Madam Chair, I recently heard quite a troubling story.
The person who told the story does not qualify for the CERB. He is unemployed, and he does not qualify for employment insurance either. He lives on social assistance. He gets $700 per month, and rent costs him $600. He has $100 left to live on every month. Luckily, he has friends and family. If the benefit were universal, he would not be in that situation.
There is something else that can be done, something else we have been asking for. The federal government could suspend mortgage payments. That would provide relief to this individual's landlord, and then a temporary suspension or reduction of rent payments could be negotiated, thus enabling the individual to buy groceries.