to elderly people or in-home supports for isolated seniors); and
cancellation of group programs (e.g. cancellation of day programs for seniors)

Support for seniors in community

On May 12th, the Government announced an additional investment of $20 million to the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) to support organizations that offer community-based projects that reduce isolation, improve the quality of life of seniors, and help them maintain a social support network.

As well, on March 29th, the Prime Minister announced $9M in funding through the NHSP to the United Way Centraide Canada to work with communities in each province and territory to support isolated, vulnerable seniors cope with the health, social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These investments will help provide essential services to seniors such as the delivery of groceries and medications, meal preparation, transportation to necessary medical appointments or personal outreach to assess individuals’ needs and connect them to community supports.

In addition to this increased funding, the Government is providing flexibility to organizations who received funding through the 2019-2020 New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) community-based stream Call for Proposals to use this funding to provide immediate and essential services to seniors impacted by COVID-19, rather than being limited to their original objectives. The approximately 2,800 community organizations, representing close to $50 million in funding, that were approved through this Call can now use their funding to deliver services to seniors in the community such as food and medication, or provide tablet computers to help seniors stay connected to their loved ones through video-conferencing.

The Government of Canada is also investing $350 million through the Emergency Community Support Fund to support vulnerable Canadians through charities and non-profit organizations that deliver essential services to those in need. The Fund, launched on May 19th is working with three national intermediaries: the United Way Centraide Canada, the Canadian Red Cross and Community Foundations of Canada, to deliver this funding. These intermediaries are channeling funds through their regional and local partners to local community organizations who support a wide range of vulnerable populations.

Community organizations receiving funding will, for example:

increase volunteer-based home deliveries or transportation services (e.g. delivery of medications or accompanying/driving seniors or persons with disabilities to appointments)
scale up help-lines that provide information and support (e.g. 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; and
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 is focusing 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.

Seniors' financial and economic security

The Government is taking measures to ensure that the Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan benefits seniors rely on will continue to be paid without delay, and that new applications for these benefits will also be processed in a timely fashion
The Government is also providing additional financial support of $2.5 billion for a one-time tax-free payment of $300 for seniors eligible for the Old Age Security (OAS) pension, with an additional $200 for seniors eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), for a total of $500. Allowance recipients will also receive $500. This measure will help seniors cover increased costs caused by COVID-19. Seniors will receive the one-time payment the week of July 6
To help protect seniors’ investment assets during a volatile market, the Government reduced the minimum withdrawals required from Registered Retirement Income Funds by 25 % for 2020
The Government’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan provided a one-time special top-up payment through the GST credit of an average of $375 for singles with low- and modest-incomes and an average of $510 for couples with low- and modest-incomes. Eligible individuals, including seniors, did not have to apply for this benefit. Payments began April 9, 2020

Homelessness

To address the needs of those experiencing homelessness in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, the Government has invested $157.5 million for Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy. Reaching Home provides a community-based approach to deliver funding directly to municipalities and local service providers

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, people experiencing homelessness, 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.

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, $50 million to women’s shelters and sexual assault centres to help with their capacity to manage or prevent an outbreak in their facilities, and $350 million for the Emergency Community Support fund to support vulnerable Canadians through charities and non-profit organizations that deliver essential services to those in need.

The New Horizons for Seniors Program is the single largest funder of programming to combat social isolation among seniors in Canada with an annual budget of $70 million. While it is well-known for its small grants that support social participation and inclusion, the Program also funds volunteer services that are essential to seniors’ quality of life and ability to live independently, such as Meals on Wheels and supports for seniors who are caregivers.

The Government response to the COVID-19 pandemic recognizes that older persons are particularly affected by the crisis and is increasing supports to seniors in various ways. The Government of Canada is providing support to voluntary and service organizations who are working to provide necessary services to seniors, and has introduced several new measures to protect seniors’ financial security.

New flexibilities under the community-based stream of the New Horizons for Seniors Program will allow organizations across the country to use previously approved project funding, approximately $50 million, for essential services to seniors affected by COVID-19. Organizations that were approved for funding for the 2019-20 call for proposals can now use their funding for activities such as helping seniors stay connected to their community and family, and supporting the delivery of food and medication to seniors at home. The additional investment of $20 million to the New Horizons for Seniors Program, will support organizations that offer community-based projects that reduce isolation, improve the quality of life of seniors, and help them maintain a social support network.

As well, the NHSP provided $9 million in funding to the United Way Centraide Canada to work with communities in each province and territory to support isolated, vulnerable seniors cope with the health, social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 three 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

As of May 19, 2020, community-based organizations from across the country can apply for funding through the Emergency Community Support Fund to support a variety of activities that address a pressing social inclusion or well-being need caused by COVID-19.

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

To address the needs of those experiencing homelessness in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, the Department secured an additional $157.5 million for Reaching Home. The approach provides $133.8 million in additional funding beginning April 1, 2020 to 58 Designated Communities (including in Quebec), 30 communities receiving funding directly under the Indigenous Homelessness stream, and the 3 territorial capitals; and recipients of the Rural and Remote Homelessness stream and for Indigenous Homelessness stream investments not allocated to specific communities. All of this funding has already been provided to communities.

