DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Extending both the sickness and caregiving benefits into next spring – as proposed in Bill C-2 – will cost the government approximately $873.6 million, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) estimates.
New costing reports published Tuesday states that prolonging the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) by 28 weeks, or until May 7, 2022, and expanding the claim period from four to six weeks would come with a price tag of $507 million.
Meanwhile, extending the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) to the same time frame and the claim period from 42 to 44 weeks will cost $366.6 million.
Last week, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland formally introduced the new “targeted” pandemic aid bill, prolonging some benefits and revamping others.
Freeland said she hopes this is the last round of extensions.
“I see this legislation as very much the last step in our COVID-19 support programs. It is what I really hope and truly believe is the final pivot,” she said on Nov. 24.
Members of Parliament have begun debate on the proposed legislation – the Liberals hope to have it passed before the House rises for the holidays on Dec. 17.
The PBO also costed out the expected support that will flow through the new Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program and the Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program.
The office predicts an additional $676 million in subsidies will be paid out beyond those already approved. Of that amount, it’s expected that $134 million will flow through the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery program and $542 will flow through the Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program.
“With this extension, we expect the gross cost of the [Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy] to be $8.3 billion. This represents a net cost to the federal government of $7.2 billion after accounting for corporate income tax recoveries,” the report reads.
The CRSB provides income support to employed and self-employed Canadians who are unable to work because they are sick with COVID-19 or having to self-isolate. Eligible applicants can receive $500 for a one-week period.
The CRCB provides income support to employed and self-employed Canadians who are unable to work because they are caring for a child under 12-years-old or a family member who needs supervised care. Eligible applicants can receive $500 for a one-week period.
The Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program applies to hotels, tour operators, travel agencies and restaurants with a subsidy rate of up to 75 per cent, while the Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program applies to other businesses that have faced “deep losses,” with a subsidy rate of up to 50 per cent.
In order to qualify for the former, businesses would have to show a 12-month revenue loss of at least 40 per cent and a current-month revenue decline of the same amount. For the latter, businesses would have to show a 12-month revenue loss of at least 50 per cent and a current-month revenue decline of the same amount.
The government is also proposing a Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit, replacing the popular Canada Response Benefit. It’s geared towards those whose work is directly impacted by lockdowns and would provide a benefit of $300 a week. The PBO did not individual cost out this program.
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.