Annex 1
GBA+ Summary for Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan

• $50 million to support Canada’s immediate health response to COVID-19; $1 billion COVID-19 Response Fund, including funding for the provinces and territories, for health research, and for the World Health Organization and other international partners.

Funding for the immediate public health response to the COVID-19 outbreak is intended to benefit all Canadians; however, the actual impacts of COVID-19 have tended to differ across different sub-groups of the Canadian population. While hospitalizations are evenly spread between men and women, as of mid-June 2020, more men (61.5 per cent) than women (38.5 per cent) are being admitted to intensive care units. Women represent 54 per cent of those deceased from COVID-19 in Canada. More information is slowly becoming available and the new measures will help support enhanced information on COVID-19 by collecting data in field-epidemiology efforts. Currently there are limited data on COVID-19 cases broken down by race, occupation and other socio-economic factors. However, emerging reports indicate that the virus has had a disproportionate impact on racialized communities, as well as individuals who are overrepresented in occupations vulnerable to COVID-19. For example, people living in the most diverse neighbourhoods, in large urban areas such as Toronto and Montreal, are more likely to experience severe outcomes (hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths) than people living in the least diverse neighbourhoods.

Seniors and those with compromised immune systems or underlying health conditions are also at greater risk of serious illness. Over 70 per cent of all deaths were people 80 years and older. Of the COVID-19 cases reported in Canada to date, approximately 56 per cent are women, likely reflecting that women represent over two-thirds of the population of long-term care homes which have been disproportionately affected by the virus, and that women make up the vast majority of people in front-line public health and other essential services, who work in settings where their risk of exposure to the virus is greater. Relatedly, one in four health care workers in Canada is an immigrant.

These new measures will also directly benefit the health sciences and research sector. A five-year historical analysis of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s priority-driven research programs, found that about 51 per cent of applicants on average identified as women. Moreover, it was found that women researchers have been more successful than men researchers in CIHR’s priority-driven research programs (43 per cent vs. 35 per cent), and represent 56 per cent of funded applicants. Further disaggregated CIHR data for racialized and Indigenous researchers are not available over the period; however, based on more general data for full-time university professors, Indigenous researchers and researchers that belong to racialized minorities may represent 1 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively, of benefiting researchers. Efforts to support the provision of accurate and timely public health information to Canadians will help reduce stigma and misinformation that could lead to discriminatory attitudes towards individuals that suffer from COVID-19.

• $2 billion to procure personal protective equipment and supplies for health care workers and patients.

This funding directly supports health care workers through improved access to personal protective equipment (PPE) – for example, N95 masks, gowns, gloves - which will reduce their risk of becoming infected with COVID-19, or transmitting the virus to patients. Front-line healthcare workers are mostly women and one in four are immigrants. For example, in 2018, over 90 per cent of regulated nurses in Canada were women, over 90 per cent of personal support workers in long-term care homes and community homecare are women and among health care and social assistance employees in Canada, 81 per cent are women. Visible minorities are overrepresented as workers in nursing and residential care facilities as per the 2016 Census.

Funding for improved access to health care equipment (e.g. ventilators) will directly benefit COVID-19 patients who require medical treatment. While all segments of the population are potentially vulnerable to COVID-19, seniors, as well as those with underlying health conditions, are most at risk of developing severe complications that require hospitalization. To date, those over the age of 60 account for over 95 per cent of COVID-19 deaths, though only about 37 per cent of cases. 

Canadian industry and workers have also benefitted as companies have pivoted operations to support the domestic production of PPE and supplies.

These investments will indirectly benefit all Canadians, by serving to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 within health care centres, thereby improving outcomes among the general population. This will lead to improved health outcomes for all Canadians, as well as potentially reduce the severity of the attendant economic fallout.

• $11.4 million in 2020-21 to support enhanced procurement capacity, as well as efforts to coordinate and meet procurement needs in Canada, including the COVID-19 Supply Council.

• $88 million in 2020-21 to support Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada’s enhanced response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Approximately $14 billion in 2020-21 to support provinces and territories in the safe reopening of the country’s economies over the next 6-8 months.

• Waive customs duties for certain imported medical goods, including personal protective equipment, to reduce costs for imports and ensure tariffs do not create a barrier to accessing certain medical goods.

• $40 million over two years for the Canadian COVID-19 Genomics Network to coordinate a COVID-19 viral and host genome sequencing effort across Canada.
• $23 million over two years for the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre to accelerate development of a vaccine against COVID-19.
• $29 million over two years for the National Research Council to begin the second phase of critical upgrades to its Human Health Therapeutics Royalmount facility to ready it for the production of vaccines for clinical trials.
• $600 million over two years for the Strategic Innovation Fund to support vaccine and therapy clinical trials led by the private sector.
• $10 million over two years for a Canadian data modelling initiative to coordinate and share pandemic related data across the country.
• $10.3 million over two years, and $5 million ongoing, to support the Canadian Immunization Research Network in conducting vaccine-related research and clinical trials.
• $114.9 million through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for research projects that will accelerate the development, testing, and implementation of medical and social countermeasures.
• $300 million over two years for the establishment of the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force to provide reliable estimates of potential immunity in Canadian populations.

• $240.5 million in 2020-21 for virtual care and mental health tools to help Canadians safely engage with health providers through virtual health services and access reliable mental health supports in a safe and secure manner.

All Canadians, including vulnerable populations, stand to benefit from this measure, which will provide Canadians with resources to improve their health and well-being while minimizing their risk of exposure to COVID-19. This measure will also benefit healthcare professionals, by allowing them to exercise physical distancing more frequently by enabling them to treat patients virtually.

Public health measures, like physical distancing, health concerns and anxiety, as well as economic uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic are affecting the mental health and well-being of many Canadians. Approximately half of Canadians report that their mental health has worsened since physical distancing to address COVID-19 began, reporting an increase in stress levels, anxiety, depression and loneliness.

These negative impacts are particularly significant for youth and LGBTQ2 individuals, as well as recent immigrants and racialized populations. Additional mental health support has been provided to children and youth, including those living in rural communities, through the Kids Help Phone.

• Up to $114.9 million to be provided in 2020-21 to support northern communities, including support for air carriers, enhanced food subsidies and other emergency health care preparations and response.

• $285.1 million to support the ongoing public health response to COVID-19 in Indigenous communities. The investment will fund community-led responses to the pandemic, and provide targeted increases in primary health care resources for First Nations communities.

• Provide $442 million, and an additional $50 million announced as part of the COVID-19 Response Fund, to multilateral and bilateral international partners to provide urgent assistance and support international vaccine development efforts.

This measure will provide targeted assistance to groups negatively affected by the pandemic from both a health and socioeconomic standpoint. These groups include women and girls, person with disabilities, migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons, Indigenous peoples, the elderly and low-income persons. Canadians will also benefit indirectly through reduced risks from the disease, both at home and abroad.

This programming will be delivered under Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, which places gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls at the center of its efforts. In addition, in support of the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Canada’s international assistance will aim to ensure that development results will reach the poorest and most marginalized and lead to better development results that benefit all. For example, Canada’s contribution to the UN’s Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19 will ensure access to women’s health and sexual and reproductive health and rights services and supplies, while recognizing the role that local women’s organizations play in country-level delivery. Support to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations will also contribute to the COVID-19 vaccine efforts while taking into account sex and gender-based considerations such as the impact of the pandemic on pregnant women and ensure efficacy of vaccines across the population. Other initiatives to address education and nutrition issues will also respond to food shortages and high food prices to limit malnutrition and hunger, especially for women and girls who comprise 70 per cent of the world’s hungry.

• $100 million to support consular assistance for Canadians abroad affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This measure supports the provision of consular assistance to Canadians, including: increasing capacity at Global Affairs Canada’s emergency response centre; facilitating the return of Canadians stranded abroad; providing emergency loans to Canadian travelers; and partnering with international organizations to support Canadians unable to immediately return to Canada.

Funding provides essential assistance to Canadians abroad affected by COVID-19. Assistance was made accessible to all Canadians abroad, and, whenever possible, Canadians who self-identified as having a particular vulnerability due to age and other identity factors were prioritized for assistance.

• $80 billion in 2020-21 to provide income support to working age individuals whose employment status has been affected by COVID-19.

The CERB provides direct income support to Canadians of working age who have stopped working or whose work hours have been reduced owing to COVID-19.. This support measure is available to Canadian workers who are eligible for Employment Insurance, as well as many of those who are not eligible for Employment Insurance. It was expected that the CERB would be accessed by a broad cross-section of Canadians over the course of the COVID-19 response. Impacts and take-up rates to date discussed here are taken from Statistics Canada’s May 2020 Labour Force Survey.

Although women’s employment loss was initially higher, total employment losses from February to April were evenly split between women (17 per cent) and men (15 per cent). In May, employment increased more than twice as fast among men than women, reducing total cumulative employment losses to 13 per cent for men and 16 per cent for women. Between March 15 and mid-May, men and women were equally likely to have applied for the CERB.  Going forward, employment might be expected to increase somewhat faster among men than women in the coming months given the more rapid increase in goods-producing industries in May and the fact that women are more likely to continue with caregiving responsibilities while childcare facilities remain closed and while school is disrupted. In terms of industries, the drastic impact on employment in the accommodation and food services industry has resulted in the highest application rate for the CERB with 43 per cent of those employed in this industry applying for the CERB. Similarly, youth, students and newcomers have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, resulting in higher application rates for CERB relative to other age groups and citizenship status respectively. Lastly, self-employed workers faced significant losses in hours worked in May. 43 per cent of self-employed workers worked less than half their usual hours for COVID-19-related reasons, a drop from 50 per cent in April. As a result, 2 in 5 self-employed workers applied for the CERB, while only 12 per cent of private sector and 5 per cent of public sector employees applied. 

Those working in the informal economy are not captured in the Labour Force Survey, but are likely to have experienced significant declines in income and the availability of work as a result of the pandemic. Similarly, racialized Canadians and communities have been disproportionately affected by the economic crisis, so one would expect higher CERB take-up rates for these populations, although the data required have not yet been collected. An in-depth look at the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on specific groups and those receiving the CERB is presented in the GBA+ Summary Section of Ch.1.

• $82.3 billion in 2020-21 to provide a wage subsidy to eligible employers. This includes funding set aside for the proposed extension announced on May 15, the details of which the government will soon announce.

The measure provides a wage subsidy for eligible employers covering 75 per cent of an employee's wages, up to $847 per week. The wage subsidy is available to most private sector employers, including: businesses, non-profit organizations and registered charities. The wage subsidy could help to limit employment losses associated with the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, employees of eligible entities are benefitting the most from the measure.

In addition to benefitting workers, shareholders or owners of eligible businesses may also benefit from the measure, since the subsidy could help reduce labour expenses at a time of reduced business activity. Individuals benefitting from non-profit organizations and charities may also benefit from this measure. Additionally, Indigenous government-owned businesses may be eligible for the subsidy, which may benefit Indigenous communities.

As of June 29, 2020, small-sized employers (25 or fewer employees) represented the largest share of approved applications in all three claim periods, while medium-sized employers (26-250 employees) accounted for the largest number of employees supported per claim period. These results may reflect in part the fact that smaller firms are more liquidity-constrained than larger firms, some of whom may not have applied for the program yet.  By industry, current CEWS applicant data show that the largest number of employers receiving support in all three claim periods to date were in professional, scientific and technical services, but the largest numbers of employees covered were in manufacturing and accommodation and food services. Beneficiaries were also most likely to reside in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta, in line with their share of the population. Although no data are available on the gender composition of the employees receiving CEWS, based on the analysis of the current CEWS applicant data, it is possible that men are slightly more likely to be covered by the CEWS than women. This is, however, only suggestive and a more detailed analysis will be required once 2020 income tax data are available. More information on the recipients of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy is presented in the GBA+ Summary Section of Ch.1.

• $2 billion to provide a 10-per-cent wage subsidy to eligible employers from March 18, 2020 to June 19, 2020.

• Up to $3 billion in 2020-21, to enable provinces and territories to provide essential workers with temporary wage increases.

• Supplementary GST Credit payment made in April 2020, doubling the maximum annual GST Credit payment amounts for the 2019-20 benefit year.

Temporarily doubling the 2019-20 GST Credit amounts and paying out the incremental benefit as a lump-sum GST Credit Top-Up in April 2020 benefited over 12 million families, including roughly 1.6 million who would not have otherwise received the GST Credit due to their level of income.

The largest benefits, and the bulk of aggregate benefits, accrue to individuals and families with low and modest incomes (below about $38,000 in 2018) who were already receiving the status quo GST Credit. Seniors and single parents, and single mothers in particular, benefit from this measure at a higher rate than the general population due to their lower average incomes.

• Supplementary Canada Child Benefit amount of up to $300 per child on May 2020 payment.

This measure provides support consistent with the overall distribution of recipients of the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), which is provided to eligible families with children under 18. Additional support has been provided to about 3.7 million families with children, particularly low- and middle-income families. It is estimated that about one-quarter of the additional benefits were provided to families with net incomes under $30,000.

This measure is expected to benefit children and their parents in providing for the costs of raising children. Two-parent families in particular received additional support under this measure – it is estimated that 73 per cent of the additional benefits were provided to these families and 27 per cent to single parents (more likely to be women). Since the CCB is paid to the female parent (where one is present in the household) in the vast majority of cases, the increased CCB directly benefitted women, particularly those aged 30-49. When taking into account that the additional support is intended for the benefit of the children, the overall gender impacts of the measure are expected to be more even.