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: June 5, 2020

Date approved in SADMO / COO:

7. ESDC COVID response measures (announced)

Measure

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

For those who are sick, quarantined or forced to stay home to care for children, the Government is waiving the one-week waiting period for those individuals in imposed quarantine that claim Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits. This temporary measure is in effect as of March 15, 2020.

Target population

EI-eligible individuals who become ill with Covid 19.

Measure

Measure

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 2020-21.The Canada Student Grants for Students with Permanent Disabilities and Students with Dependants would also be doubled.

Broaden eligibility for student financial assistance by removing the expected student’s and spouse’s contributions in 2020-21, 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 2020-21 from $210 to $350.

Target population

Students.

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 2020-21.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 help organizations that have established and trusted relationships with vulnerable children and youth, migrate their wraparound supports online. This funding will serve approximately 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
We are expanding existing federal employment, skills development, and youth programming to create up to 116,000 jobs, placements, and other training opportunities to help students find employment and develop valuable skills this summer and over the coming months

Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA): agreement in principle with all provinces and territories to implement the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses. This program will lower rent by 75 per cent for small businesses that have been affected by COVID-19.

The program will provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50% 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 small business tenants’ rent by at least 75% 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 revenues. This support will also be available to non-profit and charitable organizations.

It is expected that CECRA will be operational by mid-May, and further details will be announced soon.

Target population

Business.

Measure

Supporting organizations that provide essential services to seniors: $9 million agreement with United Way Centraide Canada to support local organizations that provide essential services to seniors.

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, approximately 8M Canadians have submitted an application to either Service Canada or the Canada Revenue Agency for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), and virtually 100% of these applications have been processed. Over $43B 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.

To respond to the unprecedented demand from Canadians, Service Canada has redeployed almost 3,000 additional staff from other less critical activities to focus on supporting the delivery of EI and the new CERB, including approximately 1,500 staff who have been deployed into a new CERB Virtual Call Centre, which was established on April 6th. 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.

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 had been issues identified when clients were 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, and reach out has been completed with any impacted claimants to address any outstanding issues.

To better help clients understand the process, the Department 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 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 8 weeks.

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 two 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.

There have been 221,000 duplicate payments to clients.

While there will not be any penalty for Canadians if they have received a payment in error, they will have to repay the CERB benefits for which they are not entitled and will proactively receive a letter from the CRA providing them with further information about the repayment process.

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

Update on EI and CERB Call Centres and wait times

From March 12, 2020 to June 2, 2020, the average speed of answer for the EI Call Centre was 1 hour 31 minutes and a total of 1,011,876 calls were answered. The hiring and training of additional EI Call Centre agents is ongoing. These efforts are reducing wait times, increasing the accessibility of the Call Centre and reducing the number of clients who need to make more than one attempt to speak to an agent.

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. From April 6, 2020 to June 2, 2020, the average speed of answer for CERB was 30 seconds and 735,850 calls were answered
This virtual call centre which serves clients who are applying or who have already applied through EI for CERB has shortened wait times and 100% accessibility
At the end of April, we increased the technical capacity of the telephone reporting service for EI and this service now has virtually 100% accessibility, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, enabling virtually all callers to get through to this automated system

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 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.

9. Service Canada Centre re-openings

Issue

On March 27th, Service Canada redirected in person services to an eService channel to continue to support Canadians in accessing critical services. All Service Canada Centres (SCC) were temporarily closed to the public. As jurisdictions across the country resume operations, clients expect SCCs to reopen. A reactivation plan is being developed for the gradual resumption of public access to SCCs across the country.

Our priority continues to be the health and safety of all Canadians, while maintaining service to the public.

Key facts

As soon as the Service Canada Centres were closed, immediate steps were taken by the Department to reach all Canadians virtually, through the creation of E-Service Canada – an online request service that offers clients a call back within two business days if they require assistance in applying for benefits
Client reaction to the new E-Service and outreach service is excellent. Although offices remain closed, requests through these channels have drawn 70 per cent of the volume Service Canada would expect to receive on a daily basis through regular walk-in traffic
Even as SCCs begin to reopen, these new services will continue as cornerstones to high touch services, as they are convenient , help avoid lineups at the SCCs, and will help reach as many clients as possible with our services
90 in-person offices have been identified as being suitable for a first wave of reactivation. If all 90 sites open, approximately 86% of Canada’s population would be within 100 km of an SCC
Of the 90 sites, 15 pilot sites have been identified across the country. Preliminary testing will be conducted to establish the safest and most effective approaches to reactivate offices

Response

The SCC network is in the process of adapting its offices and how services are delivered consistent with Public Health Agency of Canada guidelines and provincial / local public health direction. Protecting the health and safety of our employees and the clients we serve is our key priority
The Gatineau SCC will be the first location to be fit-up according to the new configuration. During the week of June 8th, components such as Plexiglas, hand sanitizer stations, and additional signage will be added to a reconfigured office space
Thorough testing will be conducted to ensure proper physical distancing and client flow solutions are in place for the safety of both client and staff
Work will begin to fit-up the remaining 14 test sites in a similar fashion once an initial assessment is complete
In partnership with Security and Occupational Health and Safety (OSH), a reactivation checklist is being developed which outlines conditions that must be met before reopening

