Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
National

Eight more weeks of CERB to cost $17.9 billion, budget officer says

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 23 Jun, 2020 09:00 PM
  • Eight more weeks of CERB to cost $17.9 billion, budget officer says

The parliamentary budget officer estimates in a new report that it will cost the federal government $17.9 billion to provide eight extra weeks of payments through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

The report this morning from budget officer Yves Giroux says that would bring the total cost of the benefit program for people who've lost all or nearly all their work to the COVID-19 pandemic to $71.3 billion.

The CERB, now budgeted at $60 billion, has paid out $43.51 billion to 8.41 million people as of June 4 as demand surges past federal expectations.

With the first cohort of CERB applicants set to hit the 16-week limit on the payments early next month, the Liberals have promised to increase the limit to 24 weeks to provide help through the summer for those who need it.

Giroux's report says the additional cost to the program depends heavily on the outlook for the economy and jobs, as well as the course of the pandemic.

The report says further uncertainty over the final cost of the program rests on the actual takeup of the separate federal wage-subsidy program, which the Liberals plan to retool.

A report this morning from a group of experts convened by the C.D. Howe Institute is urging the Liberals to take the extra time bought by extending the CERB to retool the program itself and put in a program to help recipients retrain for other or better jobs.

Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough and Tiff Macklem, the governor of the Bank of Canada, separately on Monday warned that not everyone will have a job to go back to as restrictions ease and businesses reopen. Some companies may not survive the recession the pandemic has caused, Macklem said.

It's why the C.D. Howe paper also calls for an update to the employment insurance system to handle a possible surge in applicants come September, and for clearer language around a newly imposed requirement on CERB recipients to look or take work when it is "reasonable to do so."

When the Liberals unveiled the wage subsidy and CERB, it was the subsidy program that carried the heftier price tag of over $70 billion. The government styled it the largest social support program in the country's history.

But fewer companies than envisioned have used the subsidy, which now is budgeted to cost $45 billion. As of June 15, the government had approved $13.28 billion in payroll help to 223,918 companies.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau has been working on changes to the program's eligibility rules to improve takeup.

The Liberals' latest estimated cost of the total package of pandemic-related aid was about $153.7 billion, but Giroux's running tally now estimates the cost at $169.2 billion.

Fuelling demand for the CERB has been a steep drop in employment, with three million job losses in March and April as non-essential businesses were ordered closed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

With the possibility of more temporary layoffs becoming permanent, the Liberals on Monday extended the recall period for furloughed workers. In a statement, Labour Minister Filomena Tassi said the decision was due to "a great deal of uncertainty" companies have about when they can bring back employees.

MORE National ARTICLES

Divorce reforms delayed as experts brace for post-pandemic surge in divorces

Divorce reforms delayed as experts brace for post-pandemic surge in divorces
Family law experts say the delay in implementing reforms to Canada's Divorce Act is particularly untimely — coming just as they're bracing for a surge of women seeking divorces after being cooped up for months with abusive partners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Divorce reforms delayed as experts brace for post-pandemic surge in divorces

Experts say not enough proof expensive body cameras will reduce police violence

Experts say not enough proof expensive body cameras will reduce police violence
Ottawa is considering outfitting Canadian police with cameras following protests against violence by some officers, but experts say there is not enough proof the expensive technology is effective.

Experts say not enough proof expensive body cameras will reduce police violence

Pursue Iran in international court over shootdown: victims' family spokesman

Pursue Iran in international court over shootdown: victims' family spokesman
A Canadian spokesman for families and loved ones who were killed in Iran's Jan. 8 shootdown of a Ukrainian airliner says the regime is waging psychological warfare against them by refusing to release its flight recorders.

Pursue Iran in international court over shootdown: victims' family spokesman

A look at COVID-19 cases for US, India, and BC

A look at COVID-19 cases for US, India, and BC
COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the US and India but the numbers for BC are being tackled. BC Health Minister Adrian Dix worried about the jump in cases in certain US states. 

A look at COVID-19 cases for US, India, and BC

Sex assault, luring charges approved after girl alleges attack in Burnaby, B.C.

Sex assault, luring charges approved after girl alleges attack in Burnaby, B.C.
Charges have been laid against a man from Burnaby, B.C., after the RCMP investigated an alleged sexual assault of a child. The RCMP say a girl, whose age has not been released, and her mother reported the allegations to police on May 7.

Sex assault, luring charges approved after girl alleges attack in Burnaby, B.C.

Online portal to connect buyers and sellers of COVID-19 supplies launched

Online portal to connect buyers and sellers of COVID-19 supplies launched
The federal government is launching a web-based portal to help connect buyers and sellers of protective equipment used to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Online portal to connect buyers and sellers of COVID-19 supplies launched