The Government of Yukon is working with federal counterparts, First Nations, local businesses, organizations, and communities to introduce support for Yukoners impacted by COVID-19. 

The full COVID-19 support for Yukoners can be found here.

Support for Individuals

Home Security

The Government of Yukon passed new regulations under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act preventing evictions over the next 90 days for residential tenants who are self-isolating or unable to pay their rent on time due to COVID-19. The regulations will also allow tenants to pay their rent late if they are unable to pay it when it is due.

Landlords will be unable to evict if the tenant or a member of their household is subject to a health protection measure.

Highlights of these measures are summarized below:

  • A tenant who has lost their job or had their income reduced as a result of COVID-19, will be able to end the tenancy early without penalty. This would free up the rental unit to tenants who are able to cover rent.
  • The tenant will have to pay the unpaid rent as soon as they are able to pay or after the 90 days, whichever comes first.
  • Landlords will be able to apply to the Residential Tenancies Office for exemption if their property or the safety of others is threatened by the tenant.
  • A landlord will not be able to enter a rental unit if the residents are under a health protection measure, except for reasons of safety.

Yukon Nominees

As a result of impacts of COVID-19, foreign nationals working in Yukon through the Yukon Nominee Program will not be required to meet the standard requirement of full-time work hours.

Yukon nominees who experience layoffs or reduced work hours will not be issued the standard 90-day notice to find new employment. This change will remain in effect for the duration of the public health emergency.

All questions and concerns can be addressed by email at yukon.nominee@gov.yk.ca or by phone (toll free) at 1 (800) 661 0408.

Support for Businesses

The Government of Yukon is supporting Yukon's business community through its regular funding programs and services while taking steps to minimize the risk of COVID-19.

Paid Sick Leave Rebate

The Paid Sick Leave Rebate supports Yukon workers and self-employed people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The rebate allows Yukon workers without paid sick leave to stay at home if they:

  • become sick; or
  • are required to self-isolate while still meeting their basic financial needs.

Self-employed people are also eligible for this rebate.

This rebate program reimburses employers who pay their employees to take sick days or self-isolate. A maximum of 10 days of wages per employee (not including benefits, payroll taxes, or deductions) will be covered for sick leave and/or for a 14-day self-isolation period. The rebate program will be in effect for six months, running from March 11 to September 11, 2020.

The maximum daily rebate will be $378.13 per day per employee.

These paid sick leave days will apply only after all existing regular paid sick leave for the employee is used. The rebate program cannot be split into multiple uses, and can only be used once per employee. A doctor's note is not required.

To be eligible for the Paid Sick Leave Rebate, the employer and its employees must be Yukon-based, the employer must pay employees to take time off for sick leave and who need to be in self-isolation due to COVID-19, and meet three of the following requirements:

  • has an office with a physical address in Yukon;
  • is subject to the Yukon Income Tax Act;
  • is registered as per the Business Corporations Act or the Partnership and Business Name Act, where applicable;
  • has a valid municipal business license where applicable.

This rebate is not available to:

  • Government of Yukon and its corporations;
  • Government of Canada and its corporations;
  • Yukon First Nation governments; and
  • municipalities.

The following are required documents needed to access the rebate program:

  • Proof of registration from Corporate Affairs (business name, partnership, corporation, society).
  • Copy of your business license, proof of your office location (such as a utility bill, or lease), notice of assessment for the year, or municipal business license.
  • Copies of the most recent pay stubs (for all employees in your application), covering the dates and proof of wages paid for sick leave/self-isolation.

Apply for a Paid Sick Leave Rebate for the self-employed

This rebate program reimburses self-employed people who take sick days or self-isolate. A maximum of 10 days of documented average daily earnings will be covered for a 14-day self-isolation period. The rebate program will be in effect for six months, running from March 11 to September 11, 2020.

The maximum daily rebate will be $378.13 per day per employee. If no Notice of Assessment from Revenue Canada is submitted, the maximum daily rate will set to the 2020 maximum Employment Insurance rate of $114.60 per day.

The rebate program cannot be split into multiple uses, and can only be used once. A doctor's note is not required.

The following are required documents needed to access the rebate program:

  • Copy of your Business license or proof of registration from Corporate Affairs dated before March 1, 2020 (business name, partnership, corporation, society).
  • Copy of your most recent Notice of Assessment from Revenue Canada to calculate average daily earnings and provide evidence of self-employment earnings.

Business Advisory Council

The Government of Yukon has established a COVID-19 Business Advisory Council consisting of approximately 20 Yukon business representatives to ensure the needs of the business community are heard during the COVID-19 pandemic. This council includes stakeholders from a wide variety of sectors who will contribute their knowledge and experience representing diverse aspects of Yukon's economy. Together they will inform the Department of Economic Development with local business intelligence, identify best practices, and recommend mitigation strategies to address the economic impacts of COVID-19. The Council is expected to operate for six months, but may extend beyond this dependent on circumstances.

Crowe MacKay Partner, Norman McIntyre, is a member on the Business Advisory Council as a business financial representative.

Support for Arts and Culture

Arts funding programs

Advanced Artist Award

For the April 1, 2020 intake of the Advanced Artist Award, there will be $150,000 available in funding. Normally, $75,000 is allocated for this intake.'

Learn more or apply for the Advanced Artist Award.

Arts Fund

The Arts Fund will increase by $125,000.

The special intake criteria will suspend the current threshold and allow applicants to apply for 100% of eligible project expenses. The regular June, September and December intakes for Arts Fund have not changed.

Learn how to apply to the Arts Fund.

On Yukon Time – special funding

Tourism and Culture is providing special funding for arts-related initiatives in light of COVID-19 impacts.

The On Yukon Time program will be adapted to support artists and organizations in this time of lost revenue and uncertainty. This is a one-time change for the 2020–21 fiscal year.

$75,000 is available in total. These funds will help the creative community during our new social distancing realities.

Applicants may apply to receive up to:

  • $2500 for individuals; or
  • $5000 for businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and collectives.

Applicants may apply for up to 100% of eligible project costs.

Learn how to apply..

Information for recipients

The following are ways in which the Yukon Government is supporting the arts community:

  • If you have an active Transfer Payment Agreement for project funding, and you have started the project but then find you must cancel or delay it due to COVID-19, you can claim the eligible expenses you have incurred up to the amount of your agreement.
  • Core funded organizations will not be required to have replacement programming for events or activities that are delayed, changed, or cancelled due to the pandemic.
  • Core funded organizations should include an explanation of how the pandemic impacted their programming and activities when reporting.

Support for Tourism

The Department of Tourism and Culture has announced a one-time, $1 million increase to the Tourism Cooperative Marketing Fund (TCMF). This brings the total available funding to $1.7 million for the 20/21 fiscal year.

In addition to the increased funding, the following one-time changes to the program will be made:

  • Applicants will be eligible for 100% of the costs of their marketing initiatives. Previously, the fund covered up to 50% of their costs.
  • Under the new criteria, initiatives targeting people who are already in Yukon will also be eligible. Previously, the TCMF was for marketing initiatives targeted outside of Yukon, with the intent of attracting visitors to the territory. These changes will help support more Yukon businesses this summer and when the pandemic subsides.

Revised guidelines and application forms will be available beginning May 1 on the Tourism Cooperative Marketing Fund page.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.