MP William Amos on the COVID-19 federal relief plan 

On March 26, the Government of Canada approved a $107 billion relief package intended to help Canadians pay for their short-term necessities and to shoulder the effects of COVID-19 on the national economy.

Bill C-13, the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, which includes $55 million in tax-deferrals, features a 10 per cent wage subsidy for small businesses for three months, paying up to $1,350 per employee and $25,000 per employer.

It also includes a Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), which grants a taxable benefit of $2,000 per month to workers affected by the pandemic – meaning people who have lost their jobs, people who are sick or are taking care of someone who’s sick, people who are quarantined, parents not working because they’re taking care of their kids and people forced out of school because of COVID-19 related closures. CERB is also available to workers who aren’t eligible for Employment Insurance (EI).

To support low- and medium-income families, the feds also delivered $5.5 billion in GST credit, while also using $2 billion to help over 3 million families with Canada Child Benefit payments. The government also pressed pause on all student loan payments for six months.

The agri-food sector will also benefit, noting that the government has dedicated $5 billion to Farm Credit Canada (FCC) to provide more flexibility for farmers’ credit loans that will allow for payment deferrals of up to six months.

Citizens interested in getting some financial relief can apply for different programs, such as CERB, on the Government of Canada’s website:

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan/covid19-individuals.html

For Pontiac MP Will Amos, who was in the House of Commons debating the bill from noon on March 25 until 6:00 am the next day, the most important thing is that everything finally got done. “This was an important bill,” he said. “We’re talking about $107 billion in tax-paying dollars being set up to protect Canadians, to protect our families, our workers, our businesses.”

Amos explained that the main reason for discontent among the opposing party was a stipulation in the law – before it was passed - that would’ve granted the Liberals the power to raise and lower taxes without parliamentary approval. Ultimately, it was quickly removed from the bill without much debate, Amos said. “It’s good and appropriate that our government was open to opposition-party input and it was good and appropriate that, even before the bill was tabled, the aspects that the opposition deemed contentious were removed,” he said.

Happy with what the bill provides so far, Amos noted that the situation is constantly evolving and that the government will implement more measures to help Canadians deal with the financial costs of the pandemic in the coming weeks. “

Amos pointed to the CERB as a clear example of the federal government’s help to Canadians who have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, notably families and small businesses. He added that support for small businesses is an important issue in the Pontiac that he’s working very hard to address. 

But with so many people needing help as soon as possible, Amos stressed the importance of patience because the government will be overwhelmed with applications in the coming weeks. “We’re talking about millions of applications,” he said. “This is not something the government is built for.”

Considering the economic and societal impact of the pandemic, Amos admitted that the last few weeks have been the most difficult so far as an MP. Now working from home like most Canadians, Amos said he will do everything in his power to help Canadians deal with the financial toll COVID-19 will have taken on the nation when it’s all said and done.