The Government of Canada’s Emergency Response Benefit is set to go online tomorrow for Canadians who have lost their job or income due to COVID-19.
In his daily address from Rideau Cottage, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that people can sign up for the benefit on Canada.ca, adding that people who have chose direct deposit will receive the money faster than those who haven’t.
The Emergency Response Benefit is a program that will provide $2,000/month for the next 4 months for people who have lost their income due to the coronavirus outbreak.
In order to deal with the demand, Trudeau said that 13.000 government workers from all agencies are being redeployed to make sure the CRA system is able to handle the demand.
Trudeau added that the government is also looking for people with specialize skills who can help on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19.
The Prime Minister says Health Canada is creating an inventory of those specialized volunteers that provinces and territories will be able to draw from for support. Some of the skills needed include tracking cases and tracing contact, and reporting and collecting data.
The government is also offering military reservists full-time jobs. The reservists will be paid the same and receive the same benefits as regular force personnel.
Trudeau hopes that this will bolster the military to offset some of the economic effect of COVID-19 and provide more support for communities country-wide.