'We need people back to work': Business owners call for end of federal pandemic benefits
Statistics Canada’s employment numbers are out for August, showing Canada added 90,000 jobs nationally.
This, while businesses in B.C.’s capital region continue to struggle to find employees to fill jobs in all sectors.
In many cases, those business owners are pointing their finger at the federal government’s pandemic support programs, which were extended at the end of July and are currently scheduled to end on Oct. 23 – assuming they’re not extended again.
Christopher Mavrikos is the general manager of Romeo’s on Hillside in Saanich. He is frustrated and in disbelief.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Mavrikos.
The general manager only has two servers on staff, forcing his restaurant to only open five nights a week for dinner dine-in. He has had to cancel his lunch service entirely.
He blames the federal government’s Canada Recovery Benefit, which succeeded the previous Canada Emergency Response Benefit. CERB offered people who lost work because of the pandemic up to $2,000 a month, and the CRB offers an equivalent amount to some workers, though it has been scaled down to $300 per week for most applicants.
“CERB is killing our industry for sure,” said Mavrikos. “You have too many people not working that are fully able and should be working.”
While some workers say wages are too low to survive in the capital region, Mavrikos says his pay is competitive with the rest of the industry, if not above industry standards.
He says he has been seeing applicants who are looking to double-dip – keeping their CRB benefits while returning to work part time – and that is handcuffing his operation.
“Applicants have been coming in who say they can only work so many hours because they know if they pass the threshold of hours, they can’t collect the subsidies on the back end,” said the restaurant manager.
It’s an opinion shared by a professor of economics at the University of Victoria.
“Why would you get back into the labour market if you still think you’ve got some money that you could live off of for the next few months?” said Dr. Mark Colgate, professor of service excellence at UVic.
Colgate says although CRB has been reduced, many are still on it and some have built up savings. That is allowing them to sit on the sidelines, soul search and re-evaluate their employment.
He also points to a lack of immigration throughout the pandemic. In the past, skilled workers would come to Canada and bring family members with them who would end up working in industries like hospitality and tourism.
“They used to bring in family members who would work in those roles as well,” said Colgate. “That’s definitely a shortage that we’re not going to see filled for quite a while.”
It’s not just the service industry that is hurting. Construction is booming and finding workers – from skilled tradesmen to labourers – is becoming a problem.
“Everybody is looking for people,” said Barclay Ellis, president of Trades Labour Corporation of Victoria and Blue Anvil Labour Leasing Services.
“We’re probably operating at 50 per cent.”
His companies provide trades workers to construction companies. They have had to stop taking on new clients because of the shortage of workers, and their clients have been struggling to fill their construction sites themselves.
Similarly, BC Ferries is looking to hire 90 positions within its organization, and BC Transit is also struggling to find staff.
“We’re facing a labour shortage,” said Kevin Schubert, BC Transit’s general manager of Victoria operations
BC Transit offers full benefits, a pension and competitive wages. They are currently undertaking a recruitment campaign and have begun to see some resumes roll in.
“I think if we were at our ideal number today, we’d have another 20 to 25 operators,” said Schubert.
Colgate predicts the situation will get better for employers, but no time soon.
“It’s likely (workers on CRB) will trickle back into the market, but not at the speed we’ll need them,” said Colgate.
With B.C. boasting a 4.3-percent unemployment rate, Mavrikos says it’s time to end the CRB entirely, at least in B.C.
“In a regional sense, it’s not needed here,” said Mavrikos. “We need people back to work.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Demonstrators kicked out of Ontario legislature for disruption after failed keffiyeh vote
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
Thieves use stolen forklift to rip cash machine out of U.K. bank
Police in the U.K. are searching for a group of suspects seen on video using a forklift to steal a cash machine from a bank.
'There was a lot of black smoke': Crane operator sounds alarm while trapped during highrise fire in Halifax
A tower crane operator alerted emergency crews after noticing a fire on a construction site in Halifax Tuesday morning.