COVID-19 Government and International Response: July 2, 2020

WHAT TO KNOW

Global COVID-19 cases have reached 10,665,758, up from 10,273,001 at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. Canada now reports 104,193 cases, up from 103,918 cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. Ontario reports 35,370 cases, up from 34,911 cases on Tuesday.

The growth rate of new cases in the province is still under 1%, with 153 (0.4%) new cases reported since yesterday. Of the province’s total cases, 30,730 have been resolved (86.9%) and there have been 2,680 deaths (7.6%). The province has now completed 1,457,703 tests and reports 13,922 tests are currently under investigation. More information here.

A province-by-province breakdown of Canada’s COVID-19 case count can be found here.

FEDERAL

On June 30, the Government of Canada announced that the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) will be extended by one month to cover eligible small business rents for July. The government has agreed with all provinces and territories to implement the one-month extension. This will provide important relief for small businesses that continue to experience financial hardship, and also allow property owners to maintain rental income and keep tenants in their commercial properties as the economy gradually restarts. More information here.

Today, the Government of Canada announced the release of draft regulations that would help employers who sponsor a Registered Pension Plan (RPP) or salary deferral leave plan for their employees to manage and maintain their benefit obligations through the COVID-19 crisis. It will also assure employees who participate in salary deferral leave plans that suspending their leave of absence (e.g., via a recall to essential-service work), or deferring their scheduled leave for up to one year, will not put their plan at risk. The proposed draft regulations would support the effective administration of such plans through the COVID-19 pandemic, providing temporary relief from various registration rules and other conditions that must be complied with under the Income Tax Regulations. More information here.

PROVINCIAL

In an effort to connect communities and create jobs, the Government of Ontario is providing an additional $10 million in funding for the Connecting Links program. The funding is part of Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19 and will support road and highway projects in nine more municipalities across the province. This brings the total annual investment for this program to $40 million.

The 2020-21 Connecting Links program supports municipalities across the province to help them build, repair or replace municipal roads and bridges that connect two ends of a provincial highway through a community or to a border crossing. More information here.

TORONTO

On June 30, Toronto City Council voted unanimously in favour of requiring masks or face coverings in all enclosed public places as of July 7 to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The new bylaw will require businesses to adopt a policy to ensure masks or face coverings are worn in indoor public spaces under their control. The new bylaw will apply to all indoor spaces that are openly accessible to the public, including:

• Retail stores
• Convenience stores
• Malls, shopping plazas
• Grocery stores, bakeries, farmer’s markets (enclosed areas)
• Restaurants, bars (when permitted to open for indoor service)
• And more

More information here.

INTERNATIONAL