Recovery Benefits Extended to Oct 23, 2021

Summary#

These are final regulations (SOR/2021-204) that change the Canada Recovery Benefits Act and the Canada Recovery Benefits Regulations. They extend the time people can claim recovery benefits and add extra weeks to the main recovery payment, and they clarify how a one‑week $300 “gap” payment counts for other benefits.

What it does#

• Replaces the end date for claiming recovery benefits from September 25, 2021 to October 23, 2021.
• Increases the maximum number of two‑week CRB entitlement periods from 25 to 27 (which raises total CRB entitlement by 4 weeks, to 54 weeks).
• Declares the one‑week “gap” payment of $300 (paid in some cases when Employment Insurance runs out) to be counted as income so a person cannot also receive the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit or Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit for that same week.
• The Regulations came into force on the day they were registered (registration date: August 12, 2021).

Who's affected#

• People claiming the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB), or the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB).
• Workers who exhaust Employment Insurance (EI) and would otherwise have a gap before CRB begins (they may get the $300 gap payment).
• Self‑employed people and others who do not qualify for EI but who rely on the recovery benefits.
• The Canada Revenue Agency, which administers the programs and will handle the extra weeks.
• Employers (especially small or federally regulated ones) may notice small impacts from additional caregiving or sickness leave by employees.

Why it matters#

• More people can keep getting income support for a longer time while the economy and public‑health situation recover. The change was aimed at people who would otherwise run out of benefits in September 2021.
• The government estimated about 2.1 million people would directly benefit: roughly 1.8 million from the extension and extra CRB weeks, plus 0.3 million EI exhaustees who could access CRB.
• The extra benefit payments were estimated at $2.133 billion, with total incremental costs of about $2.178 billion and additional administration costs of $45 million (present value). The analysis reported a net present value of −$45 million.
• Making the $300 gap payment count as income stops people getting the CRSB or CRCB for the same week, which clarifies and limits overlapping payments.
• There are public‑health effects: the measure makes it easier for people to stay home when sick or caring for someone, which can reduce disease spread. There may also be small effects on workplace productivity if some workers delay returning to work.