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
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks beat Oilers 5-4 in comeback to take Game 1
The Vancouver Canucks won the first game of their NHL playoffs series with the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 on Wednesday night coming back from a three-goal deficit.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.