Background

External communications will focus on promoting e-services/e-COLS (Community Outreach and Liaison Service) as the best option for service, appointments for those who require in person support, and changes clients will experience in accessing that support
Internal communications to employees is being produced in alignment with the return to work guidelines established by the Public Service Commission and Public Health Advisory Committee in collaboration with ESDC
Since the beginning of the pandemic, ESDC has hosted weekly “COVID information sharing” sessions with the unions
It has been acknowledged that the return to in-person services will be asymmetrical across the country, reflecting site, workforce and health and safety considerations particular to each community
Factors that include public health, staffing levels and procurement may prevent a SCC from opening, as we need to ensure that minimum standards are in place in all offices we open to the public to protect our clients and our team members
As the department’s communication strategy is being developed, ESDC continues to pay close attention to the approaches of other departments with a large public facing presence, and look forward to sharing best practices in the future

Citations / Key quotes

Not Applicable

Prepared by/

Name: Sarah Cox

Title: Executive Director (acting)

Regional Engagement and Liaison

Citizen Services Branch

Key contact/

Name: Evelyne Power

Title: Director General, In Person Operations and Strategies

Citizen Services Branch (CSB)

Phone number: 819 654-8133

Approved by/

Name: Peter Simeoni

Title: ADM, Citizen Service Branch

Phone number: 819 654-5079

10. EI ERB Emergency Response Benefit - Integrity

Issue

Several media articles have raised concern about potential or alleged fraud of CERB payments. The Government’s actions to address this issue of fraud is questioned.

Key facts

Response

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit was launched to address the historically high number of Canadians in financial need due to the COVID-19 pandemic
In order to ensure that Canadians in need receive the benefit as quickly as possible, a conscious decision was made to shift the number of up-front controls for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit to the post payment period
Service Canada has robust data analytics and intelligence capabilities, allowing active monitoring identification of fraud since the launch of the CERB benefit
We have already stopped duplicate payments and will be seeking reimbursement from 200,000 applicants
We trust Canadians to do the right thing. In cases where claimants make an honest mistake and are found to be ineligible, they will be required to reimburse the overpayment
As per our regular processes, it is intended that clients who are found to have made fraudulent claims will be required to repay the amount distributed by the Government and may face other consequences, up to and including prosecution for the most grievous cases of fraud

Background

The impacts of COVID-19 on all aspects of the Canadian economy, translated into an immediate and dramatic surge in the number of citizens applying for EI benefits. For example, from mid-March through mid-April 2020, more than three million EI applications were received compared to approximately 225,000 during the same time-period in previous years. It was obvious that existing measures to adjudicate claims could not sustain these volumes. Payments to applicants would take months to process, leaving millions of citizens without income during the pandemic.

In order to deal with the high volumes of EI application, a number of temporary measures were implemented to simplify policy and processes while maintaining the integrity of the EI program through largely post-payment verification. Simplification measures included moving to a flat rate, and the use of attestations over the requirement for documentation.

For example, claimants who are applying for EI ERB benefits are no longer required to obtain a medical certificate. This was also applied to sickness benefits, compassionate care benefits and family caregiver benefits. This simplification measure was meant to lessen the strain on the medical system, and removes the requirement of persons to access medical facilities to obtain medical certificates. However, it means that verifying such claims will be almost impossible, as sick notes will not be available after the fact.

The Government of Canada’s approach to delivering the EI ERB follows the best practices promoted by the International Public Sector Fraud Forum and their five principles of Fraud Control in Emergency Management.

The simplification measures were developed with a clear view of the integrity trade-offs. An integrity framework focused primarily on post payment measures was designed. These integrity measures will serve to address many areas of risk, however due to the nature of some of the simplification measures, some will remain unaddressed.

Citations / Key quotes

Not Applicable.

Prepared by/

Name: Donna Blois

Title: Executive Director, National Enforcement and Intelligence Division

Key contact/

Name: Kathleen Walford

Title: Director General, Integrity Operations

Approved by/

Name: Jeremy Sales

Title: A/ADM, Integrity Services Branch

11. Questions and Answers

Official Title: COVID-19 Economic response plan: support for Canadians and businesses

Seniors

1. GIS renewal

a. What was announced on May 12?

The Government of Canada announced that the deferred tax filing deadline would not have an impact on Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and Allowance benefits. This means that low-income seniors will continue to receive their payments without interruption if their 2019 income information is not available to reassess their entitlement. This new measure will ensure that GIS and Allowance recipients continue to receive their benefits during this difficult time.

b. What does this new measure change for GIS and Allowance recipients?

GIS and Allowance recipients normally need to file their income taxes or declare their income to Service Canada before the end of June in order to avoid interruptions in payments. GIS benefits are renewed annually in July and are calculated based the income information from the previous year. This new measure will now allow beneficiaries to receive the same amount of GIS/Allowance in July that they received in June, if their 2019 income is not yet available.

Benefits will be adjusted retroactively to July 2020 once Service Canada has received the 2019 income information from the Canada Revenue Agency, or directly from the recipients.

