The online application portal for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) launched earlier this week, drawing hundreds of thousands of applications.
According to Treasury Board president Jean-Yves Duclos, more than 300,000 Canadians applied for the benefit yesterday during the portal’s launch. The federal government noted that the application process is staggered – those born in January, February, and March applied on Monday – so the total number of applicants will increase over the week.
For today, Tuesday, those people born April through June may apply for CERB. Wednesday is for those born in July through September, and Thursday for those born in October through December.
CERB, which is being administered by Services Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency, is designed to help those who can no longer collect income due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Eligible CERB applicants will receive $2,000 a month, for up to four months, under the program.
Applicants who have set up direct deposits can expect their first payment within three to five days. Those who specified to receive the benefit through mail can expect theirs within 10 days, CBC News reported.
In a press conference, Duclos said that the government is also processing a lot of Employment Insurance (EI) applications. In recent weeks, 2.5 million applications for EI were turned in, the official said.
“Out of these 2.5 million requests, 2.1 [million] of them were processed over the past two weeks,” said Duclos, who added that those who apply for EI do not need to apply for CERB.
While the CERB application process went off without a hitch, some officials say more must be done to address certain financial gaps.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has raised concerns that CERB does not cover individuals who work reduced work hours following the pandemic, as well as part-time workers, gig workers, and full-time students. CERB’s current criteria requires applicants to have lost all income for at least 14 consecutive days in the last month, which already disqualifies those who do not have a regular work schedule.
The Conservatives also said that the other planned program, the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), is taking too long to launch. CEWS is expected to go live in three to six weeks, CBC News said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the government is looking into ways to address CERB gaps, such as through direct income supports. The federal government has also said it will recall Parliament in the days to come to pass legislation; plans of a “virtual Parliament” have been discussed.