• $190 million, in 2020-21, to place a moratorium on Canada Student Loan repayments and to cover the interest during the moratorium period so that no interest accrues on Canada Student Loans in the eye of the borrower.

• $5 million in 2020-21 to waive the mandatory Employment Insurance waiting period for eligible workers who are in quarantine or have been directed to self-isolate and are claiming Employment Insurance sickness benefits.

• $10 million in 2020-21 to inform Canadians and businesses of the financial assistance available to support them during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they can apply.  

• $50 million in 2020-21 to coordinate a whole-of-government communications and marketing strategy that will ensure clear and high visibility of public health advice and guidance, help individuals and businesses understand how to benefit from the range of supports available to them, and provide clear, trusted messaging regarding safety and security, including travel advice.

All Canadians will benefit from the development of a broad-based communications strategy regarding the government’s response to COVID-19. Communications will be tailored to reach specific sub-populations who may be affected by the pandemic – including Indigenous peoples, those who do not speak English or French, and people with disabilities, through measures such as simultaneous interpretation – to ensure that all Canadians have equal access to the federal government’s health information and financial support initiatives available to help them through this crisis. 

Specifically, communications helping individuals obtain financial support could increase benefits to low income individuals. The health and safety related messaging is also expected to particularly benefit Canadians who are at risk of suffering more severe outcomes from COVID-19, including seniors and people with underlying health conditions.

• $5.25 billion to provide income support to eligible post-secondary students and recent graduates who have lost work and income opportunities for reasons related to COVID-19 and who are ineligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

• $900 million in 2020-21 to provide up to $5,000 to eligible post-secondary students who do national service and help their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• $1 billion in 2020-21 to expand existing federal employment, skills development, and youth programming to create jobs, placements and other training opportunities to help students find employment and develop valuable skills.

Support will primarily benefit students in college or university at the undergraduate, graduate or post-doctoral level, as well as some other youth aged 15-30.      

Overall, these measures are somewhat more likely to benefit women. Women comprise 60 per cent of Canadian post-secondary students, and women of student-age (15 to 29 years old) are also more likely to be affected by unemployment as recent employment rate changes show women were disproportionately affected in both full- and part-time job losses. 

Certain youth continue to face barriers in education and employment. For example, according to the 2016 Census, the percentage of young Black women and men in Canada (ages 13-17) not in employment, education or training was 13 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, compared to 10 per cent for other young women and 12 per cent for other young men. This was due in large part to persistent socioeconomic barriers, which this program serves to address.

With respect to graduation rates, 89 per cent of non-Indigenous people (ages 25-64) had obtained at least a high school diploma (or equivalent) compared to 75 per cent of registered First Nations living off reserve; 57 per cent of First Nations living on reserve; 82 per cent of Métis persons; 77 per cent of Inuit living outside Nunangat and 47 per cent living inside; and 80 per cent of non-status First Nations. 

Efforts to assist youth (whether in school or not), post-secondary students and recent graduates will be tailored to help address these types of persistent barriers.

• $1.9 billion over two years starting in 2020-21 to double Canada Student Grants and change eligibility requirements for student financial assistance in 2020-21.

This suite of measures targets low- and middle- income students who may have difficulty paying for their education in the current economic circumstances. While these measures help all post-secondary students who require financial assistance, women are more likely to benefit as they represent approximately 60 per cent of Canada Student Loans Program clients and 56 per cent of post-secondary students, and receive higher Canada Student Grants amounts than men on average. These measures will specifically benefit youth as 72 per cent of student financial assistance recipients were under 25 years old in 2018-19.

Additionally, this measure provides more targeted support to students with permanent disabilities and students with dependants through doubling the Canada Student Grants (CSGs) for these populations. In 2016-17, over 37,000 grants were given to students with permanent disabilities and over 35,000 grants were given to students with dependants.

Many students with permanent disabilities and students with dependants have low incomes, with over 80 per cent of students who receive the CSGs for Students with Permanent Disabilities also receiving the CSG for low- and middle- income students and approximately 81 per cent of student parents having incomes at or below the CSG low-income threshold. Women are more likely to be recipients of the CSGs for students with dependants, and account for 95 per cent of these grant recipients who are single parents.

• Changes to Canada Summer Jobs to help businesses and young Canadians affected by COVID-19.

Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) is being expanded to raise wage subsidies available to private and public sector employers, extend the program beyond summer 2020 to February 2021, and provide additional flexibilities to employers (e.g., allow the hiring of part-time staff).

Several groups continue to face barriers in education and/or employment. For example, according to the 2016 Census, newcomers to Canada (ages 15-24), had an employment rate of 38.3 per cent and an unemployment rate of 16.7 per cent in 2016, compared to an employment rate of 54.3 per cent and an unemployment rate of 15.2 per cent for non-immigrant youth. Many factors contribute to these employment outcomes, such as lack of English/French language proficiency and persistent and systemic discrimination.  

As a component of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, CSJ considers similar GBA+ factors in its design, and aims to help reduce barriers to education and/or employment by working with employers to support under-represented groups.

• $2.5 billion in 2020-21 for a one-time tax-free payment of $300 for seniors eligible for the Old Age Security pension, with an additional $200 for seniors eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement, to help seniors cover increased costs as a result of COVID-19.
• $20 million in 2020-21 to Employment and Social Development Canada to expand the New Horizons for Seniors program to support organizations that offer community-based projects that reduce isolation.

The one-time tax-free payment will provide additional support to seniors to help them cover increased costs as a result of COVID-19. Low-income seniors, who are eligible for both the Old Age Security Pension and the Guaranteed Income Supplement, will benefit more. Of the 6.7 million seniors eligible for OAS, 54 per cent are women, while women comprise close to 60 per cent of the 2.2 million among them eligible for GIS.

The New Horizons for Seniors Program is designed to ensure that seniors benefit from, and contribute to, the quality of life in their communities through social participation and active living. This specific investment is meant to help address vulnerabilities created by COVID-19; as such, beneficiaries will tend to be relatively more vulnerable seniors, including low-income seniors and seniors with disabilities.

• Temporary 25 per cent reduction in minimum Registered Retirement Income Fund withdrawals.

The measure reduced required minimum withdrawals from Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs) by 25 per cent for 2020. Over 94 per cent of individuals with RRIFs are over 60 years of age. Women represent about 53 per cent of all RRIF holders, and 55 per cent of individuals minimizing their RRIF withdrawals. Individuals over age 71 who claim the Disability Tax Credit for themselves hold RRIFs and minimize RRIF withdrawals at similar rates to individuals over age 71 who do not claim this credit.

Individuals over age 71 minimizing their RRIF withdrawals are generally higher income than the general population of individuals over age 71. Individuals over age 71 minimizing their RRIF withdrawals in 2017 had an average total income of around $63,700, which was higher than the income of individuals over age 71 not minimizing their RRIF withdrawals ($52,000), and those without RRIFs ($27,000).

