Pay rent or buy food: Workers face gut-wrenching choice in new lockdown
As she got ready for an online training session, Nadia Vandal sighed.
It's stressful, not knowing what's ahead," said the veteran fitness instructor and professional bodybuilder.
During previous COVID lockdowns, Vandal had been able to count on $500 a week in financial aid from the federal government through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). Now, as Ontario shuts down gyms again to help cut the spread of the Omicron variant, Vandal worries that CERB's replacement - the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit (CWLB) - isn't enough to cover basic living expenses. For workers who have lost at least 50 per cent of their income become of a lockdown, the CWLB pays $300 per week. After tax? It's 30 bucks less.
In downtown Toronto, $270 a week is nothing," said Vandal.
Workers, labour advocates and some business owners are asking why - with Omicron running rampant and the economic outlook as uncertain as it's been during the course of the pandemic - the new benefit is lower. For many affected workers, the lower amount will mean a gut-wrenching choice of which necessities of life to do without.
While I am grateful for the $300 week from the federal government, it is no secret that it's not enough to cover the cost of living, especially in Toronto," said Ryan Duncan, a restaurant server who was laid off after Ontario announced a ban on indoor dining as part of its new partial lockdown, which began at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
While Duncan would prefer to see the federal support raised, he'd also like to see some help from the provincial government for restaurant workers who have been on the frontlines of enforcing mask mandates and vaccine QR codes.
The provincial government should step up... especially after relying on many of us to enforce their sloppily rolled-out vaccine passport system, police the constantly changing rules for guests and adjust to ever-evolving capacity limits and service restrictions," Duncan said.
Carly-Rae Williams, who was also laid off from her job as a restaurant server, acknowledges the federal government has been paying out billions of dollars in financial aid. But that, she says, doesn't change a basic fact: Life in the city is far more expensive than a CWLB payment.
I understand the cost issue for the government considering they've been providing aid for the better part of two years, but the cost of living doesn't care, especially in Toronto. It's gone up. So for us who live and pay rent in the city, $300 before tax is a joke," said Williams.
Deena Ladd, executive director of the Workers Action Centre, called the CWLB completely inadequate," and said the federal government seems to be using an out-of-date playbook.
It's clear that this is a program designed before Omicron, and when case counts were going down, and governments were looking at how to wind down supports. It's shocking," said Ladd.
The weekly amount being offered under CWLB is so low that many workers will be unable to afford rent, particularly in urban centres like Toronto, Ladd argued.
This will make it impossible for some people to remain in their homes," said Ladd.
Some are also facing an agonizing choice, she said: Pay rent or buy food.
People are absolutely choosing between rent and food," said Ladd, adding that the Workers Action Centre is seeing a huge increase in demand for food boxes it provides. Food banks are also seeing a surge in demand, Ladd said.
A spokesperson for federal finance minister Chrystia Freeland argued that federal government aid has given Canada a stronger economic recovery from COVID than in other countries, particularly in the U.S. Still, given the extremely unpredictable" nature of the virus, spokesperson Adrienne Vaupshas said changing the aid programs is something the government won't rule out.
The federal government will continue to help Canadians through the pandemic and reevaluate support for people and businesses to meet the circumstances of the evolving public health situation," said Vaupshas.