Canada Emergency Response Benefit: until Sep 26, 2020

Have you lost or are about to lose your job due to the COVID19 pandemic? The GoC has introduced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

CERB is a taxable benefit and will provide you with $500 a week for up to 28 weeks and is available from March 15, 2020, to September 26, 2020 for workers who have lost their income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Individuals can expect to receive their CERB within 10 days of applying through their CRA account online. Applicants can apply no later than December 2, 2020, for payments retroactive to within that period.

Eligibility

The benefit will be available to workers:

• Residing in Canada, who are at least 15 years old;
• Who have stopped working because of COVID-19 and have not voluntarily quit their job;
• Who had income of at least $5,000 in 2019 or in the 12 months prior to the date of their application; and
• Who are or expect to be without employment or self-employment income for at least 14 consecutive days in the initial four-week period. For subsequent benefit periods, they expect to have no employment income.
• Who is earning $1,000 or less a month due to current situation
• Who is expecting a seasonal job that isn’t coming due to current situation
• Who’ve run out of EI since January 1, 2020, but can’t find job due to current situation* April 15, 2020 update

The Benefit is only available to individuals who stopped work as a result of reasons related to COVID-19. If you are looking for a job but haven’t stopped working because of COVID-19, you are not eligible for the Benefit.

How to Apply

• Applications will be available on April 6, 2020 via
• CRA MyAccount (Need to Register? Instruction Here)
  • Sign in to your CRA MyAccount
  • Go to COVID-19: Canada Emergency Response Benefit in the alert banner at the top of the page
  • Select the period you want to apply for
  • Declare that you qualify for the benefit
  • Confirm we have the right payment information
• A toll-free number: 1-800-959-2019 or 1-800-959-2041
  • Select your language preference: English or French
  • Follow the prompts to enter your information, including:
    1. your SIN
    2. confirmation of your postal code
    3. the period you are applying for
  • Declare that you qualify for the benefit
• Both of these services are available 21 hours a day, 7 days a week. Both services are closed from 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. (Eastern time) for maintenance.
• CRA wants to provide the best service possible to everyone. To help manage this, the CRA has set up specific days for you to apply. Please use the following guidelines:

Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/cerb-application.html