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Jul 17, 2020 7:29 PM -

Liberals revise COVID-19 wage subsidy, ease eligibility in bid to boost takeup

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Minister of Finance Bill Morneau rises during a meeting of the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Wednesday, June 17, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Finance Minister Bill Morneau says the Liberals are easing eligibility rules for the government's emergency wage subsidy and changing the amounts businesses can receive.

The government had been under pressure to make the subsidy more accessible, specifically by loosening the requirement of a 30 per cent drop in revenues, so more companies under that cut-off can qualify.

Speaking in Toronto, Morneau says the rules will be changed so amounts paid out will be proportional to revenue declines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program is the heart of the Liberals' promise to help Canadians get back to work, even if has to be at a slower pace, as the pandemic wanes.

Morneau's fiscal update last week boosted the budget for the program to $82.3 billion from $45 billion in a sign of impending changes and an extension beyond this summer.

Morneau says the program will now end Dec. 19.

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