‘Twas the night before year-end, and all through the land
Not a theatre was open, no props nor stagehand.

The audience was sent home, and so was the cast
The second wave of Covid arrived here so fast.

Since Springtime our gigs have been hung out to dry
For live event workers and business we cry.

On CERB cheque! On face mask! On 2 meter distance!
Now vaccine! Now restart! Now start a new project!

Although it’s been tough and a harsher reality
Know that you’re loved by your greater show family.

But let us exclaim, ere we close out the night—
“Happy New Year to all, and to all a bright light!”

with apologies to A Visit from St. Nicholas

As the final hours of 2020 wind down, we want to reach out to all of you – the live event community who have supported each other over the past 10 months – who lit up their office and home windows, arranged large installations and spread the word that our industry is alive and present, despite being closed for much of the year.

Many people have managed to get work in film, television, streaming or virtual events – this is heartening news, but it still doesn’t help most of the million Canadians who work or perform at music halls, cabarets, festivals, rodeos, theatres, convention centres and every other live event that is such an important part of the cultural and economic fabric of our country.

So, tonight we will hold up our red light, continuing to show that live events matter, and that we need the government to continue to provide support until the industry can safely restart. The news is full of photos ops of vaccinations, which should provide hope, but we know that there is much to be done, and that we will be the last to return.

Be strong, stay safe, wear a mask. Most of all, realize that when we can all gather again, it will be the biggest most raucous live event the world has ever seen, and it will need you – the event professionals of the world – to run it. 

Need help over the holidays?
Check out our mental health resources. Call someone, please.

International Update

• 38 countries have engaged with We Make Events
• Over 4800 buildings have been lit in red around the world
• 15 countries have had direct meetings with their governments about supporting the industry
• Numerous artists have supported our campaign by raising money and awareness

---

Thank You!

View our searchable indexed resources on our website: https://liveeventcommunity.org/resources

International Workers’ Day

For over a century, the first day of May has been celebrated internationally as a day to commemorate the struggle of workers around the world.

This year, under the veil of COVID-19, it has become ever more clear how important is the safety, service and sacrifice of our society’s front line workers – they are paramount to keeping us moving forward.

We want to thank all workers for their contributions to our country.

read more about IWD from the Canadian Labour Congress or TIME Magazine

---

Student Support Announced

This week the federal government announced a series of financial support measures for post-secondary students. Details for how to access these programs will come later.

The Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) will provide $1250 a month from May to the end of August to post-secondary students who do not otherwise qualify for CERB or EI. This increases to $1750 for students with dependents or a disability. It will be administered by the CRA.

A series of changes to the Canada Student Loans Program for the 2020-2021 year. Max grants increased from $3,000 per year to $6,000 per year (they were due to increase to $4,200 anyway). Loan limits increased from $210 per week to $350/week. Personal and spousal contributions suspended (no apparent change to parental contributions).

Creation of a Canada Student Service Grant which will provide up to $5,000 to support student’s post-secondary education costs in the fall. This program is supposed to “encourage youth to mobilize and take part in national service activities”. Details to come.

Support to grad students! $292 million to the granting councils in order to “extend expiring federal graduate research scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships, and supplement existing federal research grants, to support students and post-doctoral fellows”.

Resources

Resource Highlight #1

• The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) offers free online courses on a variety of topics, including Mental Health Awareness and Health and Wellness Strategies, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Office Ergonomics, Pandemic Awareness & Pandemic Planning [more information]

Resource Highlight #2

• Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS) produced a PDF document providing guidance on Health and Safety for Television, Film and Live Performance Sector during COVID-19 [more information]

Resource Highlight #3

The Workers Health and Safety Centre provides a variety of safety and workplace related courses. [more information]

View our searchable indexed resources on our website: https://liveeventcommunity.org/resources

It’s CERB Week – should we celebrate??

The Canada Emergency Relief Benefit is rolling out, and the initial results seem positive. Members on our Facebook page report getting deposits in the bank within 48 hours, and EI-eligible applications since mid-March have been migrated to the CERB as well. The application process for freelance self-employed is only a few questions long, and broken web services that have plagued the Service Canada EI system don’t seem to have affected Revenue Canada, who is managing CERB for non-EI claimants.

Your CERB questions, answered

Wait, CERB is taxable?

Just like employment insurance (EI), the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB) is a taxable benefit. This means that at tax time it is listed as income.With EI, the tax is withheld (just like an employee’s paycheque), so you don’t need to worry about paying it later. In fact, you might even get a refund!

However, the CERB pays you the full taxable amount ($2000 per month), which means you will owe taxes (minimum rate 15%) on it in 2021.

Did I get paid twice by mistake?

You may have received two payments. The first is a retroactive payment from 15 March to 11 April, and the second is for the following month. This is not an overpayment but there will not be another deposit for four weeks.

“So from March 15 to April 11 is the first four week period, during which a $2,000 payment would have been made yesterday or perhaps today.”

Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos

To those who need clarity on getting double deposits this week regarding the CERB, here is your answer. Please watch. This is very important information from Jean- Yves Duclos, President of the Treasury Board. #cerb #Canada #COVID19 #covid19Canada #StayInformed 🇨🇦👩🏻‍💻 pic.twitter.com/fNfi8WOlIC

— lella (@MlleRaffaella) April 8, 2020

Can I earn any income while on CERB?

Currently, once you are earning no income for 14 days, you can apply for CERB, but “for subsequent periods, you must expect to have no employment or self-employment income.”*

The Prime Minister announced Monday that he was looking into opening up CERB to underemployed and gig workers (<10 hours a week, under $500 a month), but for now, DO NOT JEOPARDIZE YOUR CERB benefit.

src: https://www.canada.ca/

Can I collect a cheque for past invoices?

According to Service Canada regarding EI claims, “self-employment earnings from services performed … are allocated to the week or weeks when the services were performed”*

Our recommendation? Have time sheets, invoices and emails/texts ready to provide RevCan to show that any cheques you deposited after 15 March were for work completed prior to the CERB no-income period.

src: https://www.canada.ca/

I applied for EI and heard nothing back.

If you applied for EI after 15 March, your case should have automatically been moved to CERB, and been paid out this week. If not, please contact Service Canada:  https://sr-ds.powerappsportals.com/caseintakeen/

An SSO will get back to you within 48 hours.

Resources

RESOURCE HIGHLIGHT #1

The Ontario government provides funding that families can apply for if they have children who are not in school or child care because of coronavirus (COVID-19). [more information]

RESOURCE HIGHLIGHT #2

Did you know that there are over 100 free training opportunities online on our website? Check out our searchable database, and increase your industry knowledge during this forced hiatus. [more information]

Share our message: