Those on income/disability assistance, this applies to you!
The Province of B.C. will:
- Temporarily exempt federal employment insurance benefits (including CERB and EI) for the next 3 months so that you can receive benefits without reductions to your monthly assistance payments
- Provide a $300 monthly COVID-19 crisis supplement for the next 3 months (if not eligible for CERB or EI)
- Give money back for your transit pass—an extra $52 for the duration of the suspension of Translink and BC Transit fares
***A very important point to note – Getting the CERB may result in some provincial benefits being reduced or “clawed back” by the Provinces, depending on their rules. We are working to bring this to the attention of Provincial and Territorial governments to see what we can do on this front. The Province of B.C., for example, announced that EI and CERB payments will be fully exempted for the next three months so people receiving income assistance and disability assistance in B.C. will benefit from these new emergency federal support programs, without any reductions to their monthly assistance payments.
