Canadian business owners and advocates say the expiration of federal compensation programs for COVID-19 this weekend is coming too soon. They say uncertainty about future pandemic waves remains high.
As of Saturday, all the latest aid announced last fall, including targeted wage and rent subsidy programs and a $ 300 a week benefit to block workers in Canada, is no longer available, despite what owners say is still urgent need.
“The props were the only reason I was still open,” said Summer Baird, owner of the Hintonburg Public House restaurant and bar in Ottawa.
“With every new wave or new option, there is a lot of uncertainty, because they tell everyone to stay at home and go out only if necessary. Still, we are expected to be completely open and run a normal business, which doesn’t really make much sense to me.
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Although restrictions on eating out have been lifted, mostly in Ontario and every other province, Baird says its sales remain between 40 and 60 percent of what it earned before the pandemic.
Many people remain uncomfortable eating indoors, so she looks forward to opening the patio to boost sales. But she says she still faces staffing problems and high food costs due to inflation.
1:53 Emergency benefits for COVID-19 in Canada end Emergency benefits for COVID-19 in Canada end
The loss of subsidies means that Baird will even consider a victory.
“I want them extended for a few more months,” she said. “The level of comfort (for the people who eat inside) is not there yet.
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“I don’t think the government really understands that. I mean, they have to cut the cable at some point, and I can appreciate that, but I don’t think we’re still there.”
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The federal government was explicit when it launched the latest subsidy programs in October. They will expire on May 7.
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These programs, the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program and the Most Disabled Business Recovery Program, were designed to be more targeted substitutes for the wider Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and the Canadian Emergency Rental Subsidy CERS), introduced shortly after the pandemic caused widespread blockades in early 2020.
These earlier programs included government payments of more than $ 100 billion to businesses to help with salaries, rents, mortgages and other expenses. An additional $ 7.4 billion has been allocated to replacement programs.
Saturday was also the last day of other programs that were extended in October, including the Canadian Disease Recovery Assistance, the Canadian Rehabilitation Aid and the Canada Rehabilitation Program.
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Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), says 60 percent of companies are still doing less than before the pandemic. Medium-sized businesses are also burdened with $ 160,000 in new debt from the past two years, which he says can only be repaid with higher profits.
“Yes, customers are starting to come back. The roads are busier again. “The parking lots are starting to fill up,” he said. “But businesses don’t just have to go back to normal income levels… they actually have to make more profit than before the pandemic in order to get rid of (debt).”
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He says the CFIB estimates that 180,000 businesses – one in six across the country – will be shut down forever due to the damage suffered during the pandemic, without additional financial assistance. Nearly 100,000 have been closed in the last two years, he added.
“Governments have the opportunity to help us move to the other side of this,” he said.
“The great news is that most Canadian companies are already open and most of the restrictions on COVID have disappeared. That’s great. But we are not done with that yet. “
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In a statement, a spokeswoman for the office of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Christia Freeland said the benefits were no longer needed due to Canada’s economic recovery.
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As of April, 115 percent of jobs lost during the pandemic had been restored – compared to 95 percent of US real GDP, which is more than one percent higher than before the pandemic.
Canada’s unemployment rate is now 5.2%, the lowest in five decades, but still higher than half of the G7 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan.
“With our economy in this situation, the time for extraordinary support for COVID is over,” said spokeswoman Adrienne Vaupshas.
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Other benefits programs remain in place to help businesses in the long run, including the $ 700 million Canadian Job and Growth Fund, the $ 500 million Tourism Assistance Fund and Canada’s Digital Adoption Program. $ 4 billion to help businesses be online.
But Kelly says these programs will not help businesses immediately in the way COVID-specific support does.
He says Ottawa needs to forgive most of the interest-free loans that businesses receive through Canada’s federal government emergency account. They must be paid by the end of this year.
Baird says he hopes the government will intervene and reintroduce support programs or offer similar assistance if another wave of pandemics forces provinces to reintroduce restrictions.
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“Otherwise, I just have to keep trying to come up with creative ways to stay open and build people’s comfort levels in my space,” she said.
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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