On February 9, 2022, the federal government announced that the expanded eligibility criteria for accessing the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit and the Local Lockdown Program would be extended until March 12, 2022. We previously wrote about this expansion of the eligibility criteria for these two new COVID-19 support programs.
Local Lockdown Program
Under the extension of the Local Lockdown Program, employers will continue to be eligible for this benefit if they are subject to capacity-limiting restrictions of 50% or more. The current-month revenue decline threshold requirement would remain at 25%, and the 12-month revenue decline test would not be required in order for employers to access this support.
Under this benefit, eligible employers would receive wage and rent subsidies from 25% to 75% of the claimed amount, depending on the degree of revenue loss.
The previously announced expansion of eligibility, which includes the conditions mentioned above, will continue until March 12, 2022 instead of ending on February 12, 2022 as previously planned.
Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit
The federal government previously announced that eligibility for the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit (the “Benefit”) will be expanded to include eligible employees and self-employed individuals who are unable to work due to a COVID-19 public health lockdown.
The government previously expanded the definition of “public health lockdown” for the purposes of the Benefit to refer to a lockdown order that was made because of COVID-19 and required premises where commercial activities or services are carried out, in relation to non-essential services, to be closed to the public for at least seven consecutive days.
Takeaways for Employers
Employers who are eligible for the Local Lockdown Program should ensure that they submit their application if they have not done so already. The application for this benefit is submitted through the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program, however employers do not have to be in the tourism, hospitality, arts, entertainment or recreation sectors in order to be eligible for the Local Lockdown Program benefit.
Employers should also note that the previous extensions of the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit, Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, and Canada Recovery hiring program until May 7, 2022 will still apply.
We will continue to monitor for updates regarding COVID-19 support programs and will promptly post about relevant updates for employers.