Bishop & McKenzie LLP is pleased to welcome Lora Lee and Kamil Y. Umar to its partnership.
On April 11, 2020 the Federal Government passed legislation providing more details on the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. This program was introduced by the Federal Government in hopes that it would allow employers to re-hire their workforce. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance indicated that the intention of this program is to allow employees to continue to be paid and to be connected to their employers, to support our economy in remaining strong and sustaining the best position to rebuild rapidly when we are able to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.
On April 6, 2020, the Government of Alberta announced the immediate implementation of temporary changes to Alberta’s Employment Standards Code (“the Code”). The stated purposes for these changes are to allow businesses to respond to current public health measures while supporting employees’ connection to the workforce and their ability to access federal assistance programs. In addition, these changes are expected to provide businesses with additional flexibility so that they can remain operational during the current public health and economic crisis.
Today, the Minister of Finance released further details on a new wage subsidy program at 75%, called the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance indicated that the intention of this program is to allow employees to continue to be paid and to be connected to their employers, to support our economy in remaining strong and sustaining the best position to rebuild rapidly when we are able to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.
On July 13, 2020, Prime Minister Trudeau announced an extension to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Program. On July 21, 2020, the Government passed the extension legislation as well as changes to the criteria for qualifying businesses. This update addresses these changes related to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and its effects on businesses and their workforces.