While the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit and changes to Employment Insurance were finalized quickly, it is the wage subsidy program that should have been implemented first.
During the financial crash of 2008, Germany implemented a similar program, and it was very successful. This program, called the Kurzarbeit—German for “short-work”— had been in place since the early 1900’s as a worker protection and because it was already set up and ready to go, is credited for Germany’s relatively swift recovery from the financial crash.
The 1 million jobs lost could have been completely avoided if the wage subsidy program was already in place.
The program should also be expanded to cover those that fall through the cracks such as students looking to gain summer work and gig economy workers who are often self employed.
If the current government wants to avoid monstrous job loss figures in the future, the current wage subsidy program should be expanded and bolstered up to catch those who fall through the cracks. This way, when the next pandemic hits, or the next recession happens, we will be prepared and the program will already be in place.