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Category: COVID-19 (36 posts)
Retailers are changing their COVID-19 return policies
January 16, 2021 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Canadians who weren’t happy with some of their holiday gifts or who changed their mind after making purchases might face trouble when trying to get their money back. Scores of retailers across ...
read moreFDA clears Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for emergency rollout
December 18, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
The U.S. added a second COVID-19 vaccine to its arsenal Friday, boosting efforts to beat back an outbreak so dire that the nation is regularly recording more than 3,000 deaths a day. Much-needed dose ...
read moreBritain approves Pfizer and BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine
December 2, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Britain will begin a nationwide vaccination program next week after the country’s medical regulator announced on Wednesday that it had approved a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and Bi ...
read moreCERB recipients should be prepared to pay income tax on payments, experts say
November 27, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
The Canada Emergency Response Benefit was a financial lifeline for many when COVID-19 forced businesses to shutter and brought the economy to a screeching halt in the spring. And while the $500-a-wee ...
read moreOttawa’s new rent-relief program to accept applications starting Monday
November 20, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Entrepreneurs across the country will be able to apply to the Canada Revenue Agency for pandemic rent relief on Monday, nearly two months after Ottawa’s previous rent program was wound down foll ...
read moreOttawa announces new rent relief program for businesses hit by COVID-19 closures
October 13, 2020 | Posted by: Roar Solutions
The federal government says targeted aid is coming for some businesses hit by closures as a second wave of COVID-19 hits parts of the country. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, flanked by the ...
read moreTravel experts warn out-of-country medical insurance may be insufficient for COVID-related illnesses
September 28, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Travel experts are warning Canadians that out-of-country emergency medical insurance may not be adequate for COVID-related illnesses, leaving them at risk of potentially having to pay out hundreds of ...
read moreCERB payments to be extended for 2 more months
June 16, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
The Canada emergency response benefit (CERB) is being extended by two more months, even as the government encourages people to look for jobs and to go back to work when it's possib ...
read moreOntario to ban commercial evictions for some small businesses
June 9, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Ontario will ban commercial evictions of some small businesses from June through August, after months of pressure from entrepreneurs who’ve been unable to pay rent because of COVID-19 pandemic s ...
read moreCanada-U.S. border expected to stay closed to non-essential travel to June 21
May 13, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
The Canada-U.S. border is expected to stay closed to non-essential travel until June 21 to safeguard citizens in both countries from the spread of COVID-19, according to sources with knowledge of the ...
read moreFederal spending on pandemic measures now at $151.7-billion
May 11, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Federal spending on COVID-19 measures now stands at $151.7-billion, according to the Finance Department’s latest tally of government announcements. As part of an agreement with the opposition p ...
read moreElimination, not adaptation, is the courageous COVID-19 choice for Canada
May 7, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Irfan Dhalla is a physician and vice-president at Unity Health Toronto. In 2003, he served as an editorial and research associate for the National Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health. A new ...
read morePandemic Personal Finance Update No. 7: Retirement postponed,
May 4, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
The shock phase of the pandemic’s effect on our finances has ended. People are adjusting to the loss of jobs and income and becoming a little less pessimistic, weekly polling by the credit moni ...
read moreCanada lost nearly 2 million jobs in April amid COVID-19 crisis: Statistics Canada
May 4, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Canada lost almost two million jobs during the month of April, a record high, as the impact of COVID-19 on the economy made itself known. Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey data releas ...
read moreOttawa confirms 75-per-cent rent relief for small businesses hit by pandemic
April 24, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Ottawa has unveiled a rent relief program for small businesses that have seen their revenues collapse amid the pandemic, but entrepreneurs argue it’s too restrictive and too reliant upon landlor ...
read moreLayoffs, salary, EI and more: Your coronavirus and employment questions answered
April 21, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Employment lawyer Daniel Lublin answers some frequently asked questions employees have about how coronavirus affects their jobs. Have a question that you’d like answered? Send them to NineT ...
read moreWhat will Canada’s Pandexit strategy look like? How officials are deciding when to lift coronavirus lockdowns
April 18, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
The discussion about how to begin reopening Canadian society is ramping up, even as the country has yet to pass the peak of the pandemic that has shut it down. In provinces with relatively low COVID- ...
read moreCoronavirus put this Nova Scotia garment factory out of commission – until it found a crafty solution for health-care workers
April 17, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
The sewing machines have started up again inside the old Stanfield’s factory in Truro, N.S., filling the big brick building with the hum that has been its soundtrack since 1882. For Jon Stanfie ...
