More than 240,000 Canadians have applied for the government’s new coronavirus relief program that was launched on Monday, according to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
The program called the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), which replaced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), is geared at helping workers who are not eligible for employment insurance (EI) or one of the other new recovery benefits.
The CRB is open to applicants who have not returned to work due to COVID-19 or whose income has been cut by at least half.
A weekly benefit of $500 will be given to those who are eligible for up to 26 weeks. The new benefit will be paid in two-week batches.
A spokesperson for the CRA told CBC News some applicants experienced technical glitches in the morning, but all technical issues were resolved at around noon.
Officials from Employment and Social Development Canada also told CBC News that they expect an estimated 890,000 to take up the CRB in the coming weeks.
CRB is one of the three new benefit programs the federal government has launched to replace the discontinued CERB.
The government has also rolled out the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) to help people who are unable to work because they are taking care of children who can’t go to school because of the closures, or those with family members who are required to quarantine because they contracted or may have been exposed to the virus.
The CRCB will provide a weekly benefit of $500 for up to 26 weeks for those who are unable to work for at least half of the week. The government expects about 700,000 Canadian households to apply for the caregiver benefit.
Meanwhile, the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) was launched for people who do not have access to paid sick leave. The benefit will pay up to $1,000 for two weeks.
Recent figures show that the discontinued CERB has paid out $81.64 billion to 8.9 million Canadians.