• $9 million in 2019-20 contributed through the United Way, to help seniors get critical items like groceries and medications and connect them to community resources.

Seniors are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19 and are likely to experience challenges getting essentials and connecting with others while isolating. Seniors directly benefit from increased support while practicing physical distancing.

According to the World Health Organization, greater support from families, friends and communities is linked to better health outcomes. Currently, seniors account for 18 per cent of the Canadian population. Because women have a higher life expectancy than men, a slightly larger share of seniors are women (54 per cent).

• $380 million in 2020-21 for a new Indigenous Community Support Fund to address immediate needs in First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation communities, and to support organizations serving those who live in urban centres or off reserve, related to COVID-19.

This measure is expected to benefit Indigenous peoples across Canada. Many Indigenous communities are faced with unique challenges related to remoteness, lack of infrastructure and capacity, crowded housing, and increased underlying health conditions, which put individuals in those communities at greater risk of contracting COVID-19.

For individuals living off reserve, in urban centres, or separated from their communities, it can be difficult to access the help they need. This distinctions-based fund will provide Indigenous leadership and organizations with flexibility to design and implement community-based solutions to prepare for and react to the spread of COVID-19. Funding can be used to support elders and vulnerable community members, address food insecurity, provide educational or other support for children, or fund mental health assistance and emergency response services.

• $270 million to supplement the On-reserve Income Assistance Program.

• $40 million in 2020-21 to Women and Gender Equality Canada to address the immediate needs of women’s shelters and sexual assault centres and $10 million in 2020-21 to Indigenous Services Canada’s existing network of emergency shelters on reserve and in the Yukon to support Indigenous women and children fleeing violence.

• $29 million over two years and $11.2 million ongoing to build 12 new shelters and support their operational costs, and engage on how to help protect and support Indigenous women and girls experiencing and fleeing violence.

• $157.5 million in 2020-21 to address the needs of Canadians experiencing homelessness through Employment and Social Development Canada’s Reaching Home program, including support for purchasing beds and physical barriers and securing accommodation to reduce overcrowding in shelters.

• $7.5 million in 2020-21 to Kids Help Phone to address the emotional and mental health needs of children and youth resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

• $100 million ($25 million in 2019-20) to support food banks and other organizations providing emergency hunger relief across Canada that are facing increased demand for their services. This funding will be used to purchase food and other basic necessities.

This measure will provide funding to national, regional, and local organizations across Canada serving people and communities experiencing food insecurity. These organizations – including but not limited to Food Banks Canada, Salvation Army, Second Harvest, Community Food Centres Canada, and Breakfast Club of Canada – are working with partners to meet the urgent food needs of Canadians, including Indigenous peoples and northern populations.

In 2019, there were 1.1 million visits to food banks and 5.6 million meals served on average each month, with children and seniors comprising a large proportion of those accessing food banks. It is expected that visits to food banks will increase significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By improving access to food, this measure will directly benefit all Canadians facing social, economic, and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with such challenges disproportionately affecting low income Canadians, Indigenous peoples and racialized Canadians..

• $350 million in 2020-21 to establish an Emergency Community Support Fund to support charities and non-profits that deliver essential services to serve vulnerable people.

• Up to $100 million in funding to help the Canadian Red Cross meet increased demand due to COVID 19, and to support future floods and wildfire relief efforts.

The Canadian Red Cross is actively responding to COVID-19 across Canada. This measure will support the Canadian Red Cross’s emergency response efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, and help ensure the organization has the capacity to support future floods and wildfires relief efforts.

While this investment is expected to benefit all Canadians, early data shows that COVID-19 poses an increased health risk to some populations, including seniors, and those who have a compromised immune system or an underlying medical condition. The Canadian Red Cross can offer a range of services to help these populations, including support for quarantine and isolation sites, delivery of food and care to individuals who are self-isolating, as well as deployment of health specialists, and health supplies and equipment, including a mobile field hospital. Seniors are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19 as they are likely to experience challenges getting essentials and connecting with others while isolating, and directly benefit from increased support from the Canadian Red Cross. The Canadian Red Cross operates in communities across the country, and can mobilize its resources to help Canadians in both urban and rural areas.

Enhancing the Canadian Red Cross’s capacity to respond to flooding and wildfires will also contribute to increased community and individual resiliency, and aid in their long-term recovery. Disasters can have disproportionate impacts on some segments of Canadian society. A 2007 report from the Canadian Red Cross identified 10 populations in Canada that are at the highest risk of experiencing some degree of loss, such as injury, death and damages, following a hazardous event. These populations include seniors, low-income residents and Indigenous peoples. The government is working on the timely implementation of this measure.

• $556.7 million for a one-time, tax-free payment for Canadians with a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate.
• $15 million for the creation of a National Workplace Accessibility Stream of the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities to improve workplace accessibility and access to jobs for persons with disabilities.

According to the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability, 22 per cent of Canadians 15 years of age and over have a disability. Taken together, these measures are expected to benefit persons with disabilities or long-term mental health issues and their caregivers.

Recipients of the one-time payment are individuals with severe and prolonged disabilities. Of the 1.25 million Canadians who qualify for the one-time payment, over half are from families with incomes of $50,000 or less,

Among working-age Canadians with disabilities, more than 1.5 million, or 41 per cent, are unemployed or out of the labour market entirely. Working-age persons with disabilities are expected to benefit from the National Workplace Accessibility Stream, through workplace accessibility measures, including by helping employers set up accessible and effective work-from-home arrangements, expanding accessible online training, and helping connect Canadians with disabilities working from home with employers.

• Up to $2.97 billion in 2020-21 for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to offer forgivable loans to commercial property owners who give rent reductions to small businesses experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19.

Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) provides rent relief to eligible small businesses that are facing financial hardship due to COVID-19. It also supports commercial property owners who have difficulty meeting mortgage and other fixed operating expenses due to rent shortfalls from affected small business tenants.  Employees will also benefit from the funding as CECRA will help small businesses remain open, protecting jobs.  In 2017, almost 70 per cent of all private sector employees – 8.3 million people – worked for small businesses.

According to the Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises, conducted by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, in 2017, most SMEs were men-owned: 63 per cent were majority men-owned, 16 per cent were majority women-owned and 21 per cent were owned equally by men and women.  Visible minorities held a majority ownership in 12 per cent of SMEs, Indigenous peoples held 1 per cent, and persons with disabilities held 1 per cent, while members of the same family held 42 per cent. The primary decision makers of SMEs tend to be older, with 59 per cent being 50 years of age or older; and well-educated, with 70 per cent having attained a post-secondary diploma or degree. Of primary decision makers, 25 per cent were also born outside of Canada, on average having resided in Canada for 27 years. This measure is also expected to have broader benefits for Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Québec where the majority of small businesses are located, mostly in urban areas.

