Jagmeet Singh is calling on the federal government to increase employee wage subsidies to businesses to 75% in order to keep people working during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The leader of the federal NDP and Burnaby South MP told reporters he also wants the Liberals to provide a cheque of $2,000 to every Canadian, plus $250 for children.
Parliament is set to reconvene on Tuesday to vote on an $82-billion aid package announced last week by the Liberals, and Singh said he would be supportive of those measures.
They include increased and expedited access to employment insurance, an increased GST rebate and a 10% wage subsidy for small businesses up to $1,375 per employee.
Singh called for increasing that wage subsidy and sending a cheque to all Canadians in a teleconference Monday morning.
鈥淭hat way employers can keep on their staff, can keep on people, instead of having to let them go,鈥� Singh said. 鈥淭here are many people that are not going to be able to pay their bills or afford to put food on their tables if they don鈥檛 get help right away.鈥�
The point of suggesting both a cheque to Canadians and to subsidize wages, Singh said, was to ensure people have jobs to go back to when things have calmed down.
鈥淲hen someone is fired, the amount of time it鈥檚 going to take for them to re-apply to get a job, the effort it鈥檚 going to take for them to find new employment, it鈥檚 colossal if you think about the scale and magnitude of how many people are losing their jobs,鈥� Singh said
Asked about whether the federal government should take action under the Emergencies Act, formerly known as the War Measures Act, which could include an order for residents to stay at home, Singh said he had reservations.
鈥淲ithout giving income support to families right now, that鈥檚 an impossible situation for families,鈥� Singh said. 鈥淭his is a way to ensure that people can stay at home, that they can socially distance. For a lot of people, that鈥檚 not an option. It鈥檚 an impossible decision to say, 鈥榃e need you to stay at home, but there鈥檚 no income to pay the bills or buy groceries.鈥欌��
He also said he had concerns about how those kinds of measures could impact vulnerable communities who don鈥檛 have a home in which to self-isolate.
