Calgary Chamber urging Ottawa to extend COVID-19 benefits past Saturday
The Calgary Chamber of Commerce is urging the federal government to continue supporting hard hit businesses during the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Five pandemic support programs end on Saturday, including three programs that offer assistance to individuals and two that offer support for businesses.
They include: Canada recovery benefit (CRB), Canada recovery sickness benefit (CRSB), Canada recovery caregiver benefit (CRCB), Canada emergency rent subsidy (CERS) and the Canada emergency wage subsidy (CEWS).
The programs can be extended into November without introducing new legislation.
“We’re still in this fourth wave, we still can’t operate at capacity with certainty. Until that is possible we do need to continue supporting our smaller businesses across the country, not just Alberta,” said Deborah Yedlin, president and CEO, Calgary Chamber of Commerce.
Yedlin said in a survey of Calgary’s business community conducted earlier this year, 70 per cent of businesses indicated they received at least one form of government support, primarily federal support.
She said the chamber wrote a letter to the federal finance minister asking for an extension to support programs.
“We urged them to have the supports in place because businesses still require further assistance until the worst of the pandemic is behind us and that we have the vaccination standards that enable them to open up at capacity and with certainty.”
Yedlin said the chamber did not set a timeline in terms of how long the programs should be in place but Ottawa should consider extending them at least to the end of the year or first quarter of next year.
A new study from the Angus Reid Institute asks people what they think should happen to the benefits program.
“There’s definitely a trend that we’re seeing now that indicates Canadians are of a view that we should be looking towards tapering down and turning off the pandemic related emergency benefits,” said Shachi Kurl, president, Angus Reid Institute.
The study found two-in-five Canadians (41 per cent) say now is the time for the programs to end. That includes almost three-in-10 who received benefits themselves.
Another 16 per cent say the end of the year makes more sense to cancel benefits.
The study finds two-thirds of Canadians say the programs should not extend past June 2022, that would be two years after the pandemic began.
“The federal government has to make a decision very soon over how long they’re going to be extending benefits and which benefits will be extended,” said Kurl.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Is it cold, flu or norovirus? Symptoms explained
The highly contagious norovirus is spreading across Canada, with some symptoms overlapping with other viruses. CTVNews.ca spoke with a health expert to find out how you can tell you have norovirus, the most common form of stomach flu, and what to do if you have it.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Anger can harm your blood vessel function, study shows
Stress and anger can have a negative impact on cardiovascular health, studies have shown. New research points to just how the mechanism may work.
Ontario's police watchdog continues probe of high-speed pursuit involving fatal crash
The investigation continues into a collision that killed two grandparents and their infant grandchild during a high-speed police chase on the wrong way of Highway 401 east of Toronto.
Ontario woman surprised after 20-year-old fines suddenly tank credit score
An Ontario woman says that she was shocked when fines from 20 years ago suddenly tanked her credit score last week, but the situation may not be as unusual as it seems, according to at least one debt expert.
Search continues for 'armed man' in Dartmouth, N.S.
Police say they continue to search for an armed man who allegedly threatened people in Dartmouth, N.S.
Swarm of bees delays Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles game in Arizona. An 'MVP' beekeeper came to the rescue
Major League Baseball fans had an unexpected buzz on Tuesday after a swarm of bees delayed the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game for around two hours.
Newfoundland fisherman says police broke his leg during protest that delayed budget
Richard Martin is spending this year's fishing season on land after he says a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer broke his left leg in three places during a protest last month that shut down the provincial legislature.
It's opening day for the $34B Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion
Wednesday marks the official start date of the long-awaited $34-billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project.