Seniors in Canada will receive a one-time $300 payment, with an additional $200 for those who receive guaranteed income benefits.
The Federal Government announced the measures on Tuesday with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying that seniors have always been a priority in the government's COVID-19 response, despite only announcing direct financial assistance for them today.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Trudeau says the government instituted public health measures to protect vulnerable seniors and provided GST tax credits.
On the heels of the financial assistance announcement, Trudeau also said the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed “serious flaws” in how Canada cares for seniors.
Trudeau says the federal government will help provinces improve nursing-home care in a lasting way, once the immediate COVID-19 emergency is over.
Long-term care is currently a provincial responsibility.
In Windsor-Essex, 47 of the 61 deaths have been in residents of long-term care or retirement homes and 39 per cent of the current cases are in residents and staff of those homes.