Good afternoon, committee members.
Thank you for inviting the Canadian Chamber here today.
My name is Alla Drigola. I'm the Canadian Chamber's director of parliamentary affairs and SME policy. I'm joined by Patrick Gill, our senior director of tax and financial policy.
The budget contained several good-news items for businesses, including the extension of CEWS and CERS, the enhancement of the Canada small business financing program and the introduction of the new recovery hiring program. These are all critical to helping keep businesses afloat during this ongoing third wave, though we are still missing an important piece of the recovery story, and that is a proactive, clear and positive reopening plan.
Today I want to focus on two key recommendations for short-term needs.
The first is in relation to the missing reopening plan.
Earlier this week the Canadian Chamber and 60 of our fellow business industry associations, including a few of my fellow panellists here, co-signed a letter to the Prime Minister calling for the federal government to work closely with the premiers to develop a clear and consistent pan-Canadian reopening plan, and for the government to work with officials in other countries to set benchmarks that would enable the easing of border restrictions and travel quarantines.
A clear, forward-looking and specific reopening plan is critical to Canada's successful recovery, and must be an immediate priority for governments at all levels.
Our second recommendation is in relation to the CEWS and CERS programs.
Despite the good news in the budget that these programs have been extended, there is significant concern about the gradual phase-out of these programs starting in July. With this change, businesses with more than 70% revenue losses will receive a maximum of only 20% subsidy for both their wages and their rent by September. Businesses in the hardest-hit sectors, including tourism, travel, food services and accommodations, will make up the majority of that group and will need a longer runway for recovery.
Therefore, CEWS and CERS need to be maintained at their current respective 75% and 65% maximum rates through to the fall, and likely even beyond. The rent subsidy program also needs to be expanded to work better for medium-sized businesses and for those with locations in high-cost-of-living areas.
Beyond the transition from pandemic survival to recovery, a number of structural challenges remain that prevent Canada from reaching its full recovery potential.
I will now pass it over to Patrick to speak to some of the Canadian Chamber's recommendations for Canada's medium- and long-term economic recovery.