RLB Blog

One month after the last minimum wage increase the province has announced that they would like to increase it again.  On October 1st the minimum wage increased to $14.35 per hour.  The proposed changes would see this increased to $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2022.  The Ontario government has stated the reason for the increase is to keep up with the cost of living that has increased considerably during the pandemic.

There are changes happening in the CRA’s subsidy programs this fall.  The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) end on October 23, 2021.  These programs have provided wage and rent subsidy income to businesses that have been affected by the COVID pandemic.  There is a 6-month filing deadline on these programs, so the final periods will be due September 20, 2022.

Ontario will see another minimum wage increase this fall.  The minimum wage will increase from $14.25 per hour to $14.35 per hour.  This new rate is effective October 1, 2021.  The last increase was a year ago, which saw a $0.25 per hour increase.

The 2021 Budget proposed a new program called the Canada Recovery Hiring Program to help eligible employers with the costs of re-hiring or hiring new staff as their business opens back up. Employers can only claim one subsidy per qualifying period; the Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP) or the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). There are many similarities between the two programs, however, there are a couple of subtle differences.

Ontario COVID-19 Worker Income Protection Benefit Employers may now submit claims online for the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) reimbursement for paying their employees under the Ontario COVID-19 Worker Income Protection Benefit.

The deadline to give employees their T4 slips is February 28, 2021 (or the next business day as this falls on a Sunday.) The failure to distribute T4 slips on time is $25/day for each failure with a minimum penalty of $100 and a maximum of $2500.

The Temporary Wage Subsidy (TWS) was a 3-month program that allowed eligible employers to reduce their source deduction payments to CRA.  It was based on remuneration paid from March 18 to June 19, 2020.  There was a maximum of $1,375 per eligible employee and a maximum of $25,000 per employer.

Have you heard? Everyone has probably heard about increases to the minimum wage in Ontario. There is currently one set increase this fall and two further increases proposed by the Ontario government. The plan is to have the increase phased in over the next two years. Here is what you need to know: