The federal government’s proposed wage subsidy legislation has been passed into law after receiving royal assent.
A small group of MPs gathered Saturday for an emergency House of Commons sitting to debate Bill C-14. It was later passed by members of the Senate.
Addressing the House during the start of the debate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said all Canadians have a role to play as the country confronts the COVID-19 crisis.
Trudeau touched on the efforts of many Canadians during the First and Second World Wars and said while this battle is not a war, it does not make this fight any less dangerous.
“There is no front line marked with barbed wire, no soldiers to be deployed across the ocean, no enemy combatants. Instead, the front line is everywhere. In our homes, in our hospitals and care centres, in our grocery stores and pharmacies, at our truck stops and gas stations, and the people who work in these places are our modern-day heroes,” said Trudeau.
“Without reservation, without pause, we must fight for every inch of ground against this disease. We must be there for one another as we spare no effort to safeguard our collective future,” Trudeau urged.
Outgoing Conservative leader Andrew Scheer gave several examples of where his party called for improvements to the program – and received them.
“When the government first announced a 10 per cent wage subsidy, Conservatives and small business owners across this country raised concerns. … so we pushed for a significant increase. A few days later, the wage subsidy was raised to 75 per cent,” said Scheer.
“The need to show a 30 per cent revenue decrease to qualify for the wage subsidy meant too many new and seasonal businesses didn’t qualify. We raised this concern and now there is more flexibility. And this week we rolled up our sleeves and worked with the government to ensure that businesses have the certainty they need to keep their employees on the payroll,” Scheer explained.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh thanked the Liberal government for working with the opposition parties to develop the legislation.
But Singh said more needs to be done to help all Canadians and called on the government to scrap the criteria for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.
“The current system discourages people who need help from applying because they still have some income or they don’t meet all the criteria,” said Singh.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Saturday businesses should expect to see funds within two to five weeks.