Seniors are encouraged to file their tax return as soon as possible, and no later than October 1, 2020, as it is the best way to ensure that they receive all the benefits to which they are entitled.

c. Why is the Government of Canada taking this new measure?

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the delivery of crucial services to low-income seniors across Canada, including free tax clinics. As per the eligibility requirements of the program, GIS and Allowance recipients need to file their income taxes every year, or provide their income information directly to Service Canada, in order to avoid interruptions in payments.

To ensure that this vulnerable group continues to receive payments during this difficult time, the Government of Canada will authorize that their GIS/Allowance payments continue uninterrupted if their 2019 income information is not available to reassess their benefits.

d. How long will this interim measure last? Will clients be cut off at any point?

This measure is a temporary one to address the potential impact the pandemic crisis may have on the ability of beneficiaries to report their income or file their income tax return. GIS beneficiaries will still need to provide their 2019 income to Service Canada or file their income tax return. To avoid an interruption in payment in January 2021, seniors are encouraged to file their tax return as soon as possible, and no later than October 1, 2020.

e. How and when will the GIS benefits be adjusted?

GIS benefits will be adjusted retroactively to July 2020 once Service Canada has received the 2019 income information from the Canada Revenue Agency, or directly from the recipient.

f. Were seniors at risk of not receiving their GIS benefits before this measure was introduced?

As a result of the pandemic, the Government of Canada deferred the 2019 tax filing deadline from May 1, 2020 to June 1, 2020.

The service standard to process tax returns at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is two weeks for electronic tax returns and eight weeks for paper tax returns. Many seniors use paper tax-filing when filing their tax returns. In addition, self-isolation or illness among seniors, and the lack of availability of free tax filing services on which many low-income seniors rely, could affect their ability to file their tax returns.

In light of these factors, some clients’ income information may not be available to reassess the GIS entitlement for July. GIS recipients who don’t provide their income information to Service Canada by that date would have typically seen their benefits suspended.

By ensuring that GIS benefits continue to be paid without interruption, the Government of Canada is taking a proactive approach to ensure the financial security of low-income seniors during these difficult times.

2. Interaction with CERB and GIS

a. Will income from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) be used in the calculation of GIS benefits?

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit provides temporary income support to workers who have stopped working related to COVID-19. The Benefit is taxable, and will be included in the calculation of net income under the Income Tax Act. This means that it must be considered when determining entitlement to the GIS and the Allowances.

This being said, the CERB will not affect GIS and Allowance payments for about a year. Income received from the CERB in 2020 will only be considered for GIS purposes beginning in July 2021, as those benefits will be based on 2020 income.

To provide support during the pandemic, the Government of Canada is providing additional financial support of $2.5 billion for a one-time tax-free payment of $300 for seniors eligible for the Old Age Security (OAS) pension, with an additional $200 for seniors eligible for the GIS. This measure will give a total of $500 to individuals who are eligible to receive both the OAS and the GIS, and will help them cover increased costs caused by COVID-19.

The Government has also provided more than 4 million low and modest-income seniors an average of $375 for singles and $510 for couples through a one-time special payment of the Goods and Services Tax Credit.

3. New horizons for seniors program (NHSP) – Additional funding

a. How do you intend to spend the $20 million incremental investment in NHSP?

The NHSP supports the social participation and inclusion of seniors by funding activities that make a difference in the lives of seniors and their communities. At this time when COVID-19 is affecting our communities, seniors need our support to overcome the impact of the pandemic. $20 million in new funding will go towards projects that assist seniors impacted by COVID-19 as well as broader recovery efforts to safely reduce social isolation and promote social participation of seniors in their communities. Priorities will include a focus on seniors’ mental health, supporting virtual connections and other activities. The funding will be invested to help ensure seniors from communities across the country are well-supported during the COVID pandemic. The investment approach will focus on timely delivery of supports, leveraging the very successful 2019-20 Call for Proposals of the program, including unfunded eligible projects that can support seniors during the pandemic.

Other questions related to ESDC

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), a taxable benefit that provides $500 per week for up to sixteen weeks to workers who stop working as result of the COVID-19 pandemic and do not have more than $1000 in employment and self-employment income for a period of at least 14 consecutive days in their first benefit period and for the entire 4-weeks of any subsequent benefit period. Individuals eligible for Employment Insurance regular or sickness benefits as of March 15th as well as those who have exhausted their Employment insurance regular or fishing benefits between December 29, 2019 and October 3, 2020 are also eligible.

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 three 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 June 1, 2020, CRA and Service Canada have received 15.26[15.69] M applications, and processed more than 15.25M of them.

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

Service Canada has recently redeployed almost 3,000 additional staff from other less critical activities to focus on supporting the delivery of EI and the new CERB. We are continuing to work on accelerating and increasing our hiring plans for the remainder of the year and are on track to increase the network to a total of 2,500 call centre agents by March 2021. This will represent a 250% increase
We are focused on processing new claims and leaving adjustments aside
We are deploying strategies to further increase automation and increase self-service opportunities for clients

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. The Service Canada Centres are closed, 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.

If you are applying for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and you require additional support, you can reach an agent at 1-833-699-0299.

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?

Service Canada delivers critical services to Canadians and continues to work hard to ensure that Canadians have access to these services during the COVID-19 situation.

