Nicki Laborie considers herself one of the “lucky” business owners in Toronto, who has been able to keep her businesses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Laborie, who owns Toronto restaurants Bar Reyna and Reyna On King, said her Mediterranean-themed cocktail and snack bars did “extremely well” in August and September — comprising two out of just four months her businesses were allowed to remain open throughout 2020.
“I can’t complain,” she told Global News, adding that she took two federal loans totaling $60,000 to help make ends meet.
“But did we struggle? Of course. Restaurants don’t make money to start with. The profit margins are five per cent and below. So, of course, when you’re not open, you’re suffering, end of story. I had to take out loans. I had to do what I had to do to keep going.”
After more than a year, Canada’s economy is starting to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic.
To date, the federal government has approved 12,004,240 applications for the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), which dropped down to 831,340 active beneficiaries between Feb. 14 and Feb. 27, down from 1,119,960 between Jan. 31 and Feb. 13.
That level of growth would cause anyone to believe that Canada is rebounding at breakneck speed, said Mikal Skuterud, an economics professor at the University of Waterloo. But as of March 21, the federal government also said there were still 2,317,010 active beneficiaries supported through Employment Insurance benefits, with almost 5,000 Canadians applying to become first-time beneficiaries during the week of March 15.
“It’s really hard to understand what’s going on,” Skuterud told Global News.
“We saw some (economic recovery) in February. I expect almost certainly we’re going to see some of that improvement in March. But it’s slow. We’re still a long way off.”
4:04 A year later, how Canadians have coped living on COVID-19 benefits
A year later, how Canadians have coped living on COVID-19 benefits – Mar 15, 2021
The country’s most recent Labour Force Survey highlights some of those discrepancies.
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According to the survey, the national unemployment rate fell just 1.2 percentage points to 8.2 per cent in February. That percentage represents the lowest rate since the pandemic was first declared in March of 2020, but is a sign of a much more incremental improvement, Skuterud said.
Employment increased by 259,000 in February, after falling by 266,000 over the previous two months. Part-time jobs saw the biggest increase at 171,000, whereas full-time work jumped by 88,000.
That these numbers aren’t higher could be a good thing, said Skuterud.
The unemployment rate is the percentage of labour force participants that are not employed. To be a labour force participant in Canada, a person either has to be employed or searching for a job. But when someone stops searching for a job, they are no longer counted as labour force participants.
“What happens as the economy recovers, is you get folks that had opted out and weren’t searching, weren’t participating in the labour market, who now start to search for a job,” he said.
“That’s going to push the unemployment rate up, but that’s actually a sign of recovery.”
Recovering economy versus recovering Canadians
Public health restrictions put in place in late December have been relaxed in many provinces such as Ontario and British Columbia. According to the Labour Survey, reopening provincial economies “allowed for the re-opening of many non-essential businesses, cultural and recreational facilities, and some in-person dining.”
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But partially reopening restaurants doesn’t mean restauranteurs started making money again.
Reyna On King, one of Laborie’s three businesses including online shop Reyna on the Rocks, has been doing take-out only since Oct. 9, when the Ontario government began cracking down on indoor gatherings.
0:49 Federal government extending COVID-19 emergency benefits, Trudeau announces
Federal government extending COVID-19 emergency benefits, Trudeau announces – Feb 19, 2021
“It’s not like we’re dying,” she said. But “it’s horrible, we just don’t make any money. It’s literally just to stay open so that I stay visible.”
Laborie said federal assistance has helped “enormously,” covering roughly 75 per cent of her rent and payroll.
“If you know how to manage your money, you can get through it. But is it fun? No,” she said.
“It feels like you got to the top of the mountain and somebody pulled the rug from under you and said, ‘no, no, you have to go right back down to the bottom.’”
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Among those working part-time in February, the Labour Survey found the number of people working part-time who wanted to work full-time increased by almost seven per cent from 12 months earlier, with much of that reflected in Canadians who worked in retail and service industries.
Even if the economy were to flourish, many Canadians could still have a tough time job hunting. Bouncing back from the pandemic could prove more difficult for Canadians unlike Laborie, who find themselves starting from scratch as they re-enter the workforce.
“What really matters for people getting back on their feet is how long they’ve been off their feet for, how long they’ve been out of work,” said Skuterud.
One study, released in October of last year, found that it becomes harder for people to find work once they reach six months of joblessness.
Skuterud said there were many reasons for this. Many jobs take skills that can be lost if they aren’t practiced over prolonged periods of time, he said.
And there are also the psychological effects of being out of work for so much time. People lose confidence, reduce their spending or find ways to adjust to other sources of income, Skuterud added.
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“They move in with their parents, for example, and find other ways to survive with less income,” he said.
“All these kinds of adjustments mean that for some people it’s going to be harder to get back on their feet.”
HOUSTON (AP) — Brian White scored in the second half to rally the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night.
Houston (12-9-8) took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Ezequiel Ponce scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Ponce’s third goal this season came after Amine Bassi drew a foul on Whitecaps midfielder Pedro Vite following a video review. It was Ponce’s sixth career appearance, all starts.
Vancouver (13-8-7) scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute when White, who entered in the 60th, used assists from Fafá Picault and Ryan Gauld to find the net for the 13th time this season. Picault’s assist was his fifth, matching his career high for a single season. Gauld’s assist gives him a career-best 13 on the season.
