The government is urging out-of-work Canadians to explore employment opportunities
Canada has extended its COVID-19 economic relief program for struggling workers by another eight weeks as the country works to regain its footing in a post-pandemic economy.
Those who receive the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) of $500 per week will continue to secure financial assistance for another two months.
But there’s an additional step that beneficiaries will first need to complete.
In the new phase of the CERB, workers will now have to sign a note acknowledging that the federal government is urging them to return to work and explore employment opportunities through the government’s job portal.
READ MORE: More Canadian employers rehiring workers through wage subsidy
In early May, HRD Canada reported that a number of organizations have started calling back furloughed employees and reopening their business with the help of the wage subsidy program.
Now, with the CERB extension, the federal government is counting on out-of-work Canadians to once again contribute to the country’s productivity by transitioning back to work.
Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough believes Canadians are “eager and ready to do their part” to help shore up the economy.
“We expect that workers will be seeking work opportunities or returning to work when their employer reaches out to them, provided they are able and it is reasonable for them to do so,” Qualtrough said.
While the government cannot force out-of-work Canadians to take a job, especially amid an ongoing public health crisis, the attestation they will sign encourages them to “actively seek work and take it when it’s reasonable in their circumstances to do so,” Qualtrough advised.
READ MORE: $500 a week COVID 19 benefit to be extended eight weeks
The federal government extended the economic relief program as a way to support Canadians who are now looking to rejoin the country’s workforce after spending months in lockdown.
The announcement follows an earlier decision by the federal government to extend the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program for employers to 29 August. The program covers up to 75% of a worker’s pay at companies that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 economic crisis.
“The reality is that there are three million people out of work who are looking for work, and even as our economy is reopening, there are many, many more people out of work, willing to work, than there are jobs available,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a news conference this week.
