Kerri Neuburger of Abbotsford, B.C. had been waiting for details on the federal government’s transition from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) with unusual trepidation.
The 44-year old human resources and accounting professional says she lost her job in a corporate restructuring just weeks before the novel coronavirus pandemic began to spread across North America.
She made an Employment Insurance claim and started looking for jobs, but just when she was about to sign up for a new position, she says the lockdown came into effect, and the prospective employer rescinded the offer.
Like thousands of others, Neuburger had to use up her all EI benefits before moving onto the CERB. This meant that, while usually eligible for regular unemployment benefits, she won’t be able to make another EI claim once the emergency benefits program runs out.
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In the run-up to Thursday’s announcement, Neuburger and many others in her situation had taken to social media to ask: Would the federal government remember about them when laying out plans for the transition after CERB?
As of Friday morning, though, Neuburger says she can breathe easy.
“Pretty much what everybody’s feeling is relief right now,” she says.
1:57 Federal government unveils CERB transition plan
Federal government unveils CERB transition plan
An official from the office of Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough confirmed to Global News that Canadians who were already on EI as the lockdown started in mid-March and have exhausted benefits will be able to transition to the new Canada Recovery Benefit if they continue to be unable to find employment due to COVID-19.
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The benefit will provide $400 a week for up to 26 weeks, or roughly six months. Recipients will have an obligation to be available for work and look for employment while on the benefit.
The new benefits program will be available for self-employed Canadians and others who don’t qualify for EI, including those in Neuburger’s situation, according to Qualtrough’s office.
Recipients will be able to earn up to $38,000 in annual net income from employment or self-employment while receiving payments. Beyond that threshold, they will have to repay 50 cents for every additional dollar earned, like EI recipients need to do when working while on claim.
The Canada Recovery Benefit is part of three new benefits program Ottawa envisions in the aftermath of CERB to cover workers who don’t have access to EI. The Liberals also plan to create a Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit for parents taking care of children who can’t go to daycare or school and a Canada Recovery Sickness benefits for those who don’t have paid sick leave. All three programs would remain in force for one year after the CERB ends.
Ottawa’s temporary social safety-net expansion also includes a four-week extension of CERB eligibility and temporary changes that would make EI more generous and easy to access.s
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Anyone eligible for EI will get a minimum benefit of $400 a week for at least 26 weeks and will need to have worked 120 hours to qualify, well below current EI requirements, since many Canadians have been unable to work due to the pandemic.
The overall plan is expected to cost taxpayers a fresh $37 billion in funding.
1:26 Coronavirus: CERB transition to new benefits, EI changes expected to cost $37B
Coronavirus: CERB transition to new benefits, EI changes expected to cost $37B
Neuburger says her only concern now is whether the Liberal government will be able to adopt the sweeping changes with a minority government.
“People are just worried that, come September 23rd, it’s not going to pass,” she says.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has prorogued parliament until Sept. 23 following the resignation of Bill Morneau as federal finance minister and the WE Charity scandal.
The uncertainty surrounding whether and how the Liberals will be able to adopt the new measures is “a big caveat,” says Ricardo Tranjan, a senior researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
“At the end of September, in a scenario where the Liberals do not get a vote of confidence, we don’t know what’s going to happen to workers,” he says.
Sources who have been briefed on the government’s plan say the new income supports will be created through regulations, rather than legislation, the Canadian Press has reported.
For small business owners, the uncertainty created by the plan revolves around whether they’ll be able to hire enough part-time staff as they’re allowed to reopen, according to Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
“CFIB’s biggest concern is that a worker can now collect $400 per week for a half-year if they’ve been working a part-time job with three hours a week (or less),” Kelly told Global News in emailed comments.
Neuburger, for her part, hopes she may not even need to tap the new benefits program after all.
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After sending out more than 300 resumes, Neuburger says she landed a job interview just as the Liberals announced the post-CERB plan. She says it’s the first call-back she’s gotten from an employer since the start of the pandemic.
Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.
“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.
“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.
Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.
Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.
Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.
The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.
As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”
“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.
The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.
Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.
The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.
“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”
Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.
“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.
“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.
“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