Even though our doors are closed, our services to Canadians continue.

Service Canada launched the e-Service Canada channel at the end of March 2020. It is designed to protect the health and safety of our staff while ensuring continued access to service by Canadians. These activities mirror the service provided by clients who come into Service Canada Centres for application support.

Clients with internet access who require assistance in applying for benefits are able to reach in person staff through an online service request form at canada.ca/service-canada-e-service or they can scan the QR code provided on posters outside of Service Canada Centres. Once clients fill out the service request form, a Service Canada Centre employee will call clients within two (2) business days. Service Canada employees will provide personalized service support for EI and pension applications for clients with internet access.

In addition, Outreach staff have contacted communities and trusted partners across the country to make them aware of eServiceCanada, and to encourage them to share the contact information with their members and clients.

To supplement the new eServiceCanada approach, Service Canada launched a new Outreach Support Centre on April 14. This is a toll-free service for Indigenous communities and other vulnerable clients facing barriers to accessing ESDC’s critical programs and benefits. As of June 2, 2020 8.898 calls have been received.

As of June 2, 2020, 6,979 contacts have been made to Service Delivery Partners and Indigenous, Northern and remote 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, stopping work for reasons related to COVID-19, residing in Canada and providing a valid Social Insurance Number upon application.

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

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit was designed to address the needs of most workers affected by COVID-19 as quickly as possible while having a system in place that would hold up to an unprecedented high volume of individuals applying for financial support. It was therefore essential, at the onset, to have simple eligibility rules in place.

Further the Prime Minister’s announcement (April 15, 2020), to help more Canadians benefit from the CERB, the government changed the eligibility rules to:

allow people to earn up to $1,000 per month while collecting the CERB
extend the CERB to seasonal workers who have exhausted their EI regular benefits and are unable to undertake their usual seasonal work as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak
extend the CERB to workers who recently exhausted their EI regular benefits and are unable to find a job or return to work because of COVID-19

We are aware that due to COVID-19, some workers may not have accumulated sufficient hours to qualify for EI benefits after receiving the CERB. 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, which has no waiting period.

d. Will parents receiving maternity/parental benefit, or parents that are expecting a child, be able to obtain the Canada Emergency Response Benefit?

Employment Insurance maternity and parental benefits are key supports for Canadians welcoming new children into their families.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges for Canadians, including new parents, maternity and parental benefits remain there to provide support to new parents.

Parents who share benefits can receive up to 40 weeks of parental benefits over 12 months while parents selecting the extended duration option can receive up to 69 weeks of parental benefits over 18 months but at a lower rate.

Parents who cannot return to work after their maternity or parental leave because their employer has closed or they have to stay home with their child because of COVID-19 may be eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit which provides workers $500 per week for up to 16 weeks and can be paid until October 3, 2020.

e. 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 the $1000 income threshold.

f. Will we extend EI Regular benefits for those who are currently on them and are soon going to run out? I.e. Seasonal Workers

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

g. 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 in employment/self-employment income within the benefit period.

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: broadening eligibility requirements, easing recovery plan requirements, and removing the requirement to provide detailed financial information
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 and workers access to the program. For example, Government Business Enterprises (e.g., Crown Corporations, other public corporations that run as profit-oriented entities and/or 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 or fishing 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 four-week benefit period of the claim.

When submitting subsequent claims, the applicant cannot have earned more than $1,000 in employment and/or self-employment income for the entire four-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 students 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
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 and meet all other eligibility criteria).

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 and meet all other eligibility criteria).

A Canadian currently residing abroad 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?

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit is available to those who stop working for reasons related to COVID-19 but do not voluntarily quit their job.

An applicant who chooses to stop working would not be eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

However, an applicant who is placed in quarantine or directed to self-isolate by a public health official, a medical doctor, or a nurse as a result of COVID-19 would not be considered to have stopped working voluntarily and therefore, would be eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

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

Applicants 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/self-employment income for at least 14 consecutive days within the initial four-week claim period and for the entire four weeks in subsequent benefit periods.

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

No.

Workers do not need to be laid off to qualify. The employer-employee relationship can be maintained.

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?

Since March 16, 2020, the Department has received 3.93 [4.36] million applications for EI (including Canada Emergency Response Benefits (CERB) for EI eligible applicants) and 3.93M of those applications have already been processed.

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

Service Canada has recently redeployed almost 3,000 additional staff from other less critical activities to focus on supporting the delivery of EI and the new CERB
We are focused on processing new claims and leaving adjustments aside, while also providing adequate assurance of quality and appropriate stewardship of public funds
We are deploying strategies to increase automation and increase self-service opportunities for clients. 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 and to increase the capacity of our call centres, a New Virtual Call Centre was established on April 6 within Service Canada
This virtual call centre, which serves clients who are applying, or who have already applied through EI for CERB, has shortened wait times

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, ensuring stakeholders are able to access online services and improving processing capacity.

System usage is being monitored very closely and the Department is prepared to take additional measures to augment capacity as required.

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 one to two 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.

