The mantra for the Liberal government through the last six months has been the promise to provide whatever help is necessary to support Canadians in the face of massive job losses, mandated lockdowns, and a growing debt and deficit. While those promises have come at a ballooning cost, it has been a successful political strategy for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government to keep pressing ahead with these programs.
The latest move in this strategy was to extend income support to members of the public whose employment was impacted by COVID-19 through a series of new programs that would replace the CERB. Legislation to implement these programs, Bill C-2, was introduced this past week and serves as the first major “money bill” the government has tabled since prorogation.
Bill C-2 proposes to create three new recovery benefits to further extend income support to Canadians and shows the power of the NDP to impact government policy on income supports in this minority Parliament. The Canada Recovery Benefit opens up income support to self-employed and gig workers who aren’t eligible for EI; the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit offers two weeks of paid sick leave to workers; and, the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit provides income support up to 26 weeks to care for kids and family members.
Getting this on the docket quickly was necessary to avoid a gap in benefits that could be created should the government’s spending authority expire as planned on September 30, 2020. The consequences of voting against this legislation was laid bare by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland: “Failure to extend the legislation we are putting forward today could disrupt these payments, with very harmful consequences for people’s lives, for families, and for businesses across the country.” Given the tight time frame between introduction of C-2 and the end of spending, it was also clear the government needed to find a political dance partner quickly in order to pass the bill and keep providing support to the public during a national emergency.
The benefits originally proposed offered $400 per week to recipients, which would be $100 less per week than people were getting on CERB. Following the Throne Speech, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh demanded the government increase the amount paid out under the new suite of programs, including EI, to the level Canadians were receiving from CERB — $500 per week. Singh demanded those changes in exchange for agreeing to support the government on the confidence vote in the House of Commons that will accompany debate on the speech from the throne. Now, both parties win: the Liberals avoid an election and pass C-2, while the NDP gets to claim credit for the concessions they got from the government.
While C-2’s measures are currently viewed as temporary, many are wondering whether or not continued cooperation between the NDP and the Liberals on income support could see the government consider a Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) for Canadians. COVID-19 has hit low-income Canadians particularly hard, and given the political success of CERB, the case for a livable income has perhaps never been as strong as it is now. The government may also be able to stem criticism around winding down existing benefits by touting a GBI in its place.
For their part, members of the Liberal Caucus have made GBI its top policy resolution for discussion and deliberation at their next National Convention, set to take place in April 2021. But it’s possible the government may preempt that discussion and pursue the policy more quickly with the backing of the NDP, as a GBI has been on their priority list for some time. With a Spring budget (and potentially, an election) around the corner, we should know soon whether or not the Liberals and NDP will keep playing ball together to see this particular policy through.