Yohei Takaoka, who had clean sheets in his last three starts, finished with one save in goal for the Whitecaps.
Steve Clark saved three shots for the Dynamo, who remain one point behind Vancouver in the Western Conference standings.
Houston, which was coming off a 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake, has allowed just 33 goals this season.
Vancouver — 6-2-2 in its last 10 matches overall — leads the all-time series 10-9-6.
The Whitecaps remain on the road to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. The Dynamo travel to play Austin FC on Saturday.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Pearce and Nathan Saliba scored in the second half — the first goals of their careers — and CF Montreal rallied for a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution on Wednesday night.
“In the second half, the guys came out a little more ambitious and above all, more connected,” Montreal head coach Laurent Courtois said. “It was a great second half of resilience and fighting spirit. Nathan and Sam were impressive.
“Impressive in covering the gaps and compensating for the teammates, and the individual defending – yes it’s true, it is a lot of weight on their shoulders, but that’s the job.”
New England (8-16-4) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute on Bobby Wood’s third goal of the season. Teenage defender Peyton Miller notched his first assist in his fourth career start and sixth appearance and Carles Gil picked up his ninth of the season. Peyton, at 16 years, 315 days old, is the eighth youngest player in league history to record his first assist.
The Revolution took a two-goal lead in the 35th minute and held it through halftime when 19-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic took a pass from Gil and scored his third goal of the season and career in his first full season in the league. It was the 73rd regular-season assist in Gil’s career, tying him with Steve Ralston for the most in club history.
Montreal (7-12-10) pulled within a goal in the 54th minute when Pearce scored off a free kick after defender George Campbell drew a foul on New England’s Mark-Anthony Kaye. It was the first goal for Pearce in his third career start and fourth appearance.
“Playoffs are the goal. Maybe it wasn’t in the best form, but in the end, we are picking up a point,” Pearce said. “We came into this game confident, ready to play our own game. Everyone tries their best, whenever the players are called on, we are always ready, and we are always giving it our best.”
Montreal scored the equalizer in the 68th minute on the first career goal by Saliba, a 20-year-old midfielder. Saliba has made 34 starts and 48 appearances with Montreal in his two seasons in the league. Campbell snagged his second assist of the season and the third of his career.
“It’s an incredible feeling, it’s a goal I’ve been waiting for a long time. I’m extremely happy that I was able to score it and that it can help the team take this important point on the road,” Saliba said. “Pearce’s first goal gave us really good momentum and we kept up the pressure to go for a second goal. We got more solid defensively, and we came back ready after halftime, to push for these 3 points.”
Aljaz Ivacic finished with four saves in goal for the Revolution.
Jonathan Sirois stopped four shots for Montreal.
New England beat Montreal 5-0 on the road on Aug. 24.
New England leads the all-time series 16-13-4. Montreal improves to 5-8-2 on the road against the Revs.
The Revolution travel to take on Charlotte FC on Saturday. Montreal returns home to host the Chicago Fire on Saturday.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adolis García hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, Cody Bradford pitched seven strong innings after the worst start of his career, and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 on Wednesday night.
The win kept the defending World Series-champion Rangers alive in the AL West race, trailing first-place Houston by 10 games with 10 to play.
García launched an inside sinker over the left-field wall off Toronto starter Bowden Francis (8-5) after Wyatt Langford singled.
“He swings hard, he swings a lot,” Francis said of García. “I guess the velo was dropping during that time.”
Bradford (6-3) allowed five hits and no walks while striking out six.
The seven shutout innings are the most in a game during his two-year career. He was knocked out of his previous start after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and homers (three) in 3 2/3 innings in a 14-4 loss at Arizona.
“Throughout the week, you’ve got to try and digest what happened, see where I can make adjustments, whether it was just game plan went wrong or just poor execution, or a little bit of both,” Bradford said. “Then you flush it.”
Bradford was perfect through four innings before Alejandro Kirk opened the fifth with a smash back to the mound that caromed off Bradford’s left foot and rolled into right field for a single. It extended Kirk’s hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.
Spencer Horwitz’s double to left-center put runners on second and third with no outs before Bradford retired the next three batters.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider credited Bradford’s “deceptive fastball.”
“When you’re throwing 89, 92, you’ve got to have pretty good deception with that at this level,” Schneider said. “Kept us off balance.”
Kirby Yates pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 31st save in 32 opportunities.
Francis, who took no-hitters into the ninth inning in two of his previous four starts, allowed a double to Marcus Semien, the Rangers’ first hitter of the game. He gave up five hits and one walk in six innings.
Francis has a 1.96 ERA in nine starts with 54 strikeouts and seven walks since being moved back into the starting rotation in late July.
“I don’t even want to get complacent, on cruise control,” Francis said. “Just keep attacking.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette was a late scratch with a right middle finger contusion suffered during infield practice. Schneider said the team will get back x-rays on Thursday. Bichette was activated Tuesday following a calf injury and played for the first time in two months, going 2 for 5 with one RBI at the plate. … INF Will Wagner (left knee inflammation) will have the knee scoped on Thursday. Schneider said Wagner should be ready to start spring training. Wagner, son of former major leaguer Billy Wagner, was acquired from Houston at the trade deadline.
UP NEXT
Rangers rookie RHP Kumar Rocker (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will make his home debut against Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (12-11, 4.02) in the series finale. Rocker allowed one run in four innings at Seattle last Thursday in his major league debut.
