Applications are now open for the expanded Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit, the government said Thursday after adding most provinces and territories to the eligibility list.
The benefit, announced in November but expanded on Dec. 22, allows any worker to apply for the support if their workplace has been slapped with capacity-limiting restrictions of 50 per cent or more amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eligible workers can receive $300 — $270 after taxes — for each one-week period until May 7, 2022. The expanded eligibility, however, only applies until Feb. 12, 2022.
To get the benefit, workers will also need to have lost 50 per cent or more of their income as a result of these capacity limits, according to the government.
Earlier this month, no province or territory met the criteria for residents to apply for the benefit, despite several of them having introduced new public health restrictions by then to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.
The eligibility list now includes every province and territory that has reduced capacity for bars, restaurants and other workplaces: British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut.
National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier said in a statement Thursday that the government will expand eligibility to remaining regions once similar measures are introduced there. Officials in Saskatchewan and Yukon have publicly stated they would not introduce restrictions during the holiday season.