• $12.25 million in 2020-21 to extend the maximum duration possible duration of Work-Sharing agreements, and to streamline the Work-Sharing application process.

Temporary enhancements to the Work-Sharing Program help employers who are experiencing a downturn in business due to COVID-19 and their workers. Effective March 15, 2020 to March 14, 2021, these measures consist of extending the Work-Sharing agreements from 38 weeks to 76 weeks, and streamline the application process.

Service-producing industries account for a large portion of COVID-19 related Work-Sharing Agreements. This is consistent with early indications suggesting that labour market impacts have been more pronounced in service industries such as accommodation and food services, and wholesale and retail trade. As of May 18, 2020, the manufacturing sector, the professional, scientific and technical services sector, the retail and wholesale trade sector, and the construction sector together accounted for approximately 60 per cent of approved COVID-19 related Work-Sharing agreements.

Employed men and women are expected to benefit from the temporary Work-Sharing enhancements in roughly the same proportion as their participation rate in the workforce.

• $15 million in 2020-21 in additional funding for the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES) for WES Ecosystem Fund recipient organizations to help women entrepreneurs through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Women entrepreneurs face particular challenges that are compounded during the COVID-19 economic crisis. Women-led businesses tend to be small in nature, have fewer resources to rely on during crises, and are most in need of business supports from organizations that understand their challenges. Other gender disparity issues, such as caregiving responsibilities, are compounded in the current context. Access to financing through traditional financial institutions remains a challenge.

Increased funding for the WES Ecosystem Fund will support expanded advisory services and other targeted assistance to women entrepreneurs to mitigate the disproportionate impacts of the current economic crisis on this group. Diversity and inclusion of different groups of women entrepreneurs is a policy priority.

The direct benefits of this proposal will accrue predominantly to women. Women entrepreneurs are not a homogenous group; there are multiple sub-groups of women with different - and sometimes intersecting - demographic characteristics, who pursue entrepreneurship. Only 16 per cent of all small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) are majority owned by women, compared to 63 per cent majority men­owned (21 per cent are equally owned between men and women). Intersectional analysis that considers gender and additional diversity characteristics suggests that women entrepreneurs are strongly represented among visible minority owners and Indigenous owners. For example, approximately 51 per cent of Indigenous-owned SMEs are partially or wholly owned by women, and 19 per cent of visible minority entrepreneurs are women.

• $133.0 million in 2020-21 to help Indigenous communities support their local businesses and economies, including direct support for small and community-owned Indigenous businesses and Indigenous businesses operating in the tourism sector.

• Up to $306.8 million to support Indigenous businesses through repayable and non-repayable contributions, and to support the operating expenses and liquidity pressures of Aboriginal Financial Institutions, and program administration through the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association.

Aboriginal Financial Institutions (AFIs), which offer financing and business support services to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis businesses, will provide short-term, interest-free loans and non-repayable contributions to Indigenous businesses. These businesses are especially vulnerable to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis as they operate with less equity and are concentrated in sectors that are hardest hit by the pandemic.

According to the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association, approximately 30 per cent of Indigenous businesses supported by AFI financing in 2017–18 were majority-owned by women. Slightly over half of the businesses supported by the AFI network are operated by women and 60 per cent of the businesses are sole proprietorships. Further, about half of Indigenous entrepreneurs are young and 30 per cent of AFI-supported Indigenous entrepreneurs were 35 years old or younger. Indigenous women entrepreneurs are particularly vulnerable as they have less access to capital and are more likely to be in retail or own home-based micro businesses.

• $17.1 million in interest payment relief to First Nations with existing loans under the First Nations Finance Authority.

This measure is intended to provide financial relief so that First Nations can focus on the health and safety needs of their communities during COVID-19. It is anticipated that this investment will benefit 58 First Nations that have loans with the First Nations Finance Authority. Since benefits go to the community as a whole, this measure is not expected to impact individuals on the basis of gender, age or income.

By supporting the stability of the First Nations Fiscal Management Act regime, this investment will also allow existing and new First Nation borrowing members access to low-interest financing for future infrastructure and economic development needs.

• $15 million in non-repayable support for businesses in the territories to help address the impacts of
  COVID-19.

The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency has established a $15 million Northern Business Relief Fund that will provide grants to small and medium-sized businesses affected by COVID-19. The grants will range from $2,500 to $100,000 to cover eligible short-term operating costs for a period of four months, retroactive to April 1, 2020. There are over 3,000 small and medium-sized business in the territories. Support for these businesses will help retain highly qualified professionals essential to the northern economy.

Eligibility for the Northern Business Relief Fund is broad and includes all businesses with fewer than 20 employees, including those operated by underrepresented Canadians. As Indigenous peoples comprise half the population of the territories and own hundreds of small businesses, they will directly benefit from the fund. With 60 per cent of the territories’ population under the age of 40, young entrepreneurs will also be among the fund’s primary beneficiaries.

• $675 million to provide financing support through Regional Development Agencies to small and medium-sized businesses that are unable to access existing COVID-19 supports.
• $287 million to support rural businesses and communities by providing access to capital through the Community Futures Network.
• $250 million to provide support through the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program to assist innovative, early-stage companies that are unable to access other COVID-19 business supports.
• $20.1 million in support for Futurpreneur Canada to provide payment relief for its young entrepreneur clients facing challenges due to COVID-19 for up to 12 months.

Regional Development Agencies will provide credit to small and medium-sized business that are unable to access other COVID-19 support measures, in particular businesses that lack existing relationships with traditional financial institutions. Many of these businesses are owned by women, new Canadians, Indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities who are especially vulnerable during this uncertain time.

Rural and remote communities are often the first to feel the effects of an economic downturn and are frequently among the last to recover. The Community Futures Network of Canada will provide financial assistance to small businesses to bridge them through this period of reduced consumer demand. Of the small businesses financed by Community Futures Organizations, 10 per cent are in the primary sector, 22 per cent are in manufacturing and 68 per cent are in services like retail stores, restaurants, camping outfitters and small hotels which employ many low-wage workers. Women represent more than half of retail, and accommodation and food services workers, suggesting women represent a significant portion of the small businesses financed. Community Futures Organizations also run training programs that support entrepreneurs with disabilities.

The National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) will provide wage support to small and medium-sized technology firms that do not yet have revenue or are in the early stages of product development and face hurdles in accessing credit, and in many cases are ineligible for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program. The National Research Council strives to ensure that there are no barriers to the participation of underrepresented groups in the program and has recently adopted a new diversity strategy to help enhance support for under-represented groups through its outreach, advisory, and funding activities.

Futurpreneur will continue to provide lending to young entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 39. Approximately 45 per cent of Futurpreneur clients are women, and 35 per cent are francophone. Of the loans disbursed in 2017-18, 25 per cent supported newcomer entrepreneur businesses and 3.6 per cent supported Indigenous start-ups.

