The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) will be extended to summer 2021; it is one of the highlights provided by the federal government during its 2020 Throne Speech, which served to open the next session of parliament.
Julie Payette, Canada’s Governor-General, delivered the Throne Speech from the Senate floor on September 23. A number of new priorities were outlined during speech, although the focus remained on three key areas: the government’s response to COVID-19, climate change, and addressing systemic racism.
The CEWS extension is part of the federal government’s response to COVID-19, and aims to curb the impact the pandemic has had and continues to have on employment in the country.
“One way the Government will create these jobs is by extending the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy right through to next summer,” said the federal government via its Throne Speech update online. “The Government will work with businesses and labour to ensure the program meets the needs of the health and economic situation as it evolves.”
The federal government also plans to launch a campaign to create more than one million jobs to help boost employment back to pre-COVID levels. It plans to do this through a range of tools, such as direct investments in the social sector and infrastructure, training to skill-up workers, and incentives for employers to hire and retain workers.
It also aims to increase the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy so more paid work experiences are available to young Canadians next year.
“The government highlighted that ‘now is not the time for austerity’ — indicating that in the near-term, the federal spending will continue to increase to support the economy,” said Oumar Dicko, Chief Economist at CADA, in a CADA Newsline article.
On climate change, the federal government said it will offer a plan to surpass Canada’s 2030 climate goal, which is not yet aligned with its United Nations Paris Agreement promises. And the government also plans to legislate Canada’s goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. It plans to do these things by:
- Creating thousands of jobs retrofitting homes and buildings, cutting energy costs for Canadian families and businesses;
- Investing in reducing the impact of climate-related disasters, like floods and wildfires, to make communities safer and more resilient;
- Helping to deliver more transit and active transit options;
- And by making zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) more affordable, while investing in more charging stations across the country.
“The Government will launch a new fund to attract investments in making zero-emissions products and cut the corporate tax rate in half for these companies to create jobs and make Canada a world leader in clean technology,” said the federal government.
More information on the Throne Speech can be found here.
