Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for demonstrating that we have all been working together to make sure we make the wage subsidy a tool that works for businesses. During these consultations, we went across the country and worked with members and even senators to better understand how this program could work better for employers and also to make sure workers were protected and could go back to their jobs.
As we held these consultations with the business and labour representatives to ensure that any changes to the CEWS would be responsive to their needs, during these consultations we heard that the CEWS was invaluable in keeping workers on the payroll and helping to bring workers back. Many ideas were shared on how the design of the CEWS could be made better and more responsive.
We heard that the 30% revenue test was too strict and could discourage growth. We heard that the most affected sectors needed more support. We heard that employers continued to require support and the extension to August 29 would not be enough for some employers to get back on their feet.
The decision was made to further extend until December and make sure that there are different periods that would help the different businesses to have access to the now new proposed changes, and we hope members will support that.