For those parishes that have their payroll processed through the Diocesan Payroll Office you might have noticed a credit on your remittance advice for July titled CEWS. This Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy was initially announced in March of 2020 as part of the Federal Government’s COVID 19 relief program. The initial program was for the period March 15 to June 6, 2020. To be eligible for the program employers (those with a CRA Payroll Remittance Number) must have seen prescribed reductions in revenue (30% per month).

Subsequent announcements have indicated that the CEWS program will continue until December 31, 2020. While the announcements were made, the application had to wait for the legislation to be passed and the regulations to be written before the Diocese could make its application. As the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document from the Federal Government notes; “The rules have been modified substantially for the fifth (July 5 to August 1) and subsequent periods…” Note that the application for the period July 5 – August 1 cannot be filed until August 17, 2020.  

The CEWS credit on the Parish remittance advice is our best estimate of the application of the rules for the period July 5 to August 1 for parish employees paid through the Diocesan Payroll. As noted above, the actual application for this period cannot be filed until August 17. When our application is filed and accepted, this amount may change.  

It is our intention to continue to apply for the CEWS as long as the Diocese is eligible and charge the parishes the net cost (Gross Payroll Costs less any subsidy) of payroll.  

We are continuing to monitor and work through the Canada Revenue Agency rules on this program and will apply them as required. For your information, the latest interpretation of those rules were published today, August 11.