PRIME Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy – which provides employers funds to cover 75 per cent of wage costs up to a maximum benefit of $847 a week per employee – will be extended. Details will be revealed next week.
The subsidy was to expire on June 6.
Trudeau said: “We recognize that as the economy starts to reopen, people will be getting back to work, leaving the emergency response benefit and perhaps going on to the wage subsidy as employers bring people back on and get them back to work as our economy picks up over the coming weeks and months.
“That’s why we will constantly be adjusting to make sure Canadians are getting the support they need as we look to carefully and gradually restarting our economy.”
Meanwhile, Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced the new Industry Strategy Council, chaired by Monique Leroux.
He said: “By leveraging the existing and trusted Economic Strategy Tables, the Industry Strategy Council will provide a forum for industry leaders to share their perspectives regarding the challenges they are facing as a result of COVID-19. Monique Leroux has one of the most distinguished careers in Canadian finance, and her impressive background makes her the ideal business leader to chair this council.”
The Economic Strategy Tables are part of the Government’s Innovation and Skills Plan to create well-paying jobs and strengthen the middle class by investing in high-growth sectors where Canada has a globally competitive advantage.
The Tables are chaired by industry leaders in the following key sectors: advanced manufacturing, agri-food, clean technology, digital industries, health and bio-sciences, resources of the future, and tourism and hospitality. In response to some particular pressures related to the pandemic, the Government is adding two new Tables, representing the retail and transportation sectors.
The Industry Strategy Council will serve as an advisory body to give advice on economic policy to relevant federal ministers. Members of the Council will be announced in the near future and will complement the structure and focus of the Economic Strategy Tables.
Over the next 90 days, the Council will meet regularly to identify and understand sectoral pressures that are common across the industries.
