Supporting Canadians through COVID-19

As we start a new year, our top priority remains keeping Canadians safe and healthy from COVID-19.

We will keep doing whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to support all Canadians, our communities, and our businesses through this crisis. This includes ensuring all Canadians have access to a safe, effective, and free vaccine. We expect in the first months of 2021, millions of Canadians will receive a vaccine. The availability of the vaccine will increase throughout the year, ultimately providing every Canadian with the opportunity to be immunized.

Until that time, we all need to keep doing our part to keep one another safe. On social media and while talking to constituents in your community, please continue to encourage everyone to download and use the COVID Alert app, wash their hands often, practice physical distancing, wear a mask, avoid gatherings, stay home when possible, and above all, follow local public health guidelines.

Here are some of the ways we are supporting Canadians:

• Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)
• Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB)
• Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB)
• Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)
• Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)

Latest Buzz – here's some of the latest news:

Vaccines

• While scientists around the world do important work to find vaccines for COVID-19, we’re making sure that Canadians will be able to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
• So far, Health Canada has authorized two vaccines for use in Canada.
• Since then, what has happened? As of Dec. 31, 2020, we have distributed more than 420,000 vaccines to provinces and territories to deploy to Canadians. Updated information on vaccine distribution by province and territory will continue to be available on our website.
• Between the early doses we’ve already received, and the shipments now scheduled, we’re on track to have at least 1.2 million doses from both Pfizer and Moderna delivered by January 31.
• Canada will receive up to 920,000 doses of the Moderna (170, 000) and Pfizer (750,000) COVID-19 vaccines in January.
• We will continue to work with all partners to ensure that all Canadians will have access to vaccines, starting with the most vulnerable.

Non-Essential Travel – CRSB

• Workers should not have to choose between staying home from work when sick and putting food on the table.
• The purpose of the sickness benefit has always been to provide workers with a paid sick leave option where one might not be available through their employer.
• In September, all parties unanimously passed legislation, creating three new recovery benefits and outlining eligibility criteria for the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit.
• This benefit was never intended to incentivize or encourage Canadians to not follow public health or international travel guidelines and we continue to strongly urge all Canadians to avoid non-essential travel.
• We are actively looking at all available options to address this issue.