On May 15, 2020, the Federal Government announced an extension
of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program (the
"CEWS") for a further 12 weeks, and
amended the Income Tax Regulations (the
"Regulations") to expand the types of
employers eligible to participate in the CEWS. The Federal
Government also announced an intention to further amend the
provisions of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the
"Tax Act") governing the CEWS.
This bulletin supplements the analysis of the CEWS released by
McMillan when the CEWS was first announced in April, 2020.
McMillan's detailed analysis of the CEWS is available here.
Extension of the CEWS
The CEWS is designed to encourage employers that have been
grappling with financial challenges to recall employees from
layoff, or keep employees on payroll, during the COVID-19 crisis.
Wage subsidies under the CEWS were originally intended to be
available for up to 12 weeks, retroactive to March 15, 2020.