• Up to $74.1 million in 2020-21 to replace lost Parks Canada Agency visitor revenue and to facilitate rent relief to eligible business and municipal tenants and licensees.

This measure replaces lost visitor revenue due to the closure of the national parks, national marine conservation areas and national historic sites due to COVID-19. It also enables the Parks Canada Agency to provide rent relief to eligible business and municipal tenants and licensees.

These actions are not expected to have disproportional benefits or negative impacts on specific groups of Canadians. Funding to replace lost revenue will support the retention of the Parks Canada Agency’s workforce, 48.8 per cent of whom are women and 7.7 per cent of whom are Indigenous people.

The rent relief is intended to support small businesses operating in Canada’s national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas who are facing financial hardship due to COVID-19 and who are unable to pay their rent. Over 700 businesses may now be eligible for relief from the Government of Canada under similar eligibility conditions to those of the Canadian Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program.

• $17 million in 2020-21 to use as emergency relief for Granville Island and sustain its operations for one year in response to the impacts of COVID-19.

Granville Island is a major international tourist attraction in the Vancouver region and is considered a site of national importance.  It is home to 300 businesses, composed of a variety of small independent businesses and non-profit art & cultural venues, which employ approximately 3,000 people. COVID-19 has significantly affected Granville Island’s revenues from rent and parking, rendering it unable to meet its operating expenses for the year. 

Through the emergency funding provided for its operating costs, Granville Island will provide rent relief for its businesses that have been financially affected by COVID-19. The primary industries on Granville Island are arts & culture, tourism, retail, and restaurant & food services. The 3,000 employees on the Island are composed mainly of artists, cultural workers, and retail, restaurant and other service industry workers.  On average, artists and cultural workers earn 32 per cent less than the overall workforce. Women comprise 52 per cent of artists, higher than the proportion of all workers (48 per cent), and 52 per cent of artists are self-employed, compared with only 12 per cent of all Canadian workers. In 2019, women represented 52 per cent of all workers in the retail trade industry, and 56 per cent of all workers in the accommodation and food service industry in Canada.

• $6 million in 2020-21 to provide wage support to Staff of the Non-Public Funds, Canadian Forces (SNPF) during COVID-19.

SNPF is a separate agency responsible for the delivery of morale and welfare programs, such as fitness and sports, to the Canadian Armed Forces, as well as the operation of messes, grocery and retail stores, and on-base recreation facilities. This measure is intended to compensate for reductions in revenue due to orders to close non-essential businesses and programs in the context of COVID-19, to avoid the lay-off of over 1,700 employees. This proposal is also expected to ensure that fitness, health promotion and other wellness programming can promptly resume once emergency orders have been lifted.

Among affected employees, 64 per cent are women, 26 per cent are dependants of serving military members, and 4 per cent are veterans. Affected employees are primarily part-time or casual employees, with three-quarters earning on average $586 per month from the agency. However, greater benefits will accrue to the one-quarter of affected employees earning on average $3,515 per month.

• $2.5 million in 2020-21 to the Federal Bridge Corporation Limited to support the continued operation of the Seaway International Bridge, an important bridge crossing whose revenues have declined significantly as a result of COVID-19.

The Seaway International Bridge (SIBC) is a very important connection for Mohawks of Akwesasne community members who live on Cornwall Island (population of ~10,000) and who use the bridge to access the rest of their community, including essential services such as grocery stores. Data from 2019 show that of the roughly 2.5 million annual crossings, more than of 71 per cent of passenger vehicles and nearly 34 per cent of commercial trucks were toll-exempt, meaning they were a part of the local Mohawk community.

Workers in the trucking industry will also benefit from this proposal. While SIBC is primarily used by passenger vehicles, nearly 3 per cent of crossings in 2019 were commercial. Gender demographic information was not available as the gender of people crossing the bridge is not recorded; however, women are under-represented in the trucking industry.

• Waiving of ground lease rents for 21 airport authorities that pay rent to the federal government, with comparable treatment for Ports Toronto, which operates Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, from March 2020 to December 2020 (up to $331.4 million).

This measure waives ground lease rents from March 2020 through to December 2020 for the 21 airport authorities that pay rent to the federal government, with comparable treatment for PortsToronto, which operates Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and pays a charge to the federal government.  The support will help airports reduce cost pressures and preserve their cash flow as they deal with the effects of COVID-19 on their revenue streams.

This measure is not expected to have disproportional impacts on specific groups of Canadians. The communities served by the airports will directly benefit from the greater stability of their operations in the short term, including by ensuring the continuation of essential services, such as cargo transportation and medivac services. As demand for air travel recovers, air travelers, who tend to have higher incomes on average and are more likely to be men, are also expected to benefit from stability of service, as would workers at airports.

• $54 million in 2020-21 to provide relief to food system firms for incremental health and safety costs incurred with respect to the use of Temporary Foreign Workers. This includes $4 million in Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) refunds to eligible employers who have been affected by the pandemic and are no longer able to hire temporary foreign workers. The duration of allowable employment under LMIAs for low-wage temporary foreign workers has also been extended from one year to two years, as part of a three-year pilot project.

This funding provides financial support to farmers, fish harvesters, and all food production and processing employers that rely on temporary foreign workers and are required to put in place measures to follow the mandatory 14-day isolation period required of all workers arriving from abroad such as the provision of individualized accommodations and transportation. Moreover, extending the duration of Labour Market Impact Assessments for low-wage temporary foreign workers will ease administrative burden on employers, and allow them to attract and retain foreign workers in spite of the current economic uncertainty.

This initiative is expected to directly benefit primary agriculture and food processing firms, as well as fisheries and aquaculture firms that employ temporary foreign workers.  The majority of firms that are expected to benefit are located in rural and coastal areas, where domestic labour supply is often constrained for the type of jobs filled through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Funding will also benefit Temporary Foreign Workers by reducing the likelihood of COVID-19 outbreaks within higher-risk locations such as close proximity work spaces.

By making sure Canada has enough food production workers for a strong and affordable food supply chain, all Canadians can benefit from this initiative.  Given the gender and age distribution of the Canadian farming sector, measures geared towards providing support to farmers are most likely to benefit middle-aged men.

• $20 million to support increased food inspection capacity.

This measure provides funding to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to hire, train and equip additional staff to conduct critical inspection activities, reassign staff from within the Agency to focus on critical services, and work more closely with industry and trading partners to minimize disruptions to Canada’s food supply during COVID-19.

All Canadians will benefit from maintaining high levels of food safety and inspection through increased food inspection capacity, especially those with higher risk of experiencing serious health impacts from COVID-19, who require healthy food to help boost immunity and potentially recover from the virus. These groups include the elderly, those with underlying health conditions, Canada’s frontline healthcare workers, and other essential frontline workers across the country.

