Ottawa Should Use CERB Extension Time Wisely: Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support
June 23, 2020 – Ottawa should use the Canada Emergency Response Benefit’s eight-week extension to update its Employment Insurance administrative architecture and roll out a training benefit program, says the C.D. Howe Institute’s Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support.
At their recent meeting, working group members discussed the proposed amendments to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) Act. The group also identified the need for training support benefits for CERB recipients, management of uncertainties to improve decision-making by households, and increased coordination with provincial governments to ease the transition back to work.
The group recommends:
Removing the…Janice Mackinnon – The Cerb Decision: Reform Or Replace?
From: Janice MacKinnon To: Policymakers in Ottawa Date: June 12, 2020 Re: The CERB decision: reform or replace? The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) begins to wind down next month, and the government must decide what happens to its most popular, and expensive, income support measure. There are two possible paths: either the CERB – reformed […] Lemieux, Schirle, Skuterud – Initial Impacts Of Covid-19 On The Labour Market
From: Thomas Lemieux, Tammy Schirle, Mikal Skuterud To: Employment and Social Development Canada Date: June 12, 2020 Re: Initial impacts of COVID-19 on the labour market The COVID-19 pandemic forced the Canadian economy into a medically-induced coma in March, and by mid-April about one third of the Canadian workforce had applied for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). While […] Mahboubi, Ragab – Restructuring Social Assistance In Ontario
From: Parisa Mahboubi and Mariam Ragab To: Canadian Businesses and Governments Date: June 9, 2020 Re: Restructuring social assistance in Ontario Social assistance systems, and how they interact with individuals’ participation in the labour force, are an integral component of healthy and financially stable communities. In Canada, nearly 50 percent of all social assistance recipients reside in Ontario […] Data Needed for Income Support Transition Planning: Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support
June 8, 2020 – Better data is required to make informed decisions about an income support transition model, says the C.D. Howe Institute’s Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support.
At their recent meeting, working group members discussed options for providing continued income support to Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) recipients who, after exhausting their maximum eligibility period, may remain unemployed and without access to Employment Insurance (EI). The group also explored a solution for getting real-time pay information to tackle the administrative challenge of using income-tested support programs, and discussed the potential impact of working from home on young employees and the gender wage…
Mike Veall – Freezing Ei Premiums
From: Mike Veall To: Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance Date: June 5, 2020 Re: Freezing EI premiums The federal government has, in your words, “no plan to raise taxes.” This should extend to Employment Insurance (EI) premium increases as well. When the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) are […] Lifting Lives: The Problems with Ontario’s Social Assistance Programs and How to Reform Them
Ontario should streamline path off welfare with more carrot, less stick Ontario should trim “punitive” welfare clawbacks and hike earnings exemptions for a more effective welfare system, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. Authors Parisa Mahboubi and Mariam Ragab provide recommendations that would reduce the cost of taking on work to social […] Green, Simard-duplain, Siu – A Covid Assessment Tool To Guide The Opening And Closing Of Sectors
From: David A. Green, Gaëlle Simard-Duplain, and Henry E. Siu To: Policymakers across Canada Date: June 2, 2020 Re: A COVID Assessment Tool to Guide the Opening and Closing of Sectors Since early May, the number of new Canadian COVID cases and – importantly – the number of COVID-related deaths, is on a downward trajectory. Now, public attention […] Staggered Re-opening Should Inform Tailored Income Supports: Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support
May 26, 2020 – With re-opening strategies differing across the country, regional and industry variations need to be considered to create better-tailored income supports, says the C.D. Howe Institute’s Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support.
At their recent meeting, working group members discussed the need to apply a risk management lens to the re-opening of the economy and the need to shift away from a national one-size-fits-all income support plan. The group also considered policy options for modifying the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) while maintaining support for families and low-wage earners, and explored longer-term income support plans.
The group recommends:
A more targeted…No Easy Answers: Insights into Community Well-being among First Nations
Employment Key to Improving First Nations’ Community Well-Being Increased employment is crucial to improving the well-being of First Nations communities, and should be a high priority in the Prairie provinces which have the lowest employment rates and lowest per capita regional incomes across Canada. Author John Richards looks at data from Indigenous Services Canada’s Community Well-Being […] Schirle, Milligan, Skuterud – What April’s Jobs Data Shows For The Future
From: Tammy Schirle, Kevin Milligan and Mikal Skuterud To: Canadians Concerned about the Labour Market Date: May 13, 2020 Re: What April’s Jobs Data Shows for the Future The Canadian workforce tumbled even further in April with a speed never seen before in the Canadian economy. The Labour Force Survey revealed three million people have lost their jobs since […] Extending CEWS Smart Move, More to be Done: Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support
May 11, 2020 – Better utilization of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) will help support businesses and individuals during the gradual re-opening of the economy and maintain employer-employee relationships, says the C.D. Howe Institute’s Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support.
At their recent meeting, working group members identified factors contributing to the large utilization gap between the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and CEWS, highlighted the importance of timely and reliable data, and considered the financial needs of Canadians who will not qualify for Employment Insurance (EI) after exhausting CERB.
The group supports the federal government’s decision to…