Saskatchewan Economic Support

Supports for Individuals

• Self-Isolation Support Program will provide $450 per week, for a maximum of two weeks or $900. The SelfIsolation Support Program is targeted at Saskatchewan residents forced to self-isolate that are not covered by recent federally announced employment insurance programs and other supports. (March 20)
• Workers helping Saskatchewan's vulnerable citizens through the COVID-19 pandemic will have their salaries topped up by a cost-shared $400 per month temporary wage supplement. This supplement will apply to essential workers earning less than $2,500 per month employed at senior-care, group homes, childcare facilities and emergency and transition shelters. It will be provided for up to 16 weeks (March 15 to July 4) for each eligible worker. (April 30)
• Eligible lower-income workers helping Saskatchewan's most vulnerable citizens through the COVID-19 pandemic can now apply to the Saskatchewan Temporary Wage Supplement Program. (May 15)
• The Government of Saskatchewan has announced additional respite funding for caregivers of people with intellectual disabilities during the pandemic. This funding provides $100 per month from June to September 2020 to pay for respite or respite activities. (May 28)
• Through a re-assessment of eligibility, the Saskatchewan Temporary Wage Supplement Program. has been further expanded to include all workers, regardless of income level, at integrated healthcare facilities which provide both short-term and long-term health care. A new application form is currently being developed for this expansion, and will be available in the coming days. Applications will be accepted until September 1, 2020. (July 30)

• The Saskatchewan government will make up to $1.5 million in emergency financial aid available from April 1 to Sept 1, 2020 to help at-risk post-secondary students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. (April 9)
• A six-month student loan repayment moratorium has been put in place, mirroring a similar federal provision. (March 20)

• The provincial government is temporarily suspending eviction hearings as a result of the COVID-19 emergency. Tenants who are unable to pay their rent during the state of emergency will be expected to pay their rent in full once the state of emergency is over. (March 26)
• The Saskatchewan Housing Corporation will begin accepting applications for the new Saskatchewan Housing Benefit (SHB) on April 1, 2020. SHB is a monthly benefit available to eligible households, including seniors, families, couples and singles. Clients will receive benefits ranging from $150-250 based on their household composition. (March 31)
• Starting August 4, 2020, the Office of Residential Tenancies (ORT) will begin accepting eviction applications from landlords for non-payment of rent. (July 6)

Support for Businesses

• Effective immediately, Saskatchewan businesses who are unable to remit their PST due to cashflow concerns will have relief from penalty and interest charges. Businesses that are unable to file their provincial tax return(s) by the due date may submit a request for relief from penalty and interest charges on the return(s) affected. At this time, audit program and compliance activities have been suspended. (March 20)
• Saskatchewan is establishing a business response team that will work with businesses to identify program supports available to them both provincially and federally. (March 23)
• The new $50 million Saskatchewan Small Business Emergency Payment (SSBEP provides a one-time grant for small and medium-sized enterprises directly affected by government public health orders related to COVID-19. Grants will be paid based on 15 percent of a business' monthly sales revenue, to a maximum of $5,000. (April 9)
• The Government of Saskatchewan is providing $1 million to support a province-wide marketing campaign to encourage Saskatchewan residents to support local businesses and their employees. (May 1)
• The Re-Open Saskatchewan Training Subsidy (RSTS) program will reimburse eligible private-sector employers 100 percent of employee training costs up to a maximum of $10,000 per business to mitigate against additional financial impacts from training required to support their safe re-opening. (June 18)

• The federal and provincial governments have agreed to increase the 2020 AgriStability interim benefit payment percentage from 50 percent to 75 percent for Saskatchewan producers. (April 24)
• The Saskatchewan government will fund the 40 per cent provincial contribution to the AgriRecovery setaside program, $5 million for Saskatchewan's share of the costs, Saskatchewan livestock producers will now be able to access a total of $12.5 million under the set-aside program. On May 5, the federal government announced their 60 percent contribution to the AgriRecovery program. (May 14)
• Saskatchewan is also taking action to temporarily reduce the cost of purchasing livestock price insurance through the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP), with $5 million to partially offset higher premium costs. The provincial government will provide 40 percent of the increased premium costs, dating back to February 25, 2020. Additionally, the deadline for obtaining calf price insurance though the WLPIP is being extended from May 28, 2020 to June 18, 2020. These premium adjustments will be in place until September 1, 2020, at which time the provincial government will review and reassess. (May 14)

• The Government of Saskatchewan is implementing a series of relief measures for the provincial oil and gas sector including extending a series of filing and other deadlines to assist the oil and gas sector in stabilizing operations as their employees transition to working from home, extending mineral rights scheduled to expire in 2020 by one year, and reducing the industry portion of the Oil and Gas Administrative Levy by 50 percent this fiscal year and delaying the invoicing of the remaining balance until October 1, 2020. (April 14)
• The Government of Saskatchewan is launching the Accelerated Site Closure Program (ASCP) for the abandonment and reclamation of inactive oil and gas wells and facilities to get Saskatchewan people back to work. ASCP will access up to $400 million, over two years, subject to the conclusion of an agreement with Canada, through the federal COVID-19 Economic Response Plan. Phase 1 will allocate up to $100 million in funding to Saskatchewan service companies contracted to do abandonment and reclamation work. (May 22)

• The Government of Saskatchewan announced $35 million in support for Saskatchewan's hard-hit tourism sector. Under the Saskatchewan Tourism Sector Support Program, eligible hospitality and event/attraction operators will be able to apply for a one-time, non-repayable emergency payment. For the accommodation sector and large event facilities, payments will range from $10,000 to $50,000, depending on sales revenue. For attraction, tour or event operators with ongoing fixed costs, payments will range from $7,500 to $15,000. (Aug 10)

Employment Standards

• The Government of Saskatchewan introduced amendments to The Saskatchewan Employment Act ensuring employees have access to job protected leaves during a public health emergency. The amendments to the Act would come into force retroactive to March 6, 2020. (March 17)

Utility Relief

• Saskatchewan announced a crown utility interest deferral program waving interest on late bill payments for up to six months. (March 20)