This initiative is further expected to directly benefit businesses that are regulated parties of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, including farm operators and food and beverage processors. In 2016, farm operators were predominantly men (71 per cent), Canadian-born (91 per cent) and 55 years and older (54 per cent) with 26 per cent between 35 and 64 years of age and 9 per cent under 35. In 2016, 1.9 per cent of agricultural operators in Canada identified as Indigenous. As of 2016, approximately 6,500 food and beverage processing establishments existed in Canada, 90 per cent of which had fewer than 100 employees. Indirect beneficiaries include those hired by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. At present, 51 per cent of CFIA inspectors are women, while 26 per cent are visible minorities, 3 per cent are persons with disabilities, and 3 per cent are Indigenous Peoples. 

• $252.5 million to support national AgriRecovery initiatives for the beef and pork sectors (up to $125 million); increased domestic food production and processing capacity ($77.5 million); and a Surplus Food Rescue Program ($50 million).

These measures will provide economic support to farmers who are experiencing income declines as a result of COVID-related processing and food service closures, and will help food processors adapt to new market trends, with a view to further ensuring a secure food supply in Canada. Additionally, food purchases made through the Surplus Food Rescue Program will lessen the impact of restaurant closures on some producers who have excess inventories, and will provide further support to those experiencing food insecurity, which disproportionately  affects low-income Canadians, Indigenous peoples and other racialized Canadians.

Given the gender and age distribution of the Canadian farming sector, measures geared towards providing support to farmers are most likely to benefit men, with an average age of around 55 in farms across the country.

The Surplus Food Rescue Program will also benefit low-income Canadians that rely on social assistance or disability-related income support and who may rely on hunger relief organization such as food banks. Roughly one-third of food bank users are children.

• $62.5 million in assistance for fish and seafood processors through the new Canadian Seafood Stabilization Fund.

This measure will help fish and seafood processing businesses access to short-term financing, add storage capacity, adopt new health and safety measures, improve productivity and respond to changing market demands to further bolster the resilience of Canada’s food system.

This measure is expected to directly benefit fish and seafood processing companies, which are primarily located in coastal areas in Atlantic Canada, Quebec and British Columbia. Support for these businesses will also benefit workers in the seafood processing and packaging sector, which provides valuable employment in areas where opportunities are limited. The sector is roughly gender-balanced – a representative example is the Maritimes region, where just over 7,000 are employed in the seafood processing industry and women make up roughly 40 per cent of the workforce. Indigenous workers in the Maritimes region comprise just over 10 per cent of the seafood processing workforce.

• $469.4 million for measures that provide increased business liquidity and income support to fish harvesters affected by COVID-19.

These measures provide support to fish harvesters who are economically affected by COVID-19 by providing: business liquidity to address fixed costs and business expenses for fish harvesters ineligible for the Canada Emergency Business Account; income support for eligible self-employed fish harvesters and sharepersons crew unable to access the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy; and measures or changes to ensure that fish harvesters can access Employment Insurance fishing benefits. Overall, these measures are intended to help ensure fish enterprises continue to operate despite the challenging conditions created by the pandemic.

Fish harvesting is one of the main sources of employment and economic activity in coastal communities, many of which are rural and remote. This measure is expected to directly benefit fish harvesters in coastal communities in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. The fish harvesting sector is predominantly male (79 per cent) and over half of all workers in the fishing industry are over the age of 45, with nearly one third over the age of 55. Approximately 16 per cent of those employed in the fishing industry in Canada are Indigenous.

• Up to $750 million for a Natural Resources Canada program to support the conventional and offshore oil and gas sectors in undertaking investments and research to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a focus on methane.

Methane is the second most common greenhouse gas (GHG) in Canada, and reducing methane emissions will lead to improved health outcomes for at-risk populations and workers such as those with underlying health conditions. The reduction of GHG emissions from the oil and gas sector will help lower Canadian emissions overall in line with Canada’s 2030 and 2050 commitments, and confer long term benefits to populations across the country. Younger generations of Canadians will benefit from the program as a result of improved air quality and the reduction of harmful air pollutant emissions in the long-term.    

Given the high concentration of men working in the oil and gas sector, and in occupations related to natural and applied sciences, the measure is expected to disproportionately benefit men. Measures to support diverse hiring practices and Indigenous participation will be considered in program planning and implementation of the fund.

• $1.72 billion, including funding to the governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia, and the Alberta Orphan Well Association, to clean up orphan and inactive oil and gas wells

The one-time payments to the Governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia and to the Alberta Orphan Well Association are intended to stimulate economic activity in those provinces. The payments will benefit the workforce of the oil and gas services industry. Men represent over 80 per cent of the oil and gas workforce and will likely receive a greater benefit.

This investment will also reduce the environmental risks and hazards to nearby communities from orphan and inactive wells. This will benefit children and those with underlying health conditions, who are particularly vulnerable to air pollution and environmental pollutants. The reduction of carbon emissions from leaking orphan and inactive wells will help to lower Canadian emissions overall in line with Canada’s 2030 and 2050 commitments, and confer long term benefits to populations across the country. Given the high concentration of men working in the oil and gas sector, and in occupations related to natural and applied sciences, the measure is expected to disproportionately benefit men.

• $500 million in 2020-21 to establish a COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations to help address the financial needs of affected organizations within these sectors.

This fund will be administered by Canadian Heritage and provide support in a manner consistent with other COVID-19 supports such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and the Canada Emergency Business Account.

Canadians who work for cultural, heritage and sport organizations, which are part of the broader Information, Culture, and Recreation Industry will benefit from this support. Although there are gender imbalances within particular parts of this industry (e.g., women account for about two-thirds of employees in the heritage sector), overall there are roughly an equal number of men and women.

The organizations that will receive funding through this initiative represent a vast array of professional associations and bodies of all sizes, as well as individuals working in a diverse array of sectors, including national sport organizations, the music industry, film and television, news outlets, local radio stations, festivals, and organizations that produce content in English, French, or Indigenous languages.

Ultimate benefits will arise for all Canadians who consume services in the cultural, heritage, and sports sectors, as a greater share of organizations will be able to continue their operations following the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of this measure.

• $25.7 million in 2020-21 to help Canada’s national museums and the National Battlefields Commission maintain essential services and be ready to reopen their doors to the public once precautionary measures are lifted.

Employees of the national museums and the National Battlefield Commission are expected to benefit from this measure. These are Canadians living and working in the areas where the organizations operate, principally the National Capital Region, Winnipeg, Quebec City and Halifax. Moreover, many of the benefiting organizations have staff that are mostly women, and also include Indigenous individuals and individuals with disabilities.

This measure will also help the national museums and National Battlefields Commission ensure that their collections and infrastructure are maintained properly during the period of their shutdown. This is essential to the preservation and presentation of Canada’s heritage, art and culture for the benefit of all Canadians.

