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Results: 1231 - 1234 of 1234
View Gabriel Ste-Marie Profile
BQ (QC)
My question is for Andrew Marsland, from the Department of Finance.
The wage subsidy is for businesses whose revenues have decreased by 30% compared to the same month last year. However, this measure immediately excludes young businesses that didn't exist last year, businesses that experienced strong growth in the past year and many start-ups, even though their work activity just dropped by 30%.
Yesterday, at the briefing with the officials, we heard that the criteria would be applied in a flexible manner. No specific details were provided. However, people won't take back their staff until they know for sure that they're eligible.
In practical terms, how will this program apply to these businesses?
Andrew Marsland
View Andrew Marsland Profile
Andrew Marsland
2020-04-02 15:52
It's Andrew Marsland, Mr. Chair.
The member raises a very good point about new firms. The backgrounder we released yesterday notes that the first rule is to compare month over month, year over year, so March 2020 to March 2019 and so on. We did note that for employers established after February 2019, eligibility will be determined by comparing monthly revenues to a reasonable benchmark. We certainly have to provide more direction on that, but we do understand that for new firms there is a particular issue with using a historical benchmark.
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
Mr. Chair, I have a comment and then a question.
Since all members of Parliament have identified issues with the current program, I think that we must look at the possibility of implementing a universal benefit for everyone.
There's also the matter of a “courage benefit” for front-line workers who are currently on the job, such as cleaners and nurses. I'm talking about all the people who work in these areas.
If legislative changes are needed for the Canada workers benefit to put in place the courage wage, the courage benefit, or to ensure this universality of benefit programs, we will have that opportunity in the next week if Parliament is reconvened. The message from many MPs is to look at that and to look at those changes for when Parliament, in its reduced form, reconvenes. That's my comment.
My questions are around the wage subsidy and non-profit charities and municipal institutions. I have two questions.
First, will the government be flexible in interpreting revenue sources around charities and non-profits? The month-to-month variation may well not work for them.
Second, municipal institutions, such as libraries and museums, seem to have been pushed aside because they do receive public funds through municipal funding. Is the government considering—I hope it is—ensuring that municipal institutions can also receive funding through this wage subsidy? For many municipal governments this is an extremely difficult time as well.
Andrew Marsland
View Andrew Marsland Profile
Andrew Marsland
2020-04-02 15:55
It's Andrew Marsland from the Department of Finance.
The question does identify a particular challenge in terms of non-profits and charities. The government indicated yesterday that it will work with this sector to ensure that the definition of revenue is appropriate to these specific circumstances. One can imagine that many non-profits and charities don't enjoy a continual flow of funds, that their funding might be periodic with fundraising drives and so on and other sources of funding. We are engaging with the sector to understand how the subsidy could be adapted to respond to the particular challenges it has.
In terms of municipal institutions, the line that was identified yesterday was really around where entities are publicly funded and receive most of their funds from taxpayers at one level of government or another, and where the challenges are perhaps distinct from those faced by businesses and non-profits and charities that do not.
Results: 1231 - 1234 of 1234 | Page: 83 of 83

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