read moreIMF sees Canadian economy shrinking 6.2% this year; warns of worse hit if pandemic persists
April 14, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
The International Monetary Fund forecast that the global economy will contract by 3 per cent this year, and advanced economies by more than 6 per cent – and warned that the damage will be even w ...
read moreCanada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan
April 13, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
The Government of Canada is taking immediate, significant and decisive action to support Canadians and businesses facing hardship as a result of the global COVID-19 outbreak. SUPPORT FOR INDI ...
read moreTrudeau to highlight interest-free loans to help small business weather pandemic
April 10, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
While Canadian businesses wait for Parliament to approve a $73-billion wage subsidy program, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to highlight today another measure that will tide some companies ...
read moreJob losses top one million in March as coronavirus slams Canadian economy
April 9, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
More than one million people in Canada lost their jobs in March and the unemployment rate climbed to 7.8 per cent, reflecting the first wave of layoffs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The March ...
read moreIt’s a long road to economic recovery, Canadian bank CEOs warn
April 8, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
The chief executives of two of Canada’s largest banks are warning that it will take longer for the economy to recover from the new coronavirus than they expected even a few weeks ago, and that b ...
read moreCanada begins clinical trial of experimental COVID-19 treatment using plasma from recovered individuals
April 7, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
A team of blood transfusion experts from across Canada is planning the world’s largest clinical trial of a potential treatment for COVID-19. The study, which will involve 1,000 patients from ac ...
read moreEmergency benefit to be expanded to cover more part-time workers: Trudeau
April 6, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
As applications opened Monday for the new Canada Emergency Response Benefit, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government is working to make the program available to more people. One of the main ...
read morePandemic personal finance update No. 4: How the cost of making your mortgage go away for six months could top $12,000
April 6, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Your personal finance to-do list for this week. Understand the cost of deferring mortgage payments: Consider a couple of less drastic measures to ease your mortgage costs: Avoid online-ordering c ...
read moreOttawa faces criticism for sending 16 tonnes of personal protective equipment to China in February
March 26, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Canada’s department of Global Affairs shipped 16 tonnes of personal protective equipment to China last month to help Beijing fight the novel coronavirus, an effort that it undertook even after t ...
read moreOttawa to provide $2,000 a month to help workers affected by COVID-19
March 25, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa will provide workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with $2,000 a month for the next four months to help them pay their rent and groceries. Mr. Trudeau to ...
read moreEssential services: What's staying open when shutdowns expand in Ontario, Quebec
March 24, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
TORONTO -- As of midnight Tuesday, more than half of Canada's population living in Ontario and Quebec will only have access to essential services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both provinces have pro ...
read moreOttawa receives 500,000 new applications for Employment Insurance as coronavirus-related layoffs increase
March 21, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
A half-million Canadian workers filed for Employment Insurance benefits in the past four days alone, as evidence of the deep job losses related to COVID-19 quickly piled up and companies from a wide r ...
read moreOntario closes all non-essential businesses, as the province confirms 78 new COVID-19 cases
March 16, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is ordering all non-essential stores and services to close starting Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19. This comes as the province ...
read moreHealth Minister: WHO pandemic declaration doesn't change Canada's approach to the virus
March 12, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Health Minister Patty Hajdu says the World Health Organization's declaration of a global COVID-19 pandemic doesn't change Canada's approach to fighting the virus. She says Canada has been preparing fo ...
read moreTrudeau says relief coming ‘very soon’ to address the economic effects of coronavirus
March 10, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government will announce measures “very soon” to address the economic consequences of the novel coronavirus. Speaking with reporters on Parl ...
read moreThe corona effect: Why governments and central banks face a challenge like never before
March 2, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
That tearing sound you hear is economic forecasts being ripped up and thrown in the trash. Over the past few days, the continuing spread of the dangerous new coronavirus has driven the Bank of Canada ...
read moreOECD warns coronavirus outbreak could cut global growth by half
February 24, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
The OECD has warned that global growth could fall by half if the coronavirus outbreak proves long-lasting and has urged governments to prop up their health services and launch stimulus measures to sof ...
read moreMorneau says coronavirus outbreak will hit Canadian economy, affect oil prices and tourism
February 3, 2020 | Posted by: Maurice Kwok
The spreading coronavirus outbreak will hit the Canadian economy, in particular the tourism sector, supply chains and the struggling oil industry, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said on Monday. Mornea ...
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