• $18.2 million in 2020-21 to the National Arts Centre to support operational costs and cover projected re-opening costs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to COVID-19, the National Arts Centre (NAC) has closed its doors since March 15, cancelling hundreds of performances, concerts, events and rentals.

The main beneficiaries of this measure will be the NAC’s full and part-time employees, as well as artists that work with the NAC, as this measure will support the NAC’s ability to sustain itself and eventually re-open to the public. The requested funding will also support the NAC’s ability to deliver cultural and artistic programming in the future, which will benefit the many Canadians who visit the NAC each year.

• Waiving Part I licence fees, providing about $30 million in financial relief for private broadcasters in 2020-21. The Government will transfer funding to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission to support its operations in the absence of these regulatory fees.

• $450 million in 2020 to provide wage supports to universities and health research institutes to retain research staff who are normally funded from industry and philanthropic sources and to maintain essential research-related activities during the crisis, and to ramp up once physical distancing measures are lifted.

The Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund will help eligible universities and health research institutes to retain their talented and diverse researchers and research staff who support Canada’s research excellence—including graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, lab technicians, data managers, and other research support personnel—for up to 12 weeks. 

According to Statistics Canada, there were 74,000 individuals involved in research activities in the higher education sector in 2017. Gender-disaggregated data are not available for all the direct beneficiaries; however, data on researchers, which may be indicative, indicate women are overrepresented in the social sciences and humanities and health-related disciplines, and men in natural sciences and engineering. The Canada Research Coordinating Committee will oversee the program and ensure that the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion are applied by all participating institutions, per the Terms and Conditions of the program (i.e. Indigenous peoples, racialized peoples and LGBTQ2+).

• Waiver of interest and penalties, as well as deferral of the return filing due date until June 1, 2020. This will allow all taxpayers to defer their income tax payments until after August 31, 2020.

This measure temporarily waives interest and penalties, removing the need for taxpayers to individually apply to the CRA for relief if they are experiencing financial hardship -- effectively providing a tax deferral. The measure will be in effect until September 1, 2020, and applies to individuals with income tax balances owing for the 2019 tax year, as well as the June 15 instalment for the 2020 tax year.

Groups that tend to pay late filing penalties may be the most likely to benefit from this measure. 2017 data indicates that about 82 per cent of those incurring these penalties are between the ages of 25 and 64, and roughly 69 per cent of individuals assessed for penalties had total income between $20,000 and $80,000, with 32 per cent being in the $20,000 to $40,000 income range. However, penalties increase significantly with income; while the average penalty assessed at incomes of $250,000 or more was $3,690 in 2017, for those with an income up to $80,000, the average was only $220. Roughly 56 per cent of those incurring penalties were men, which is broadly gender balanced. However, penalties assessed for men were roughly 1.5 times greater than those for women. Therefore, this measure may be of slightly greater benefit to men.

• Allow businesses to defer income tax payments until after August 31, 2020.

• Allow businesses to defer remittances/payments, normally due in March, April, and May, of any GST/HST they have collected on their sales or GST and customs duty that have been assessed on imported goods.

This measure seeks to provide immediate cash flow relief to Canadian businesses. It is equivalent to providing up to $30 billion in interest-free loans to Canadian businesses. Although this is a short-term deferral for immediate cash-flow relief, a potential long-term direct benefit of this measure is the retention of businesses that may otherwise encounter insolvency/bankruptcy without this relief.

The measure will directly benefit Canadian business owners. Business owners are more likely to be men and individuals between the ages of 35 and 64 (based on 2013 Statistics Canada reporting).

As of December 2017, small and medium-sized businesses represent 99.8 per cent of all business in Canada (according to ISED). Based on the 2017 Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises, 1.4 per cent of small and medium-sized businesses are majority owned by Indigenous persons, and 12.2 per cent of small and medium-sized businesses are majority owned by visible minorities.

The measure will indirectly benefit employees and suppliers of Canadian businesses that receive the deferral, with workers benefiting through continued employment. These employment benefits should be relatively gender balanced as women made up 47.6 per cent of those employed in Canada in 2019 (based on Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey).

• Interest-free loans of up to $40,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits to help cover their immediate non-deferrable costs during this period of shut down.

The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) provides support to small businesses across all regions and sectors of the economy, including not-for-profit organizations.  This measure provides up to $40,000 in interest-free loans to businesses to support their non-deferrable costs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Repaying the balance of the loan by December 31, 2022 will result in loan forgiveness of 25 per cent (up to $10,000).  The program was launched on April 9, 2020 and will accept applications until June 30, 2020.

CEBA is currently available to businesses with: (i) a total annual payroll in 2019 of $20,000 to $1.5 million (including exempted income for Status Indians); and, (ii) for businesses with payroll below $20,000, eligible non-deferrable expenses between $40,000 and $1.5 million in 2020.  The expanded program will allow a greater number of small businesses including those within the Indigenous communities to apply.

The program targets all small-scale businesses and not a specific demographic or group. It is therefore likely that CEBA will be accessed by a broad cross-section of Canadian businesses. However, a large proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are majority men-owned, with much fewer being women-owned (63 per cent vs. 16 per cent; 21 per cent are equally owned between men and women).  Therefore, men are expected to disproportionately benefit from the program.  A further breakdown shows that 12.2 per cent of SMEs are majority owned by visible minorities and 1.4 per cent Indigenous-owned, lower than their share in the overall Canadian population.  Therefore, these groups are expected to receive a smaller share of the benefit compared to their representation in the overall Canadian population (based on 2017 Statistics Canada reporting). 

• Expand credit support through EDC and BDC to medium-sized businesses with larger financing needs than current business credit availability solutions.

This measure extends financing through the Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP) to mid-market businesses with financing needs up to $60 million per company through the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), and guarantees of up to $80 million through Export Development Canada (EDC).

Through the BCAP, EDC and the BDC work with private sector lenders to support access to capital for Canadian businesses in all sectors and regions. A higher level of activity by the financial Crown corporations to support mid-sized companies would be expected to have an impact broadly representative of their current composition of the business sector and workforce, with some degree of focus toward businesses and industries most vulnerable to current economic volatility. In 2017 it was found that 16 per cent of small and medium sized- businesses were majority women-owned and 21 per cent were owned equally by men and women. As such, it is expected that the initiatives under this proposal will benefit men more.

• Increased capital payments limit allows Farm Credit Canada to provide approximately $5 billion in additional credit facilities to farmers and agri-food businesses. A Stay of Default on eligible Advance Payments Program loans provides farmers an additional six months to repay a total of $173 million in loans.

• Provide bridge financing for large Canadian companies unable to access conventional sources of financing in order to keep their operations going. Financing for businesses seeking $60 million or greater to be provided through a subsidiary of the Canada Development Investment Corporation.