In response to COVID-19, the Government has strengthened its assessment criteria for all new and existing applications under review:

The program is refusing to process applications for certain positions in the accommodation and food services and retail trade sectors in any region of Canada
The program is strengthening its assessment of the legitimacy of the employer’s business and job offer by assessing whether they are essential according to relevant authorities
With the exception of key occupations, such as those related to ensuring Canada’s food security, employers must demonstrate that they have taken efforts to recruit Canadians after March 15, 2020

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 travellers 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, 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.

The Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion and the Minister of Health outlined the Government’s expectations of employers regarding COVID-19 in a letter shared with all employers of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and posted online on April 3.

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 now 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 are being initiated proactively, but also reactively, such as through tips, or reports of confirmed cases of COVID-19 at a worksite. To date, over 600 inspections have been initiated.

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 make adjustments as the situation evolves.

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. 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. New regulatory amendments enable enforcement of these requirements.

We are also offering compensation to employers in key sectors to defray some of the additional costs they may incur as a result of the new requirements.

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

g. What is the Government of Canada doing to address COVID-19 outbreaks amongst Temporary Foreign Workers?

The Government of Canada takes the health of all Canadians and foreign workers very seriously. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has worked closely with provincial/territorial governments, employers, community service organizations, and representatives of the source countries of many workers on actions to protect the health of the public and of workers and will continue to do so including with regard to current outbreak locations.

Like all travellers to Canada, TFWs must follow orders made under the Quarantine Act, including the current requirement to quarantine upon arrival into Canada.

The Government has also implemented new regulations, which compel employers to meet new requirements to limit the spread of COVID-19. This includes not preventing a worker from meeting their requirements under orders made under the Quarantine Act, as well as provincial/territorial public health laws related to COVID-19. Employers who provide accommodations to workers as part of the requirements of the TFW Program must also meet new requirements to limit the potential spread of COVID-19.

Employers who do not comply 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.

Service Canada is conducting inspections to verify employer compliance. To date, over 600 inspections have been initiated.

In addition, the Government is communicating directly with employers and workers, producing multilingual guidance, and continues to engage with stakeholders and partners to facilitate understanding of these requirements.

Provinces/territories are responsible for establishing and enforcing health and safety rules for most workplaces. When an outbreak of COVID-19 occurs at a workplace, the Government of Canada will work with the appropriate provincial/territorial body, as well as other partners, to safeguard the health and safety of workers and mitigate the risk to public health.

7. Canada Summer Jobs program

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

CSJ continues to serve youth aged 15-30 and the Department is working with employers which have already submitted applications to roll out CSJ 2020.

To encourage job creation through additional flexibilities and supports, CSJ 2020 has:

increased the wage subsidy from 50% to 100% of the provincial/territorial minimum wage for small businesses and public sector employers
allowed for part-time work placements
allowed for job placements to be offered beyond the summer months, until the end of February 2021
allowed employers approved for funding to amend the activities to support the delivery of essential services

MPs were also 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.

Interested job seekers are now about to search and apply for CSJ jobs in their community.

There are currently over 53,000 CSJ job postings up on the Government of Canada’s Job Bank website for young people looking for work this summer. This site is the leading source for obtaining jobs and labour market information. Job Bank offers users occupational and career information on job opportunities, educational requirements, wage rates and salaries, as well as current employment trends and outlooks. More information may be found at: www.jobbank.gc.ca.

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

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

MPs were also 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.

Interested job seekers are now able to search and apply for CSJ jobs in their community.

c. 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 and supports for youth in high demand sectors such as agriculture, technology, health and essential services.

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 high-demand sectors including, but not restricted to: agriculture and agri-food; biosciences and research; transport; environment; and, community services.

These placements in high-demand sectors will protect the health and safety of youth. Examples of jobs 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?

An additional investment of $80M will be made in 2020-21 to help post-secondary students access paid work integrated learning opportunities in their fields of study through the creation of up to 20,000 student work placements, including in critical sectors such as health-care and other front line sectors.

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 will provide financial support for up to four months, with an additional support 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 2020-2021 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 post-secondary students and recent graduates who ended their studies in December 2019 or later. It is also available to high school students graduating in 2020 and who have applied for enrolment in a PSE program that will start before February 1, 2021.

It is available to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, registered Indians and protected persons, including Canadians studying abroad. In order to receive CESB, a student must attest that:

for COVID-19 related reasons, they are unable to work, or are seeking work but are unable to find it; or
they are working but do not expect to earn more than $1,000 (before taxes) over the four-week period for which they are applying; and
they are not receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit or Employment Insurance benefits for the same four-week period as their current application

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

Students must apply for each monthly period through their myCRA account and meet the eligibility criteria. They must attest that the information they are providing is accurate.

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

The Government has increased the Canada Student Grants amount from $2,000 in 2015 to $6,000 and expanded their eligibility. To ensure that students are not left with ‘unmet need’ in light of increasing educational cost, 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 recent lowering of interest rate on Canada Student Loans and enhancements to the Repayment Assistance Plan such that no student has to repay their student loans until they are making at least $25,000.

11. Supports for Student Learning Program

a. What supports are being provided for vulnerable young learners in response to COVID-19?

