Data on emergency COVID-19 aid shows some of Canada’s highest income earners used a key benefit for workers.
The $2,000-a-month Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) paid at least $81.6-billion in benefits to 8.9 million people between March and the start of October.
The CERB was available to anyone who had made at least $5,000 in the preceding 12 months, and whose income crashed because of the pandemic, either from a drop in hours or being unable to work.
It was predominantly used by people who earned under $47,630 in 2019, figures from the Canada Revenue Agency show.
Those higher up the income ladder also applied for the aid program.
The CRA numbers show that at least 114,620 people, who earned between about $100,000 and $200,000 last year, applied for the CERB.
A further 14,070 people, who had made more than $210,000, applied for the benefit.
COVID-19 response
Alberta reported 12 new cases and nine recoveries of COVID-19 in the RMWB.
All the new cases are inside the urban service area, which has 135 active cases, two deaths, and 413 resolved cases.
Outside the urban service area, there are still 10 active cases and 71 recovered cases of COVID-19.
Alberta removed Father Mercredi and Holy Trinity Catholic schools from the province’s list of COVID-19 outbreak locations.
Fort McMurray Catholic School Division (FMCSD) Superintendent George McGuigan provided an update on Father Mercredi on Oct. 18.
“Today, Fort McMurray Catholic School Division received notice of one additional positive case of COVID-19 in relation to Father Mercredi Community High School. This case is not the result of in school transmission. Father Mercredi High School will remain open.”
FMCSD said Alberta Health Services previously listed Father Mercredi with links to at least two cases of COVID-19 on Nov. 11.
The Alberta government defined an outbreak as a school having links to between two and four confirmed cases.
In the last 24 hours, there are 1105 new cases and eight additional deaths of COVID-19 in Alberta.
Four deaths, which included one man in his 30s, occurred in the Edmonton Zone, with the other four from the Calgary Zone.
8 new deaths in Alberta, including another man in his 30s from the Edmonton zone: #yeg #yyc #ableg #covid19ab pic.twitter.com/Be7O2cvpEJ
— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) November 19, 2020
Edmonton mayor Don Iveson asked the province for stricter COVID-19 restrictions to reduce rising cases.
Iveson says Edmontonians are growing increasingly frustrated with rising case numbers.
As of Nov. 19, there are 4388 active cases in the Edmonton Zone.
Premier Jason Kenney’s government brought in new restrictions last Friday for enhanced watch areas such as Calgary, Edmonton, and Wood Buffalo.
These include a two-week ban on indoor group sports and fitness classes and earlier closing times for restaurants, bars and pubs.
Across Alberta, there are 10,382 active cases, 451 deaths, and 31,964 recovered cases of COVID-19.
284 Albertans are in hospital with 61 in intensive care
This article includes excerpts from The Canadian Press.
