Thank you for the question.
These are obviously really challenging times. I recognize that people are concerned about their situations. We're trying to make sure that we get systems up and running that can get people income as rapidly as possible. The decision to have just very simple criteria for the Canada emergency response benefit was designed with exactly that in mind.
The criteria are that people had to be earning $5,000 or more over the last year and that their income has gone down to zero as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. I acknowledge that it presents some situations that are challenging for people if they are still earning some revenue, but we just don't have the capability of administering multiple kinds of plans and also getting the money out to people rapidly.
With that system, we expect to be able get people money next week. That's what we're working towards. We're looking forward to that happening.
For people who are renting, I think many people will know that this is a very important issue, not only for individuals who are renting apartments but for small businesses. For individuals, I have been working together with the provinces. I had extensive discussions with all of the finance ministers earlier this week. In each case they're talking about how they are trying to help on rent. For example, in Ontario, in speaking with the Ontario Minister of Finance, he talked about the importance of no evictions and talked about targeted measures they're trying to do at the Ontario level, as well as having some discussions with large landlords to help people out.
For small businesses, not only are we providing those wage subsidies that are going to help people to retain their workers and pay them 75% of their pre-crisis wages, but also we've put in place a Canada emergency business account, which is going to give small businesses the ability to get a loan, on an interest-free basis, of $40,000. If they pay that off before December 31, 2022, they will get a $10,000 reduction in the amount they need to pay back, so effectively, it's $10,000 to help them through this time.
We know there may be more to do. We're constantly looking at this. It's a dynamic situation. We think those measures are going to go a long way to helping people who are either in the difficult personal situation of having no income or are trying to make sure that they can pay their rent to keep their family, their apartment or their business going. We'll continue to think about ways we can manage through this challenging time.