The Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit Is Set To Be Extended & More People Can Keep Getting Paid
The federal government has laid out its plans to extend the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit by an additional month, meaning more Canadians would remain eligible for the money for longer.
In a notice on Wednesday, February 9, the Department of Finance Canada announced its intention to "extend enhanced key support programs to ensure Canadians are protected and workers and businesses continue to get help through ongoing public health restrictions."
In addition to extending access to Canada's Local Lockdown Program, officials also confirmed plans to continue expanded access to the CWLB until at least March 12, 2022.
"Eligibility would continue to include workers in regions where capacity-limiting restrictions of 50 per cent or more are in place," the notice reads.
Update: To make sure you, your workers, and your business have what you need to get through ongoing provincial and territorial public health restrictions, we\u2019re extending the expanded eligibility to the Local Lockdown Program and Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit until March 12th.— Justin Trudeau (@Justin Trudeau) 1644453995
It means the $300-per-week income support benefit will continue to be available to more workers for longer.
It's designed to support eligible people whose work has been impacted by a COVID-19-related lockdown order and who are unable to work or have lost income as a result.
As of Thursday, February 10, residents of almost every Canadian province and territory are eligible to apply for the benefit. In fact, Saskatchewan is the only province that is not listed on the Government of Canada website.
The support is available from October 24, 2021, to May 7, 2022.
Back in December, the federal government confirmed that it would expand the definition of a public health lockdown after nobody in the country was eligible to apply because no regions were officially considered to be under lockdown.
The extension is not expected to cost any more, either. The feds revealed that fewer people applied for the enhanced COVID-19 worker benefits than expected, meaning that the extension is likely to be covered by the original $4.5 billion Omicron provision.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
