Federal government support to hire new workers

Compton-stanstead MP and Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food Marie-claude Bibeau presented a new Canada Recovery Hiring Program last week to provide support to employers when restarting their businesses by hiring new workers and funding wages.

“Since the start of the pandemic, our business support programs have served as a lifeline for Canadian businesses. We know how vital this help was and to what extent it brought relief to many,” Bibeau commented in a press release. “While the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Program was successful in keeping workers employed during the crisis, the new Canada Recovery Hiring Program aims to stimulate return to work and the addition of new workers,” she explained.

This program will support eligible employers that continue to experience qualifying declines in revenues relative to before the pandemic. Businesses will be able to recreate the team of employees they need to recover and grow, do it at a pace that suits them, and increase the number of hours when necessary or increase wages.

Hiring new workers can represent costs that some companies are still reluctant to invest in because they continue to experience a decline in turnover relative to their pre-pandemic revenues. The new program, offered to active employees between June 6 and Nov. 20 2021, will compensate a part of supplementary costs of up to 50 per cent. Employers will be able to hire staff as part of their reopening, increase wages or hours worked and hire more employees. ‘‘With the new hiring program, a number of sectors that were particularly hit hard such as tourism, hospitality, arts and entertainment will thus be able to catch their breath and reinvigorate areas of activity that we all hope to enjoy in the near future’’, Bibeau said.

Furthermore, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy which can provide up to 65 per cent of eligible expenses as well as Canada’s Emergency Wage Subsidy which can cover up to 75 per cent of salaries, are both extended on a decreasing scale, up to Sept. 25 2021.