In his daily address Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a $350 million Emergency Community Support Fund for organizations that support the elderly, the homeless, youth at risk, the unemployed and single parents.
The money will be given directly to local community organizations with the rest distributed to national groups like the Red Cross and United Way. It will be used to help train volunteers, expand meal delivery service to seniors, and help take people with disabilities to appointments as well as provide support for organizations that work with the homeless and others at risk.
Trudeau says charities and non-profits are doing crucial work, “COVID-19 has put a tremendous amount of pressure because more people need more help.”
Trudeau also said there will be a calculator on the Canada Revenue Agency website that employers can use to figure out how much they will be able to be eligible for under the wage subsidy benefit. Businesses can begin to apply for the 75% subsidy next Monday (Apr. 27).
When asked he did say getting the money to businesses will take longer than the CERB payments, but he could not give a specific timeline.