Nearly one million Canadians applied for unemployment benefits in the past week, as sweeping COVID-19-related business shutdowns deliver an unprecedented blow to the country’s work force.

A source familiar with the data confirmed that the government received an estimated 929,000 Employment Insurance claims in the week of March 16-22 – a week in which a dramatic escalation of social-isolation requirements across the country forced many businesses to either sharply curtail their operations or shut down entirely.

Those EI filings represent roughly 5 percent of all employees in the country – and imply that the national unemployment rate may have nearly doubled in just seven days.

The numbers of layoffs could surge again in the coming days, as the country’s two most populous provinces, Ontario and Quebec, will institute new rules requiring businesses deemed non-essential to close their doors as of midnight Tuesday night.

The numbers come as MPs gather in Ottawa to debate an emergency economic aid plan that would provide billions to help businesses and displaced workers weather the increasingly severe shutdowns forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the efforts by policy makers to contain the spread of the disease. The government is hoping to receive passage of the bill later today.

“Passing this bill today means getting you the support you deserve as soon as possible. When you’re trying to help get money out to people, speed is of the essence, especially in an unprecedented situation like this one,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in his daily press conference Tuesday morning.

“We recognize that the demand is massive across the country,” he said. “We are working very, very hard to be able to flow money to people very rapidly.”

More to come

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