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
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.