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on children, youth, and their families, particularly as they adapt to school closures and disconnection from the social networks. These families now face challenges supporting their students in the transition to online learning. Traditionally, youth-serving organizations have been an anchor to help vulnerable children, youth and families through periods of transition. However, the current environment requires these organizations to accelerate access to digitized mentoring and tutoring supports so that no child in Canada is left further behind because of COVID-19.

This is why the Government will invest $15 million to help organizations working in the after-school space to reach approximately 14,700 vulnerable children and youth through the delivery of online wraparound supports and increase the connectivity for these young learners and their families.

b. How will these new supports for digitized services help students during this pandemic?

Many of ESDC’s existing partner organizations have established trusted relationships with vulnerable children and youth facing barriers to education, and who need critical supports such as tutoring and mentoring. To maintain continuity of the supports and services they provide, and to ensure that approximately 14,700 vulnerable children and youth do not become further marginalized as a result of COVID-19, this investment will help organizations to migrate their programming and supports to digital delivery platforms.

In addition, given that a significant digital divide exists in terms of connectivity and access to technology, particularly for low-income and rural and remote families, this investment will help organizations ensure that youth have access to internet and adequate technologies at home. By making sure that youth do not disengage from their academics and important social outlets, this will help to prevent a negative impact on high school graduation rates, post-secondary enrolment and persistence, and employment readiness for years to come.

c. Which organizations will deliver this new funding?

This investment will leverage existing relationships with youth-serving organizations that have established, trusted relationships with vulnerable children and youth facing barriers to education.

In addition to collaborating with these organizations, the department will also look to quickly establish new partnerships that could support additional vulnerable children and youth, including students with disabilities, and students in rural, Northern, and remote communities.

12. Homelessness

a. What is the Government of Canada doing to address COVID-19 for those experiencing homelessness or those at-risk of homelessness?

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 has invested $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.

In addition, $15 million of reallocated funding was provided to seven large communities at the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year.

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.

12. Federal Community Housing Initiative

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

Response

The Federal Community Housing Initiative is a 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. Phase 2 of this program provides rental assistance to low-income households
The launch date of FCHI-2 has been delayed until September 1, 2020. Current levels of financial assistance will be maintained until the end of August 2020 for housing providers who are eligible to FCHI-2, who have opted-in, and have a confirmed need for FCHI-2 rental assistance. These extensions are meant to avoid any interruption of funding caused by the delayed launch of the FCHI-2 program
Amid the ongoing global COVID-19 outbreak, the delay allows adequate time for eligible housing providers to complete the activities required for a successful enrolment to the FCHI-2 program. This includes the submission of the enrolment package, and the review and signature of the new FCHI-2 agreement

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: Patrick Perron

Title: Manager, Parliamentary Affairs and Correspondence

No. phone number: 613-740-5869

13. Financial stability and the housing market

Issue

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

Key facts

Take up of the Insured Mortgage Purchase Program is at $5.8 billion
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 2019-20 and $428 million 2020-21

Response

CMHC is continuing to monitor the impact that COVID-19 is having on the housing market and foresees a 9% to 18% decrease in house prices over the next 12 months, depending on the trajectory of the economic recovery
The Government of Canada, through CMHC, is working with the Department of Finance and its Senior Advisory Committee colleagues to support the continued stability of housing markets
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 launched a revised Insured Mortgage Purchase Program (IMPP). This $150-billion IMPP provides stable funding to banks and mortgage lenders to ensure continued lending to Canadian consumers and businesses
The 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 CMHC's 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: Patrick Perron

Title: Manager, Parliamentary Affairs and Correspondence

No. phone number: 613-740-5869

14. Indigenous housing

Issue

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

Key facts

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 recently announced new funding to provide critical support to Indigenous families and communities during this crisis
The Government of Canada is investing $44.8 million over five years to construct 10 new shelters on-reserve across the country under CMHC’s Shelter Enhancement Program, and two new shelters in the territories under the National Housing Strategy’s National Housing Co-Investment Fund
These investments in shelters will provide a safe haven for victims of family violence
The process to access the funding for the shelters will be through an Expression of Interest which will be launched by CMHC and Indigenous Services Canada in the coming weeks. First Nations on reserve across the country and Indigenous governments and/or organizations in the territories will be eligible to submit proposals
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: Patrick Perron

Title: Manager, Parliamentary Affairs and Correspondence

No phone number: 613-740-5869

15. Support for renters

Issue

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

Key facts

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)
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
We expect landlords to suspend evictions. Several provinces and territories, representing nearly all of Canada’s population (99.89%), have issued full or partial eviction bans
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 six 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 1, 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

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 three months ($500 in the first month, and $250 each for the following 2 months).

NWT has reduced the requirements and streamlined the process for applying to its existing Transitional Rent Supplement Program to respond to residents who lost their jobs to COVID-19. This program provides a rent subsidy of to $500 per month to low- to moderate-income residents in private market rental housing.

Other PTs may have not announced the changes to its programs.

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.

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: Patrick Perron

Title: Manager, Parliamentary Affairs and Correspondence

No phone number: 613-740-5869

16. Evictions

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
All provinces and territories, except Nunavut, instituted some level of moratorium on evictions in their jurisdictions at the height of the pandemic. 2 provinces: Manitoba and New Brunswick, have since lived their moratoria

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 had announced some level of moratorium on evictions as a result of their response to COVID-19. The only jurisdiction without an eviction moratorium was Nunavut, which continues to have 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 was not required.

The scope of these moratoria ranged 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 vary and have been extended in some instances. 2 provinces - MT and NB - lifted their moratoria on June 1, 2020. The remaining provinces and territories continue to have some form of anti-eviction measures in place.

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: Patrick Perron

Title: Manager, Parliamentary Affairs and Correspondence

No phone number: 613-740-5869

17. Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA)

Issue

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

Key facts

As of June 4, 2020, 4222 applications have been approved for a total of $38 million

Response

We know that small businesses across the country are the backbone of our communities, and they are now facing significant challenges
That's why we've moved forward with a number of measures that are designed to be of assistance. The Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses will lower rent by 75 % for small businesses that have been financially impacted by COVID-19
The program launched on May 25 and offers assistance in the form of a forgivable loan to qualifying commercial property owners who have set up rent reduction arrangements with their small business tenants
CECRA offers assistance for the months of April, May and June 2020 and can be applied retroactively
CMHC is administrating and delivering the CECRA
CECRA is only one program supporting businesses and it is intended to work in tandem with others, including the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), which covers 75% of employee wages, and the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), which provides partially forgivable, interest free-loans of up to $40,000
There are over 26,000 property owners registered in the CECRA portal
As of June 2, applications approved or in progress represent approximately $73M, supporting almost 20,000 small business tenants

If pressed on commercial property landlord refusing to apply for CECRA:

Commercial property owners that have small business tenants struggling to make their rent due to the pandemic should apply to CECRA for small businesses. Applying for this program will help the property owner and the tenants
We urge property owners to provide flexibility to tenants facing hardship in this uncertain time
CECRA for small businesses is also available to property owners who do not hold a mortgage
A property owner’s success depends on the success of their small business tenants. It also provides their tenants with breathing room to recover and remain viable post-crisis
If a tenant declares bankruptcy and is evicted, the property owner will receive zero rental income, will have to continue to pay the property’s costs, incur additional costs for 6 to 18 months while they find a new tenant and risk having to settle for a lower rent post-pandemic

If pressed on details of the CECRA:

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 property owner agrees to reduce the eligible small business tenants’ rent by at least 75 per cent for the three corresponding months under a rent forgiveness agreement, which will include a ban on evicting the tenant while the agreement is in place. The small business tenant would cover the remainder, up to 25 per cent of the rent
Simply put, CECRA would cover 50% of the rent, the property owner forgives 25% of the rent, and the small business tenant pays 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 per cent drop in pre-COVID-19 revenues. This support will also be available to non-profit and charitable organizations

If pressed on delays in applying to CECRA or reaching the technical help line:

We are aware of technical difficulties that applicants have encountered since the launch of the CECRA portal on May 25
To respond to the high volume of calls received by the technical help phone line, the call centre's capacity has been recently increased, and call centre representatives have been added

If pressed on outsourcing a third party to manage CECRA:

CMHC has engaged MCAP to deliver CECRA for small businesses. MCAP is working with First Canadian Title (FCT) to help deliver CECRA for small businesses
Given the importance of the program and the need for a rapid implementation, an exemption to CMHC’s usual procurement policy was approved in accordance with its governance processes, which allowed CMHC to proceed with a single source procurement in this particular circumstance

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: Patrick Perron

Title: Manager, Parliamentary Affairs and Correspondence

No. phone number: 613-740-5869

18. Mortgage deferrals

Issue

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

Key facts

The interim reporting indicate 230 323 mortgage payment deferrals for a total of $52 billion

Response

We recognize that many homeowners in Canada are facing challenges because of the COVID-19 outbreak
The Government, through CMHC, in addition to Canada's private mortgage insurers Genworth Canada and Canada Guaranty, have provided increased flexibility to defer mortgage payments on its insured homeowner mortgage loans to borrowers who are 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: Patrick Perron

Title: Manager, Parliamentary Affairs and Correspondence

No. phone number: 613-740-5869

Page details

Date modified:: 2021-01-14

OGGO appearance on Government’s response to the COVID-19 Pandemic – June 9, 2020 – Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

Table of contents

1. Speaking notes

Opening

Support for individuals and families

Canada Child Benefit

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) measures

Homeowners

Landlords

Renters

Help for our most vulnerable populations

Support for charities and non-profit organizations

Closing

2. Supporting parents and child care during COVID-19 Crisis

Issue

Key facts

Response

Background

Early Learning and Child Care

Federal COVID-19 measures relevant to the ELCC sector

Canada Child Benefit

Good and Services Tax Credit

Citations / Key quotes

3. Food security

Issue

Key facts

Response

Background

Citations / Key quotes

4. Homelessness and COVID-19

Issue

Key facts

Response

Background

5. Support for charities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Issue

Key facts

Response

Background

Citations / Key quotes

6. Vulnerable populations and COVID-19

Issue

Key facts

Response

Support for seniors in community

Seniors' financial and economic security

Homelessness

Background

7. ESDC COVID response measures (announced)

Measure

Target population

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