Canada Emergency Response Benefit During COVID19 Crisis: Eligibility Details, Application Process & More

With Canada crossing 50,000 confirmed COVID19 infection cases the government has now come up with new guidelines to curb the spread of this deadly disease. The new forecast even predicts the second wave of infection if precautions are not carried out after the restrictions and lockdown has been relaxed. So if you are one of those people who are forced to stay at home and are out of work as of now without any confirmed source of income, here is a chance to avail of Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program.

The CERB will provide you with the monetary support of $500 per week for around 16 weeks thereby ensuring that you can feed yourself and buy necessary things including medications without having to beg to anyone.

Eligibility For Canada Emergency Response Benefit

The CERB has been announced by Ottawa to ensure that the workers have immediate access to cash and thus it can also offer support to their employers.  The $2000/month allowance is a taxable benefit proposed by the federal government of Canada offered to those workers who have lost their job due to the COVID19 pandemic.

The government aims to make it a more accessible and simpler form of benefit as compared to the Emergency Support Benefit and Emergency Care Benefit combined announced previously.

CERB is available to those workers:

• Who are currently residing in Canada and are 15 years or more in age
• Who do not have work due to COVID19 or come under the Employment Insurance regular eligibility or sickness benefits or Employment Insurance fishing benefits or whose Employment Insurance regular benefits have exhausted
• Who earned income of minimum $5000 in 2019 or at least 12 months from the date of applying for CERB through self-employment or other employment
• Who did not resign from their job voluntarily

Other eligibility criteria include:

• The applicants should not have received an income of $1,000 through self-employment or employment for 14 days consecutively four weeks from making the claim.
• The applicant should not have received a payment of $1000 or more through self-employment or employment when making claims for Canada Emergency Response Benefit.
• Also while submitting claims for CERB; the applicant should not have earned $1000 or more through self-employment or employment in the last four weeks from making the claim.

Vision Behind CERB

The Canadian government aims to provide monetary relief to those citizens in the country who are sick, quarantined, or have lost a job due to COVID19 lockdown or are forced to stay at home for taking care of someone infected with Coronavirus. It is also for those parents who have to stay at home to take care of their sick children or are at home to look after their kids who have to stay indoors as the schools have been closed.

People who will benefit from CERB include wage earners, contract workers, self-employed individuals ineligible for Employment Insurance, and employed workers who are not getting paid due to disruptions at their work.

Who Should Not Apply For CERB?

Those receiving EI benefits and expect it to continue should not apply for CERB. However, in the case, the EI benefits cease before October 3, 2020, and the employees are unable to return to work due to COVID19, such employees or workers can apply for Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

How To Apply For CERB?

The Canadian government intends to make the delivery of payments easy and fast which is why the operation is being jointly conducted by the Canada Revenue Agency and Service Canada. The application can be made through an online portal or an automated telephone line or even though a toll-free number.

The payments will be made within 10 days from the application and will be offered from March 15 until 3 October 2020.

About Post Author

Sangati Jogwar

See author's posts