No Canadian, including temporary foreign workers, permanent residents and international students, should be denied aid during the COVID-19 pandemic. It would be impossible to create a criteria for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) which will not leave unemployed Canadians without the help they need.
Instead of spending time and resources reviewing applications, it should be spent ensuring every Canadian in need has a way to receive funds, whether through direct deposit or paper cheque. This should include people who were not working before the COVID-19 outbreak, specifically graduating students who are trying to enter the workforce.
There would be no need to put an extra $100 million into food banks across the country if nobody was denied financial aid. There would be no surge in traffic at food banks if every Canadian who is out of work is given money to spend. Their money would be spent at grocery stores and local businesses and it would circulate through the economy — lessening the severity of the looming recession.
The CERB will leave many Canadians unsure how they will pay their May rent and feed their families. With no end in sight, this can leave people desperate and lead to people disregarding social distancing rules to keep their income flowing. Some freelancers and gig workers are still uncertain whether they will get help from the federal government. To be eligible, you have to have earned $5,000 in 2019 and lost all income because of COVID-19. This means a person who works multiple jobs and lost one is not able to get support, even if they are forced to choose between rent or groceries because of it.
If the federal government did not deny people aid, there would be no need for rental aid programs. Money could continue to circulate and not leave landlords and tenants in uncertainty. Giving money to Canadians is the best way to ensure renters and landlords get through the crisis and come out of it stable. Landlords can be anyone from big companies to retired people who rely on their rental income — if renters are given money to keep paying rent, everyone will be better off in the end.
B.C is the only province providing renters with financial aid. Albertans know they won’t be evicted for missing rent in April, but beyond that, there is very little help. We have never seen an event that caused as much collective uncertainty and anxiety as this — people should not have to worry about where grocery and rent money is coming from.
Students without a summer job to go to or those who cannot enter the work force upon graduation are left out of the CERB if they did not work through the school year or make $5,000 at a summer job. This is a huge oversight from the government and needs to be fixed. Many students who cannot pay rent or survive on their own will be forced to move home in a time when travel is not recommended.
No person who applies for the CERB should be denied. People who fall behind on rent, specifically in Alberta, will be punished come July, when late fees and rent can be collected retroactively. Denying people aid money will create problems that can be avoided by making sure everyone is taken care of now.