Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)

Posted on 3/23/2021

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, many employees, including CSU 52 members, were affected by layoffs. The Government of Canada provided some relief for these employees through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and/or Employment Insurance (EI) benefits.

Other members may not have been laid off, but their income may have been reduced due to the pandemic. These are typically employees who were hired as part-time, but have hours that flex up to full-time during certain times of the year. In this situation, employees may not have been eligible for CERB or EI. Instead, there is another benefit that the Government of Canada offers.

If you are an employee who had a 50% reduction in your average weekly income compared to the previous year due to COVID-19, you may be eligible for the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB). If eligible, you can receive $1000 ($900 after taxes) for a two week period. This benefit started September 27, 2020 and is available up to September 21, 2021. Eligible employees need to apply for each 2-week period that their income was reduced by 50%.

If you believe you may be entitled to this benefit, please visit the below Government of Canada web link.

Who can apply

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/benefits/recovery-benefit/crb-who-apply.html