Feds extend business, worker aid to end of October

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is extending pandemic aid programs by an extra month beyond the previously planned end date.

The decision means that wage and rent subsidies for businesses, and income support for workers out of a job or who need to take time off to care for family or stay home sick, will last until Oct. 23.

Freeland says the government is also freezing rates for the wage and rent subsidies at current levels, holding off on the previously planned decline.

She adds that benefits will also be frozen at $300 per week for the three "recovery" benefits, and four more weeks of eligibility will be added to a maximum of 54 weeks.

Freeland says extending the aid is necessary because many small businesses and workers are not yet fully back on their feet.