In the past 10 days, the federal and provincial governments have announced new financial measures to support employers and their employees impacted by COVID-19.

It should be noted that the Government of Quebec recently extended the public health emergency until April 16, 2020, as well as the period for minimizing non-priority services and activities until May 4, 2020. However, on April 13, 2020, Premier Legault announced a number of addition to the list of priority services.

The list of new services deemed priority now includes:

• Garden centres, nurseries, landscaping, lawn maintenance and swimming pool stores, as of April 15.
• Mining industries, as of April 15.
• Garages (vehicle maintenance and repairs), tow trucks, and roadside assistance, as of April 15.
• Residential construction (including supply chain for this sector of the construction industry) as of April 20, assuming a project is slated to be finished by July 31.

These industries must take a number of steps to ensure that workers maintain physical distancing.

Government of Quebec

Emergency Aid Program for Small Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

On April 3, the Government of Quebec dedicated 150 million dollars to establish this program aimed at supporting businesses that are experiencing financial difficulties due to the ongoing pandemic.

The regional county municipalities will be responsible for managing and distributing the sums to the eligible SMEs. To obtain a loan or a loan guarantee, SMEs must be operational for at least one year, be temporarily closed or at risk of closing and not be under the protection of the Bankruptcy Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

Eligible businesses can obtain financial assistance of up to $50,000 in the form of a loan or a loan guarantee. This financing must be used in order to compensate for a lack of cash flow caused by an incapacity or a substantial reduction in the capacity to deliver products (goods or services) or for an issue with supply of raw materials (goods or services). This measure is in addition to the Temporary Concerted Action Program for Businesses, established on March 19, and is complementary to the measures already implemented by the federal government.

Incentive Program to Retain Essential Workers (IPREW)

To compensate employees who remain on the job market during this pandemic, the Government of Québec will increase the wages of essential service workers who earn less than $2000 per month to counter the unwanted effects of the CERB. Thus, eligible workers will see their wages increased by $100 per week to ensure they receive compensation equivalent to or greater than what they would have received under the CERB program had they resigned from their employment.

For eligibility, the worker must:

• Work in a sector deemed essential;
• Earn less than $550 gross a week;
• Earn between $5000 and $28,600 annually.

The benefit will be paid retroactively to March 15, for a maximum of 16 weeks. To apply, a form will be available on the Revenu Québec website as of May 10, 2020.

Individuals who applied for the CERB, as well as those who have benefited from the Temporary Aid for Workers Program are not eligible for this new benefit.

Concerted Action Program for Job Retention

On April 6, the Government announced the allocation of 100 million dollars to this program offered jointly by the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Solidarity and the Commission des partenaires du marché du travail.

The program aims to offer financial support to businesses wishing to optimize their operations, train their employees and implement good human resources management practises during the economic turndown caused by the pandemic.

To be eligible, businesses must have been affected by the pandemic whether by the suspension, the decrease or the diversification of their activities.

The program has two components that are respectively intended for:

i) Businesses: This component provides financial assistance to employers who wish to train their employees in human resources management (HRM) and develop their professional skills in the workplace, online or remotely. It is intended to allow businesses to take advantage of this downturn and to prepare themselves for the economic recovery post-pandemic.

For this component, the eligible human resources management activities are:

• the diagnosis of the human resources function and, if applicable, of the other functions;
• HRM consulting mandates (e.g., organizational communication, policy relating to working remotely, employee mobilization, planning of labour requirements for maintaining and resuming activities, support for diversification of activities);
• coaching and development of management skills.

ii) Collective Promoters: This component targets organizations that reach a community of employers and workers to generate a multiplier effect. This component is intended to be flexible to allow promoters to respond quickly to the needs of their clientele.

For both components, the eligible training activities are:

• Basic employee training;
• Francization;
• Training on digital skills;
• Continuing education related to the activities of the company, whether or not directly related to the position occupied by the employee being trained;
• Training recommended by professional orders;
• Training made necessary for the resumption of business activities;
• training linked to a strategy for adjusting or modifying the activities of companies in the context of economic uncertainty linked to COVID-19 which renders it possible to maintain or diversify the activities of said company (hygiene, remote work, etc.));
• Requalification training for workers.

The financial assistance will cover:

• the wages of workers participating in training activities up to:
• 25% of the wage of workers in training (maximum allowable salary of $25 an hour), if the company receives Canada’s emergency wage subsidy of 75%;
• 90% of the wage of workers in training, if the company receives the temporary Canadian wage subsidy of 10%;
• 100% of the wages of workers in training, if the company does not receive any wage subsidy from the federal government.
• trainers’ fees for a maximum of $150 an hour;
• costs incurred by the trainer and the workers to attend training activities;
• costs related to the creation, adaptation and distribution of training content;
• the purchase of equipment and supplies necessary for carrying out training activities;
• The costs related to the management and administration of activities assumed by the delegated body, up to 10% of the eligible costs.

Note that eligible expenses for training projects will be reimbursed up to 100% for expenses of $100,000 or less orup to 50% for expenses between $100,000 and $500,000.

Companies interested in the business component of this program can contact a business advisor in their region: https://www.mtess.gouv.qc.ca/services-en-ligne/centres-locaux-emploi/localisateur/.

Collective promoters must apply using the grant request form by email to the following address: partners@mtess.gouv.qc.ca.

The program has been in effect since April 6 and projects will be accepted until September 30, 2020, or until the budget of $100 million has been used up. In addition, it is possible to file an application retroactive to March 15, 2020.

Federal Government

Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)

The federal government has recently announced more details on how to apply for the CERB. Do note that Canadian workers who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic can apply online or by phone since April 6, 2020.

To better manage the high volume of applications, the Government has developed a timetable dictating to Canadians the specific day on which they can apply for the benefit. Canadians who were born between the months of:

• January and March: can apply every Monday;
• April and June: can apply every Tuesday;
• July and September: can apply every Wednesday;
• October and December: can apply every Thursday.

All Canadians, regardless of their birth month, can apply on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

An eligible applicant will receive $2,000 for a period of 4 weeks, at the end of which he or she must reapply again every month to receive the benefit.

Depending on the claimant, applications must be filed with the Canada Revenue Agency or Service Canada. Benefits are payable by direct deposit or by check. Payment by direct deposit should be received within 3 to 5 days or within 10 days for checks sent by mail.

On April 6, 2020, the federal government stated that it would be announcing, in the coming days, an expansion of the eligibility criteria for the CERB, so that more workers could benefit from it. This would include people whose work hours have been reduced to less than 10 hours per week and students who will be unable to find a summer employment when they return to school in the fall.

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy

Please consult our latest bulletin entitled Parliament passes the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy bill for latest details on this program.