The New Democratic Party (NDP) released a proposal yesterday to cut the administrative load and give direct support to Canadians as well as increase wage subsidies to protect Canadians from losing their jobs throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.
The proposal calls on the federal government to give a $2,000 cheque to every Canadian and Indigenous person, and $250 per child, right away.
They also want the federal government to increase the wage subsidy to over 75 per cent of an employee’s salary, while making sure companies do not layoff their workers.
As shut-downs become deeper and longer-lasting, we need urgent action to help Canadians make ends meet
We’re calling on the government to move quickly on 8 measures to help people now:
1. Immediate assistance to all Canadians – $2,000 per adult and $250 per child
— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) March 24, 2020
“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,” Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the NDP said in a press release.
“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.”
Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed an $82 billion package to help Canadians throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, $5 billion of which is to support workers who are not eligible for employment insurance, and have been laid off.
When Trudeau revealed the package, Singh already had some concerns about how long it would take for Canadians to get some money.
According to Radio-Canada, the federal government received about 929,000 applications for employment insurance last week.
As of Tuesday morning, there are 2,100 confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 in Canada.
With files from Radio-Canada, Mathieu Gohier, CBC News, and Kathleen Harris
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