Canada's Employment Minister Just Clarified Who The New COVID-19 Lockdown Benefit Is For

The Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit pays $300 a week!

Staff Writer

More and more details are being released about the country's newest COVID-19 benefit, the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit, including when it'll likely be applied.

In an interview with CTV, Canada's Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough said that a lot of details are still being ironed out about the $300-a-week payment.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the new benefit on October 21. It kicks into effect on October 24, lasting until May 7, 2022, and goes to workers who can't do their job due to a lockdown.

According to CTV, Qualtrough said that the current thinking is the benefits will only be for areas in a "complete lockdown" and will not come into play in areas with only a few restrictions.

Qualtrough also explained the application will be driven by how a province or region "characterizes" the lockdown.

The Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit is one of two new benefits announced by the Canadian government to replace the CRB, which ended on October 23.

  • Cormac O'Brien was an Associate Editor at Narcity Canada, covering all things exciting and trending about Canada. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Journalism from the University of Victoria, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the campus newspaper and was awarded the BCYNA Community News Scholarship for his writing. He was also the producer and co-host of Now On Narcity, Narcity's flagship podcast.

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