The federal government’s latest announcement hopes to catch many of those who fell through the cracks of regular employment insurance. The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was written into law on Wednesday as part of the Covid Aid Package Bill C-13, giving Canadians about $2,000 a month for up to four months as early as April 10.
You qualify if:Â
- You lost your job because of COVID-19
- You are sick with COVID-19, quarantined because of COVID-19 or are caring for someone sick with COVID-19
- You’re a parent whose kids aren’t at school or daycare, and therefore you’re stuck at home caring for them
- You’re a contract worker who can’t get an ROE (record of employment)Â
- You’re self-employed (musicians, massage therapists, writers, crafters, business owners)
What you get:
About $500 a week ($2,000 a month) for up to four months.
How you get it:
Apply online. The application is expected to be set up by April 1, and money should flow within 10 days of getting signed up.Â
Who should apply:
Because Canada has seen a record number of applicants for Employment Insurance (prime minister Justin Trudeau said nearly 1 million on Wednesday), this stream is for those who aren’t covered by traditional EI and those who are but haven’t been able to get it yet. It’s an attempt to take some stress off the system. And, if you do the math, there’s a chance you’re better off here (in the short term) if you were making less than $23 an hour before being laid off.
If you qualify for regular EI but choose to apply for the Emergency Response Benefit instead, you can still get your remaining EI benefits after the 16-week CERB period is over.
How much you qualify for is based on the hours you’ve worked and the unemployment rate where you live. In Halifax, the unemployment rate is 6.6 percent—so to qualify for regular EI you have to have worked at least 665 hours in the last 52 weeks—which will get you 15 weeks of EI benefits. If you worked more hours, you’ll get benefits for longer.Â
If you’ve managed to get through to EI in the past week and submitted your ROE—don’t apply for this program. It’s more about making sure as many Canadians as possible can get support quickly than fussing over the details of which program is better.Â
If you’ve already applied for EI but haven’t got a response, hold tight. You don’t need to reapply.
The government’s EI website has been slow to access, with some people reporting that it takes up to four hours to make it through the whole process. But we wake up on the east coast before the rest of the country does—so setting your alarm for 6am might be enough to get through while the website isn’t overloaded.Â
Come back here or check with NS public health for the latest reliable updates. In the meantime, wash your hands, cover your cough, wipe commonly used surfaces and stay home if you feel sick.
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Starting today you can apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit
This article appears in Mar 19-31, 2020.
what do you do if you have exhausted your EI claim but all the jobsites are shut down and there is no work? Do you apply for the CERB??
Hi Charlotte, I’ll try and get an answer for you!
Im in the same boat as charlotte, my EI was over at the same time I had surgery, so had to recover from that,, now Im able to look for work and bam,,, I cant,, what can I do?
How do you apply for this asking for my sister.
Hello. Could you tell me please if I am eligible for any financial support if I lost one of my two part time jobs? Thank you.
Does everyone get $2000 or does the amount vary from person to person depending on your hourly pay? If i was working only 2 days a week making $17 an hour, will I still get the $2000 a month or would it be less?
Should l apply for the financial support. I have to stay home with my kids for 4 hours a day, but I can still work the rest of the day. I am loosing income from my employer (construction worker) but l still make over $500 a week.
Should l apply for the financial support. I have to stay home with my kids for 4 hours a day, but I can still work the rest of the day. I am loosing income from my employer (construction worker) but l still make over $500 a week.
i have a wage of under 20$/h and am 15 and pay my own rent because my parents can’t, and i haven’t made 5000$ in 2019 because i only got my job in december but i’ve made 6000$ up to this point, if anyone can help please do so
I am a housekeeper at Nanaimo hospital being at the front line cleaning rooms that could have the virus infection…I make $17 hr risking our lifes while people are staying at home being safe making the same amount as me.What are my rights…Can i stay at home and collect $2,000.
And if not why.INo heathcare workers signed up for this.It seems Canada is being awfully unfair on who and who not gets $2,000.My El has been exhausted due to a injury.I really think are Prime Minister needs to wake up and reconize that we are people as well that are fighting this and not a day goes by of being worried and not sleeping.
My insurable hours are 289 in last 6 month can I apply for EI in Toronto