The outbreak of COVID-19 is having a significant impact on everyone. Nearly 1.5 million Canadian workers have applied for employment insurance (EI) in the last week. In response, the federal government unveiled the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), which includes a taxable benefit of $2,000 a month for up to four months.
Rikita Dubey, an international student at Sheridan College pleaded with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a series of tweets: “I have been following all your press conferences. Your efforts are amazing to support your citizens in these tough times. However, as an international student who cannot travel home any sooner, I wonder where to seek help.”
During the semester, international students are limited to working 20 hours a week, however, during scheduled breaks, they’re free to work full-time. There’s a stereotype that international students are wealthy and while it’s true for some, students such as Dubey rely on part-time work to fund living expenses and sometimes a portion of their studies. Dubey, who is close to completing her post-graduate program, lost her job last week and said it will now be difficult to pay rent and afford food.
To be eligible to receive the benefit, applicants must have earned at least $5,000 in the past 12 months or in 2019 as a whole, and must be out of work for reasons directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To apply for the CERB, you must fulfill the following criteria:
you must reside in Canada and be at least 15 years old
you must have a valid Social Insurance Number - if you are not a citizen or a permanent resident of Canada but are an international student or temporary foreign worker, you may be eligible to receive the CERB if you meet other eligibility requirements
you must have stopped working due to COVID-19 related reasons or are eligible for Employment Insurance (EI) – regular or sickness benefits
you had an income of at least $5,000 in 2019 or the 12-months before the date of applying for CERB - this can be from employment, self-employment, maternity/paternal benefits under the EI program, or a combination of those sources
you expect to be without employment or self-employment income for at least 14 consecutive days within the first four-week period - for the rest of the benefit period, you expect to have no employment income.
Here’s what international students residing in Canada need to know before applying:
The benefit only applies to those who have lost their job, income, or ability to work suddenly as a direct result of COVID-19. Those who voluntarily leave employment or who were unemployed for other reasons and looking for a job will not be eligible to receive the CERB.
The CERB is available from March 16 to October 3, 2020 to those who expect to be unemployed or without income for at least 14 consecutive days over four weeks within this date range.. This includes those who may still be employed but must take unpaid time off due to COVID-19 sickness, self-quarantine, or caring for a loved one with COVID-19.
Affected and eligible students can apply until December 2, 2020, and would receive retroactive payments to the date of their eligibility.
Eligible applicants should begin receiving the CERB within ten days of applying.
It is important to note that the CERB will not cover those whose future job prospects have been impacted by COVID-19, such as situations where students had planned to seek employment for the summer months but were not employed up until this point.
To efficiently process the expected influx of applications, the Government of Canada has provided a schedule of dates for eligible persons to apply, based on their month of birth. The schedule is available on the government’s website. The government plans to launch a single online portal for the CERB on April 6, 2020.
While many Canadians who have lost their jobs in the last few weeks easily meet both criteria, that's not necessarily the case for college and university students.
Some work only casual, part-time jobs that pay less than $5,000 over the course of a year. Others only work during summer, when classes are out – meaning they haven't lost their job due to the pandemic, but it will be difficult for them to find work in a largely locked-down country once their summer begins.
Some schools have already moved toward offering financial assistance to students who are otherwise at risk of dropping out. Prime Minster Justin Trudeau suggested Sunday that some sort of government support will be made available as well.
We know that we need to do more for young people as they come out of university and look for projects and ways of securing income this summer," he said at a press briefing outside his home, where he remains in self-isolation. This is an issue that we are very, very aware of.
Trudeau said the government "should have more to say in the coming days" about how it will help students and suggested that its aid could take the form of direct financial support or changes to the Canada Summer Jobs program, which helps Canadians between the ages of 15 and 30 find seasonal work.
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