CERB Program Extended As Economy Reopens Gradually

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that the Canada Emergency Response Benefit ("CERB") program will be extended by eight weeks. The CERB has provided payments of $2,000 per month for a maximum period of 16 weeks for individuals who have been without work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The extension is timely, as applicants who signed up for the CERB in late March have been concerned that the benefit would cease at the end of June.

The CERB extension will give many Canadians who are still out of work continued temporary relief as the economy reopens gradually through the summer months. The federal government recognizes that many Canadians continue to struggle to pay their bills as they look for jobs or hope to be recalled to work. Some business groups, however, feel that the CERB program should be modified to cease the benefit if employees refuse to return to work (absent health or child-care issues) or fail to actively look for work. To date, there are no