The federal wage subsidy program for businesses hit by COVID-19, won’t be as strict as previously outlined. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement Wednesday morning.

“Companies will now have the option of using January and February of this year as reference points to show a 30% loss. And businesses will only need to show a 15% decline in revenue from March instead of 30% because most of us only felt the impact of COVID-19 about half way through the month.”

Trudeau says businesses need to survive and workers need to get paid if the economy is to come back after this crisis.

Employees at charities and non-profit organizations can benefit from changes to Ottawa’s wage subsidy program, announced Wednesday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says they’re making the plan more flexible. They will have the choice to include or exclude, when calculating government loss in revenue.

Trudeau also announced the federal government will cover 100 percent of wages for students hired under the Canada Summer Jobs Program. (CJGX)