On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canadians will see increases to the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) and the GST credit beginning in May.
Eligible familes will receive $300 extra per child as part of their regular May 2020 CCB payment.
The increased GST credit will see the one-time payment calculated based on 2018 tax returns.
The increases to maximum amounts are as follows:
- $443 to $886 single
- $580 to $1,160 married or living common-law
- $153 to $306 each child under the age of 19 (excluding the first eligible child of a single parent)
- $290 to $580 first eligible child of a single parent
Trudeau also announced that a bill for the $9 billion relief package for students - which includes the Canada Emergency Student Subsidy and the Canada Service Student Grant - will be introduced in Parliament Wednesday.
In provincial news, Ontario reported 347 postive cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, marking the lowest daily increase in cases since April 6.
Ontario is expanding emergency child care for frontline workers to include people who work in the food supply chain, retirement homes, grocery stores and pharmacies, and certain federal employees, including the military.
According to a news release from the Ontario government, additional frontline workers who can access emergency childcare services include:
- Workers in grocery stores and pharmacies
- Truck drivers (driver's licence Class A and Class D)
- Workers in the food supply chain, including food processing
- Workers in retirement homes
- Auxiliary workers in health care settings, including cooks and cleaning staff in hospitals and long-term care homes
- Interpreters and intervenors who support people who are deaf, deafened, hard of hearing and deafblind
- Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) emergency personnel
- Provincial officers and onsite staff in Ontario courts
- Canadian Armed Forces and Department of National Defence staff working in Ontario
- Additional workers supporting public safety and correctional services
An assistant professor at Wilfrid Laurier University says Ontario's step-by-step layout of how they'll re-open the economy seems "very thought out."
In local news, one city councillor wants to see students get summer jobs with the city during the COVID-19 crisis.
The City of Sault Ste. Marie is reminding the public that as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, May 5 tax payments to the city can be deferred.
A group of retired nurses in the Sault are making masks in order to answer the demand on the frontline, while EACOM has donated 400 N95 masks to Sault Area Hospital.
The City of Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development and Tourism and Community Development teams will host its fifth business conference call April 30 at 9:15 a.m.
In the latest edition of Let's Eat, SooToday checks in with Maple Mountain Products to see how the local maple syrup industry is adapting to a global pandemic.
Saultites are thanking and honouring essential workers with 'Bears and Bows.' Watch the video here.
Here are the latest COVID-19 numbers from Algoma Public Health:
- 2,017 tested
- 13 positive
- 1,639 negative
- 365 pending
- 0 deceased
- 11 resolved
Total confirmed cases by area of residence:
- 9 in Sault Ste. Marie and area, with evidence of community spread
- 1 in central and east Algoma
- 3 in Elliot Lake and area ***
- 0 in north Algoma
*** Three positive cases in Elliot Lake and area have been confirmed by Elliot Lake Family Health Team
Click here for a SooToday list of what's still open in the Sault.
