New legislation helps confirm supports for people and businesses and responds to the fiscal impacts of COVID-19 by allowing government to run deficit budgets.
The Economic Stabilization Act brings the B.C. Emergency Benefit for Workers into law and updates the eligibility date to March 1, 2020. Almost 600,000 people have been approved to receive the benefit to date. Changes to the legislation allow deficit budgets for the next three years as the Province moves forward with economic recovery from COVID-19. Additionally, the amendments allow government to continue to table supplementary estimates before the Legislative Assembly as well as clarify the existing limits and uses of special warrants while the Legislative Assembly is not in session to maintain essential services and respond to provincial emergencies and disasters like a pandemic.