Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) is Government of Canada’s initiative to support affected employed class across Canada with $2,000 per month during the Covid-19 pandemic. This benefit is part of Canada’s Covid-19 Economic Relief Plan. CERB is taxable and given out partly in installments of $500 per week.
The eligibility criteria (with recent relaxations) for CERB are as follows:
- Resident of Canada who is at least 15 years old and had income of at least $5,000 in 2019 or in the 12 months prior to the date of their application.
- Canadians who lost the job due to Covid-19 outbreak (laid off, fell sick, are isolated/quarantined or someone who is looking after a Covid-19 patient) and have not quit their job voluntarily.
- Parent(s) who stopped working to look after their kids due to schools & daycare being closed and don’t have access to paid leave or other income support.
- Any Canadian who is still at work but earnings dropped to less than $1000 per month due to Covid-19 pandemic. This includes part-time & seasonal workers.
- Daily wage earners, contract workers and self-employed individuals who are not eligible for Employment Insurance (EI) and are unable to work due to COVID-19 outbreak.
- Seasonal workers who have exhausted their EI regular benefits and are unable to undertake their regular seasonal work as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Those who are still employed, but are not receiving income because of disruptions to their work situation due to COVID-19.
- Artists receiving royalty payments for copyrighted works produced before March 1st are also eligible for CERB.
“Providing Financial Relief to Canadians during Covid-19 Crisis”
