The last remaining emergency benefits for COVID-19 in Canada expire today, and the federal government says it has no plans to renew its unprecedented support programs created in response to the pandemic.
The office of Finance Minister Christie Freeland says the rapid growth of jobs in Canada and the record low unemployment rate are proof that continued support for the pandemic will not be needed after May 7.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, our relentless focus has been on jobs – keeping Canadians working and keeping their employers afloat,” Freeland spokeswoman Adrienne Vaupshas said in an email.
“With our economy in this situation, the time for extraordinary support for COVID is over,” Vaupshas added, echoing a declaration made by Freeland during its presentation on the 2022 budget in April.
Public health officials also say they are cautiously optimistic about signs that transmission levels are declining.
Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Chief Public Health Officer Dr Teresa Tam said Canada was experiencing a “reduction in transmission in many areas”. Some indicators, such as virus levels in wastewater, show that the Omicron wave “shows signs of a potential plateau,” Tam added.
“Our ability to spend is not infinite. The time for extraordinary support for COVID is over, “Finance Minister Christia Freeland said on April 7th. (Justin Tang / The Canadian Press)
The expiration of benefits means that workers will no longer be paid by the government if they have to isolate themselves due to a positive COVID test or if they have to leave work to care for a child due to illness or the closure of pandemic-related schools.
A program for workers forced to leave their jobs due to local blockages also ends today.
Programs designed to support severely affected companies, such as those that subsidize part of employees’ salaries, are also coming to an end.
The following programs are among those that expire on May 7:
- Benefits for blocking workers in Canada
- Canadian sickness benefit
- Rehabilitation Care Benefits for Canada
- Canadian Hiring Recovery Program
- Program for the restoration of tourism and hospitality
- The hardest hit business recovery program
Applications for these programs can be submitted retroactively and will continue to be accepted by the government after May 7. Applicants for workers’ benefits have 60 days to submit their claims, while companies have 180 days.
Workers still “live and exist in a pandemic”
Alice Stewart, a representative of the Fisheries, Food and Allied Workers’ Unions in Newfoundland and Labrador, said Ottawa’s decision to discontinue the benefits ignored the continuing disruption of the pandemic in Canada’s Atlantic fisheries sector.
She described a wave of infections passing through processing plants, which have just increased during the busy summer season.
Most workers at these facilities do not have access to paid sick leave, Stewart said, forcing them to choose between self-isolation and lack of pay or going to work while ill.
“For us, it’s kind of like this perfect storm where those benefits end while we’re just experiencing our own wave in these rural communities,” Stewart told CBC News.
“For our members and certainly for our rural communities, it is still time for emergency measures because we continue to live and exist in a pandemic.
Small businesses are struggling with debt
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business also warns that the end of business-oriented support could make it harder for start-ups to get back on their feet.
“Whether the support ending this weekend is still the right support is probably a good debate we can have,” said Corinne Polman, senior vice president of national affairs at CFIB.
Only 40 percent of small businesses have returned to pre-pandemic revenue levels, said Corinne Polman, vice president of national affairs at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. (Candian Federation of Independent Business)
She said the expiration of benefits today may be appropriate, but she called on Ottawa to consider additional long-term support for businesses that have accumulated large amounts of debt during the pandemic.
The group specifically wants to see Ottawa forgive half of all debts acquired through Canada’s emergency business accounts program and extend the repayment period by an additional year until December 31, 2023.
The average debt of small businesses now stands at $ 140,000, according to the CFIB, and businesses in sectors such as the arts and hospitality are even deeper in the red.
“We still have to think about how we can help these hard-hit businesses that are struggling with debts that they had to accumulate through no fault of their own,” Polman said.
Add Comment