CERB extended by four weeks as part of feds’ plan to overhaul jobless benefits
Liberal government promises ‘more inclusive’ EI program — if it survives confidence vote
OTTAWA— At least 1 million people could lose their jobless benefits during the pandemic if the Liberal minority government falls in a confidence vote in late September.
Such an outcome would prevent the Liberals from tabling legislation needed to implement part of a $39-billion package meant to support people who have lost work during the COVID-19 pandemic after the much-used Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) winds down in the coming weeks.
Carla Qualtrough, the minister of employment, workforce development and disability inclusion, said she believes opposition parties will support the Liberals and allow them to implement these new programs because they address concerns raised about the CERB, which has paid out more than $68 billion to 8.5 million Canadians over the past six months.
That includes creating paid sick leave, which the New Democrats have called for, and strengthening incentives for benefit recipients to start working again, something the Conservatives have demanded.
“I have confidence … that we’ll be able to find a way forward with the opposition parties, who also recognize that this is an ongoing public health and economic crisis,” Qualtrough told reporters on
Parliament Hill.
Speaking alongside Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Qualtrough detailed how the government plans to extend the CERB by four weeks before replacing it with a “more inclusive” Employment Insurance scheme and three new jobless benefits for people who lose work during the pandemic. They framed the changes as necessary during the current crisis, while the government studies more lasting reforms to the EI system.
Qualtrough said the government expects about 3 million people currently receiving $500-per-week CERB payments to transfer into the temporary EI program, while the remaining 1 million to 1.5 million will go on the new benefit programs.
But while the EI changes can be made through regulations, the Liberals need to pass legislation to create the new programs. Since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament this week, that means the government won’t have a chance to table a bill until after it delivers a new Throne Speech on Sept. 23 — and only if it survives a subsequent confidence vote in the House of Commons.
CARLA QUALTROUGH MINISTER OF EMPLOYMENT, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND DISABILITY INCLUSION “I have confidence … that we’ll be able to find a way forward with the opposition parties, who also recognize that this is an ongoing public health and economic crisis.”
Daniel Blaikie, a New Democratic MP from Manitoba, told the Star Thursday that his party believes the government is missing a chance to make permanent changes to EI, even though it is glad to “finally see a bit of plan” to create paid sick leave for all Canadians and to extend CERB for another month.
But Blaikie made clear the NDP has not decided whether it will support the Liberal government’s Throne Speech, stating it was “irresponsible” of Trudeau to prorogue Parliament on the eve of a major policy announcement involving jobless payments for millions of people.
“I don’t think we should be having an election, but sometimes elections are the only cure for what ails a country,” he said. “We are trying to work as hard as possible to collaborate with the government as best we can on issues like CERB and EI … But we need to see over the next few weeks, are they really interested in reaching out and collaborating, or is this all smoke and mirrors?”
In a written statement, Conservative MP Dan Albas criticized the changes as just “shuffling Canadians between programs” and said “it is unacceptable that the Trudeau government announced these changes days after locking out MPs and shutting down Parliament to block investigations into their WE scandal.”
The Liberals need the support of at least one official opposition party — the Bloc Québécois, the Conservatives or the NDP — to survive the confidence vote and pass legislation to create the new jobless benefits. The changes announced Thursday include extending the eligibility period for the CERB by a month, to a maximum of 28 weeks. That will cost about $8 billion, Qualtrough said.
After that, the government plans to implement a reformed EI system alongside three new emergency benefit programs that are slated to exist for a year, starting Sept. 27.
The reformed EI system will pay out a minimum of $400 per week for at least 26 weeks — an increase from the minimum period of14 weeks in the regular system, according to senior public servants who briefed journalists about the changes Thursday. The government will also make it easier to qualify, so that people can get EI after working just 120 hours if they can no longer find work, they said.
This will add about $7 billion to annual EI costs for the government, the officials said.
At the same time, the government intends to freeze EI premiums for workers and their employers, forgoing about $2 billion over the next two years, Freeland said at Thursday’s press conference.
Beyond that, the government plans to table legislation to create three new benefit programs that will be available retroactively to Sept. 27.
For those who aren’t eligible for EI, such as gig and self-employed workers, the government intends to create the Canada Recovery Benefit that will pay out $400 per week for up to 26 weeks.
There will also be a new Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit for people who stop working because they’re ill or must selfisolate due to COVID-19. They can get $500 per week for two one-week periods. Finally, the government wants to create the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit for people who stop working to care for a family member because their school or daycare is closed during the pandemic. Officials said people can also qualify if their family member is told by a doctor not to attend. This benefit would pay out $500 per week for up to 26 weeks, per household.
Qualtrough said the government expects these three benefits to cost about $22 billion. The new programs also do away with the element of the CERB that cut people off from receiving the benefit if they earned more than $1,000 a month. The new programs would allow recipients to make $38,000 in a calendar year without losing the benefit, and would lose 50 cents from the payments for every dollar they earn beyond that.
This year’s federal deficit was already projected to hit $343 billion when the government released a “fiscal snapshot” on July 8.