Fiscal Summary of COVID-19 Response 2021/22

Budget 2021 included $1,180 million in centrally budgeted internal service adjustments for COVID-19 response and contingencies. In addition, $100 million in supplementary authority was approved in March for total authority of $1,280 million.

Over $1 billion or 83 per cent of this funding has been allocated to Manitoba’s COVID-19 response as of the end of the third quarter. The remaining unallocated balance of $221 million is forecast as a contingency. The Manitoba Public Accounts will present the full accounting of COVID-19 expenses for the 2021/22 fiscal year.

Manitoba’s response to the pandemic included supports to businesses, non-profit and charitable sectors, and a range of other investments including health care, personal protective equipment (PPE), schools funding and the vaccine program.

Summary of Manitoba’s COVID-19 Response	$Millions
Supports to business and non-profit sectors	215
Public health response, PPE and related goods and services	650
Support for other sectors (including the Restart Capital program)	194
Contingency	221
Total	1,280

Recognizing the uncertain path of COVID-19, Budget 2022 includes a further $630 million in internal service adjustments for contingencies and COVID-19 response and recoveries. This funding will be available for continued responses to the pandemic and other contingencies in the 2022/23 fiscal year.

Federal Direct Transfers to Support the COVID-19 Response in Manitoba

Manitoba and other provinces partnered with the federal government on a range of programs to support businesses and the non-profit and charitable sectors. In total, the federal contribution to Manitoba for 2021/22 is $211 million. The federal contributions are recorded as revenue and the disbursements are recorded as expenditures and included in the Summary of Manitoba’s COVID-19 Response. Total federal transfers to support the COVID-19 pandemic response in Manitoba in fiscal 2021/22 were as follows:

Summary of Federal Transfers to Support Manitoba’s COVID-19 Response	$Millions
Health Care system recovery	145
COVID-19 immunization plan	36
Air services to remote communities	11
Virtual care priorities	10
Alternative Isolation Accommodation Program	7
Safe Restart Agreement – data management	2
Total	211

Health Care System Recovery – additional health payment of $145 million through the Health Canada Transfer, representing the province’s share of $4 billion in funding. This funding was provided to address immediate health care system pressures including addressing backlogs in access to care during the pandemic.

COVID-19 Immunization Plan – $36 million representing the province’s share of $1 billion in funding. This funding was provided to enhance critical support for the
vaccine rollout.

Air Services to Remote Communities – distribution of $11 million of federal funding to support essential air services for remote communities in Manitoba. This is in addition to the $12 million provided in 2020.

Virtual Care Priorities – variety of projects related to virtual care tools and digital solutions.

Alternative Isolation Accommodation Program – federal funding to support the continued operation of a provincial service operationalized through Shared Health and service delivery organizations that provides safe isolation spaces for individuals who are unable to isolate safely at home.

Safe Restart Agreement – Data Management – data management activities related to COVID-19 planning and response.

Supports to Business and Non-profit Sectors

Manitoba has continued several of the supports to business and non-profit sectors introduced in fiscal 2020/21, as well as announcing new targeted programs. The following table summarizes the forecast uptake of supports to business and non-profit sectors in 2021/22:

Summary of Supports to Business and Non-profit Sectors	$Millions
Manitoba Bridge Grant	79
Sector Support Program	22
Venture Capital Fund	50
Manitoba Healthy Hire Program	37
Essential Air Access	11
Pandemic Sick Leave	10
Arts and Culture Sustainability Fund	6
Total	215

Manitoba Bridge Grant – Financial support to eligible small and medium-sized businesses, not-for-profits and charities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic response. This program was started in fiscal 2020/21 and the above-noted forecast represents the fourth installment and reopening of the application process for this program in 2021/22.

Sector Support Program – provides assistance to businesses affected by the COVID-19 public health order restrictions released in December 2021 and in February 2022.

Venture Capital Fund – new fund to grow and rebuild the economy as it recovers from the impacts of COVID-19 and to create and maintain jobs in Manitoba.

Manitoba Healthy Hire Program – this wage support program was designed to help private-sector employers reopen and encourage employees to get vaccinated and return to work. Local employers can apply for up to $50,000 in provincial support to help cover wages of new employees who can attest they have been vaccinated, intend to be vaccinated or are unable to be vaccinated. The program has, so far, supported 3,141 employers and up to 14,785 employees.

Essential Air Access – this program involved distributing $11 million in federal funding to support air services to remote communities in 2021/22.

Pandemic Sick Leave – this program provided direct financial assistance to fill gaps between federal programs and current provincial employment standards for paid sick leave. The program provided employers with up to $600 per employee for up to five full days of COVID-19-related sick leave. The Pandemic Sick Leave has issued nearly 6,000 individual payments benefiting over 27,000 employees without a workplace paid sick leave program.

Arts and Culture Sustainability Fund – provided support to organizations in the Arts and Culture Sector negatively affected by COVID-19 and public health order restrictions.

Public health response, PPE and related goods and services

In addition to support for business, non-profit and charity sectors, Manitoba also invested in various COVID-19 goods and services including the incremental public health costs, materials such as personal protective equipment (PPE), investments to support contact tracing and the vaccine program. The following table outlines the forecast expenditures for the health sector related to COVID-19 in 2021/22.

Manitoba COVID-19 Response for Health Sector	$Millions
Funding to Regional Health Authorities	353
Testing, Contact Tracing and Vaccine Delivery	203
Personal Protective Equipment	94
Total	650

Funding to Regional Health Authorities – additional support to regional health authorities including personal care homes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Testing, Contact Tracing and Vaccine Delivery – includes service contracts and site leases.

Personal Protective Equipment – purchasing masks, gowns, gloves etc.

Supports for other sectors

Manitoba also provided additional support to the Kindergarten to Grade 12 education system and continued the Restart Capital program, which launched in 2020/21 with a $500 million commitment toward infrastructure projects to help boost the provincial economy’s recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The following table outlines other forecast expenditure incurred as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response in 2021/22.

Manitoba COVID-19 Other Responses	$Millions
Safe Schools Funding	100
Vaccine Lottery	2
Restart Capital Program – 2021/22 Portion	40
Miscellaneous	52
Total	194

Safe Schools Funding – funding provided for the balance of the 2020/21 school year that ended in the first quarter of 2021/22 and additional funding for COVID-19 related costs in the 2021/22 school year. This includes approximately $7 million in funding dedicated to upgrade ventilation system in Manitoba schools.

Vaccine Lottery – this funding was announced to address vaccine hesitancy through two lottery draws over the summer, including several prizes of $100,000, and 10 draws for $25,000 in scholarships for youth.

MB Restart Capital – the forecast represents the 2021/22 portion of the program that included water and sewage projects through the Municipal Water Services Board and municipal infrastructure priorities. This $500 million, multi-year program, which also included construction and maintenance of roads and highways, started in 2020/21 and continues in 2022/23.