Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) - Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer

The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) is a proposed measure to provide Canadians with paid sick leave for reasons related to COVID-19. Workers who miss at least 50% of their normal time at work during a week due to being sick from or self-isolating because of COVID-19, or due to having a medical issue that would make them more vulnerable to being infected with COVID-19, can receive a taxable benefit of $500. A worker can take the CRSB for a total of 2 weeks between Sept 27, 2020 and Sept 25, 2021.

Workers cannot claim CRSB at the same time they are on employer-provided paid sick leave, or certain other types of benefits or leave. Claimants must have earned at least $5,000 in any of 2019, 2020, or the span of 12 months before they apply for the CRCB.

PBO estimates total net cost of this measure to be $599 million in 2020-2021 and $550 million in 2021-2022.