Few to Use New Sickness Benefit for COVID-19 Diagnosis, PBO Suggests in New Report

Few to Use New Sickness Benefit for COVID-19 Diagnosis, PBO Suggests in New Report
People lineup at a COVID-19 testing site Friday, September 25, 2020 in St. Lambert, Que. Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
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OTTAWA—Parliament’s spending watchdog says relatively little of the government’s new sickness benefit will go to people who have tested positive for COVID−19.

In a report Wednesday morning, the parliamentary budget officer estimates that only $50 million out of the estimated $655 million of the new sickness benefit will go to workers who have COVID−19.