Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) did not do cursory checks on claims requesting wage subsidies under a pandemic relief program using the information it already had before paying out $100.6 billion to businesses, including those in tax default, according to Auditor General Karen Hogan. “An example we saw was in the Emergency Wage Subsidy program,” Hogan…

Almost half of New Zealand’s working population received at least one COVID-19 wage subsidy during the past two years, the Ardern government revealed in a new report. Excluding sole traders, 47 percent of New Zealand’s labour force, or 1.2 million employees, received a wage subsidy in 2021, down from 62 percent of jobs in 2020….

OTTAWA—The parliamentary budget officer says the federal government’s plan to extend its wage subsidy will push the overall price for the program to almost $106.7 billion. The budget officer’s report released this morning estimates that the majority, about $4.8 billion, in subsidies will flow to businesses that continue to see a steep, and persistent drop…

A potential 250,000 people could be on unemployment benefits after the JobKeeper wage subsidy officially ended on March 28,  according to the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS). The JobKeeper program, which ran for just over a year, supported businesses significantly affected by the CCP virus by providing financial aid so businesses could keep staff employed throughout…

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the federal government will extend three COVID-19 support programs until June to continue support Canadian jobs and businesses through the government-mandated shutdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy, and Lockdown support will be extended from March 14…