OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is extending its program to subsidize wages in companies hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic until December.
The program is the heart of the government’s promise to help Canadians get back to work, even if has to be at a slower pace, as the pandemic wanes.
As of July 6, the wage subsidy had paid out $18.01 billion to 252,370 companies in payroll help.
The government’s fiscal and economic “snapshot” last week boosted the budget of the wage subsidy program to $82.3 billion in a sign of impending changes.
Trudeau isn’t saying today how the government will reshape the eligibility rules for the program that critics have said acts a barrier to receiving the aid.
The wage subsidy program covers 75 per cent of wages, up to a weekly maximum of $847, for eligible companies and non-profits.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2020.
The Canadian Press
