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ARTICLE · 24 JANUARY 2019

Wage Earner Protection Program Amendments: Maximum Payment Amount Increases Without Changing $2,000 Super Priority Under The BIA And CCAA

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The omnibus Bill C-861 received royal assent on December 13, 2018, and made substantial updates to, among other things, the Wage Earner Protection Program Act (WEPPA).

CanadaFinance and Banking
Jeremy Bornstein
Jeremy Bornstein
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The omnibus Bill C-861 received royal assent on December 13, 2018, and made substantial updates to, among other things, the Wage Earner Protection Program Act (WEPPA).

Among these changes included an increase to the maximum payment amount under WEPPA from $3,977 to $7,150. This may cause confusion; however, the amendments only affect payments made by the Government of Canada.

The maximum payment increase does not affect the $2,000 super priority amounts that employees may be entitled to under certain provisions of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). Accordingly, secured lenders who reserve in their borrowing base for amounts related to WEPPA do not need to change their practice to reserve $2,000 per employee.

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