Thank you, Mr. Chair.
As you know, my name is Susanna Cluff-Clyburne and I hold the small and medium business file at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. I'll be sharing my time this afternoon with my colleague, Leah Nord, who is the director of workforce strategies and inclusive growth at the chamber.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small and medium businesses and the government's response to it.
Today’s March employment data from Statistics Canada lays out a sobering picture of just how badly Canadians and the businesses that employ them are being hit by this crisis. With small and medium businesses providing nearly 90% of all private sector employment in Canada, we know they are being hit the hardest. However, we didn’t need today’s data to tell us that. All of us are hearing from SMEs every day about how this crisis is, or will be, affecting them if they don’t get help.
We are impressed at the rapid response of the federal government to the COVID-19 crisis. We are also heartened by the co-operation of parliamentarians from all parties on getting done what needs to be done to get income assistance to Canadians and tools to businesses to help them get through and out of this crisis in the best possible shape.
Income support programs for individuals appear to be working well. The Canada emergency response benefit proves what government can do. It is a testament to the will of the government and the hard work of public servants to get desperately needed help to Canadians.
Not surprisingly, at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce what we hear most about, though, are programs targeted to businesses. Of those, the emergency wage subsidy has caused the most confusion and concern. We’re relieved that the government has listened to the concerns businesses had first with the level of the subsidy and more recently with the eligibility criteria.
Yesterday, we learned of welcome changes to the program that would see many more businesses able to benefit from it. We are particularly relieved that the government clarified that not-for-profit organizations and registered charities are eligible employers for the subsidy and announced flexibility for them in reporting their revenues. This will help organizations like chambers of commerce and many others to keep serving those who rely upon them.
However, there remain some hurdles to be cleared before employers and employees can begin to benefit from the subsidy. The first is recalling Parliament as soon as possible to pass the required legislation. The second is getting the assistance to eligible employers. This needs to be done in a matter of days, not weeks. In weeks many businesses simply won’t be there. There is also the harsh reality that if your business has been ordered to close to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and you are employing nobody as a result, this subsidy will not save your business or your employees’ jobs.
Programs introduced to provide access to more capital for entrepreneurs involve them accumulating more debt when their businesses are failing through no fault of their own. Some of those that are in a position to take on more debt, for example, through the Canada emergency business account, are finding themselves unable to qualify for reasons that quite simply don’t make sense.
One small business in Alberta that employs far fewer than the 100 employee definition of a medium-sized business has a payroll that exceeds the $1 million limit by $13,000, so it cannot qualify. It's laying off staff and cutting back on its operations rather than hiring additional staff for its busy season as it had hoped. If an incentive to make it as easy as possible for businesses to qualify for support programs and to get that help to them while they’re still around to use it ever existed, today’s employment data is surely it.
We ask that Parliament rapidly reconvene and approve the Canada emergency wage subsidy and we urge the government to get those urgently needed funds moving to businesses now.
I'll now turn it over to Leah.