Jayvon Mitchum
Applications for three new support programs replacing the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit are now available on the Government of Canada’s website.
The programs, the Canada Recovery Benefit, the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, and the Canada Recovery Caregiver Benefit, will be processed through the Canada Revenue Agency, will allow Canadians to receive $500 per week, for a maximum of 26 weeks.
“The new Canada Recovery Benefit is most welcome by the Mayor and will be of great assistance to residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Lawvin Hadisi, the press secretary for Mayor John Tory.
The caregiver benefit is for parents who have stopped working to take care of their child who is 12 or younger.
The sickness benefit is for parents who have contracted COVID-19 and can’t work while they isolate and recover. These new benefit plans follow the ending of CERB on Oct. 3.
But the pandemic continues, and Toronto’s city council implemented Oct. 9 lockdowns and restrictions on multiple establishments including bars, restaurants, cinemas, and fitness centres. The ban includes city programs within schools and community centres.
And those restrictions affect employment.
Parents like 22-year-old Angela Castillo of Toronto believe the benefits could make a difference towards helping families, including her own.
“I like how the government is keeping their word about what they planned to do to help us,” she said. “It shows that they actually care about what we’re going through and how we’re maintaining.”
The government believes more than 700,000 people will sign up for the benefits.