Uncertainty for Workers Effected by COVID-19

As our country is facing some of the most challenging times in generations, it seems to me that the federal government is making an admirable attempt, to reach those who have been hit hardest by this pandemic. The CERB offered to individuals and Wage Subsidy programs offered to businesses, are just a couple of the most prevalent efforts, to ensure financial assistance to were it is needed. While I am sure, we could go back and forth, arguing the effectiveness of those plans versus other plans. I personally would have gone a much different route, but that is a discussion for another day.

Our government is currently in panic mode, this is uncharted territory to say the least. To think that there will be flawless execution right now is naive. It seems like given the situation we are in, there is a understandable need to put out the major fires, before dealing with the embers, but we need to remember, those smoldering ashes can ignite quickly, if we aren’t mindful of them.

Some of those potential embers have come up in conversations, I just happened to be lucky enough to engage in. Its lead me to thinking about others in Newfoundland and Labrador. Many of us here work in industries, that slow drastically in the winter. Think about how many people you know, that work in Tourism and Hospitality, Construction or in the Fisheries, we see how they are being effected now, but we need to look deeper at the situation they will be in later as well. This is the time of year where people in these and many other areas, make what they need to see them through the winter.

It is also a reality in NL and other areas in Canada, that many people each year depend on EI to help see them through the off-season. With COVID-19 causing so much unemployment in these industries, what is going to happen to these people? Through no fault of their own, the jobs that they have come to depend on to gain what they need, are not there. They will not have the hours worked to qualify for the support, typically necessary to see them through the off-season. I spent some time yesterday searching for answers to these questions but could not find anything specifically addressing them.

The re-opening of our province is understandably going to take some time, these and many other sectors are being affected this year by that pace. Its hard to look beyond the battle at hand in certain instances and I get that. The short-term fixes are helpful, but the stresses of the unknown I am sure are causing more worry and stress than many of us know. If there are answers for these people please let them know, if not this is something that needs to be addressed. We cannot have thousands of families not knowing how they are going to get through the coming months as these fixes expire.