How Canada is helping individuals and businesses during the Covid-19 outbreak

Canada is taking the initiative to control the falling economy, protect jobs, or to help anyone affected by the Covid-19 prevention measures. They revealed details about the COVID-19 Economic Response Plan on Wednesday, March 18.

$82 billion was assigned for Canadians to help pay rent, buy food supplies and businesses to keep paying their employees and their bills, and up to $27 billion to support Canadian workers and businesses. All the cash will get extracted from Canada’s $1 billion COVID-19 Response Fund, created to support the health care systems of the provinces and territories.

Helping the workers, homeowners, and families

Homeowners struggling with financial difficulties due to the outbreak will get the flexibility to delay the mortgage payments to the lenders. Also, the government will provide extra assistance to families with children by adding $2 billion in the Canada Child Benefit payments.

Individuals who aren’t given paid sick leave will get up to $900 bi-weekly for up to 15 weeks. It is to help those who are sick, quarantined, in self-isolation but don’t have Employment Insurance (EI). Moreover, the last date for filing taxes has been increased from April 30 to June 1. Taxpayers will be able to defer the income tax payments till August 31 and with no interest and penalty.

Helping the vulnerable groups

The minimum withdrawals have now decreased by 25 percent from Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs) due to the market situations on senior’s retirement savings. And, people who have Canada Student Loans to pay will get a six-month period break and also with no interest.

Through the Reach Home program, Canada will provide an extra $157.5 million to help homeless people.

Supporting the businesses

With the help of the new Business Credit Availability Program, many small, medium, and large Canadian businesses will get more credit as the program will be able to give $10 billion of additional support.

Furthermore, the country will expand Export Development Canada’s capacity to give support to domestic businesses. And lastly, they will begin an Insured Mortgage Purchase Program to buy till $50 billion of insured mortgage pools.