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Canada Emergency Student Beneft (CESB)

Bill C-15, the Canada Emergency Student Benefit Act, received Royal Assent on May 1, 2020. This Act establishes the eligibility framework for the previously announced student benefit.

Eligibility

Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and certain other individuals can apply for this benefit so long as they either:

  1. Are enrolled in a post-secondary education program that leads to a degree, diploma or certificate at any time between December 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020; or
  2. Graduated from secondary school in 2020, have applied for enrollment in such a post-secondary educational program scheduled to begin before February 21, 2021 and plan to enroll in that program if accepted. 
Applicants who meet the above criteria are considered a "student" for the purposes of the Act. Next, that student qualifies for the benefit if he/she meets the following threshold:

  1. For reasons related to COVID-19, during the particular four-week period for which he/she applies for the benefit, he/she is unable to work, is seeking work and unable to find it, or is working but paid less than the benefit amount. This applies regardless of whether the student is seeking employment or is self-employed; and
  2. The student does not, with respect to any part of the four-week benefit period, receive (a) income from employment or self-employment, (b) any other EI benefits or the CERB, or (c) allowances, money or other benefits that would be paid to him/her under a provincial plan with respect to maternity or paternity benefits.
If the student is applying for the benefit because he/she is seeking work but unable to find it, he/she will have to attest to this in the application. Students in this situation would be well advised to keep records of their job-search efforts in the event they are audited.

Benefit Length and Application Period

The benefit is for the months of May through August 2020. Students can apply for the benefit up until and including September 30, 2020.

Amount of Benefit

While the benefit amount is to be defined by regulations which appear to not yet be formulated, the government has stated that the benefit will be $1,250 every four weeks. Also, on April 29, 2020 the House of Commons passed a motion to increase the benefit amount from $1,750 every four weeks for eligible students with dependants or disabilities to $2,000.

Details about how to apply for the benefit are to be provided.

Note: while this blog and the information above provides general information, it does not constitute legal advice. The best way to get guidance on your specific legal issue is to contact a lawyer. For more information about the benefits available to you, or if you have any other questions regarding your employment issue, please contact our office for a consultation with one of our lawyers.
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