Tuesday March 24, 2020 ~ NATIONAL
~ West Shore Voice News
The NDP is proposing that money be delivered directly to Canadians and a further wage subsidy to employers in order to stabilize people’s lives as the community spread of COVID-19 ramps up.
Other countries are taking this approach of providing direct assistance to all and increasing the wage subsidy to keep workers in their jobs.
Yesterday NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh made those requests, calling on the Liberal government to cut the administrative burden by providing direct assistance to everyone in Canada and follow the lead of other counties by implementing a firing freeze by increasing its wage subsidy to businesses in order to protect Canadians from losing their jobs.
A special meeting of Parliament will take place today Tuesday March 24 (starting at 9 am Pacific Time) to pass emergency legislation to get funding flowing to Canadians at this financially uncertain time.
Due to social distancing requirements, and the fact that Parliament was not in session, only 32 MPs will take part in Tuesday’s emergency session in the House of Commons.
Another usual piece is that MPs were chosen for this exercise if they were within driving distance of Ottawa; partly this is because of strained availability of commercial air flights during COVID-19. The composition of the special session today will be 13 Liberals, 11 Conservatives, three NDP, three Bloc Quebecois, and 1 Green.
“People are understandably worried about how they’re going to pay their bills and feed their families. And while it’s a good first step, the help the Liberals have put together will only come in weeks, if not months,” said Singh.
Here on South Vancouver Island, Member of Parliament Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan-Malahat-Langford) added: “People paying their rent this week need help in the next few days, not in weeks from now. The government needs to provide direct assistance to all Canadians and Indigenous people right now.”
“With 37 confirmed cases of COVID-19 now on Vancouver Island, people are understandably concerned about keeping their jobs, paying the bills, and keeping their loved ones safe. The federal government must step up, now, to help Canadians in this unprecedented moment of need,” MacGregor said yestreday.
The NDP is asking for the government to send a cheque in the amount of $2,000 – with an additional $250 per child – to all Canadians and Indigenous people right away. In addition, the NDP is also asking the government to increase the wage subsidy to above 75% of an employee’s salary like other countries have done. In exchange, companies will need to make a commitment to not layoff their workers.
“Tens of thousands of Canadians have already been laid-off and many more are worried about losing their jobs. Businesses have been clear, the government’s wage subsidy of 10% will not be enough to prevent layoffs,” said Singh.
“To save these jobs and to make sure workers continue to get paid, the government need to step up and offer a bigger wage subsidy like other countries have done. We shouldn’t wait for more people to lose their jobs before taking the next steps. Let’s do what needs to be done and implement a firing freeze right now.”
MacGregor added by saying, “We’re seeing layoffs here on Vancouver Island, from the hospitality sector to our regional libraries. Canadians expect that at such a difficult time, our federal government has their best interests in mind, and are taking the necessary steps to protect workers and their families.”
Key Facts:
• Just a few examples of big job losses last week:
o Fiat Chrysler – 8,900 workers out of work
o Cirque de Soleil – 4,769 workers out of work
o Irving Shipyard – 1,100 workers out of work
o Casinos in Ontario – 17,600 workers out of work
o Porter Air – 1,500 workers out of work
o Ford Canada – 6,000 workers out of work
o GM Canada – 3,740 workers out of work
o Air Canada – 5,000 workers out of work
• New Zealand, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom and France have already made a move to implement a similar wage subsidy to protect their workers.
• Hong Kong, Italy, Spain and France have all provided their people with assistance to help them pay their bills.