July 8, 2020

Your CFA Daily Update on COVID-19

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CFA Win...CEWS to be extended

In a technical briefing an official from the federal Department of Finance said the government will soon announce details of a proposed extension to the wage subsidy beyond its current August 2020 end date.

In the fiscal snapshot speech Finance Minister Bill Morneau said “We know there's some things that need to change so we can get people back to work.” “We'll have more to say in the very near term.”

Fiscal snapshot – by the numbers

Highlights of the federal fiscal 'snapshot'

Today, federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau delivered an update on federal spending and economic projections linked to the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The update is a "fiscal snapshot" instead of the traditional economic and fiscal statement that comes between budgets. Back in March, Morneau was forced to put off his spring budget in March after the devastating economic effects of the pandemic became clearer.

Here are some of the highlights:

Deficit: The deficit for 2020-21 is expected to rise to $343.2 billion from the $34.4 billion deficit projected before the pandemic. The additional deficit can be attributed to the $212 billion in direct support measures the federal government is providing to individuals and businesses. The snapshot says that, aside from the pandemic program spending, the economic slowdown is estimated to have added another $81.3 billion to the deficit in 2020-21.

Government revenue: The federal government's revenues are expected to decline to $268.8 billion in 2020-21 from a projected $341 billion in 2019-20. Personal income tax revenue is predicted to shrink to $146.3 billion next year from $170.9 billion in 2019-20 — a decline of 14.4 per cent. Corporate income taxes revenue is are expected to decline by 22.3 per cent, to $38.3 billion from $49.2 billion last year. The revenue from the GST is projected to decline 20.4 per cent to $30.9 billion from $38.8 billion in 2019-20.

GDP decline: The Canadian economy is projected to shrink by 6.8 per cent this year before bouncing back by 5.5 per cent next year, making this crisis the worst economic contraction since the Great Depression. The economy is expected to decline in 2020-21 more than twice as much as it did in 2009-10 in response to the global financial crisis. The decline in GDP is expected to take place in the second quarter of this fiscal year, according to private sector projections of a 40.6 per cent decline in GDP.

Debt-to-GDP ratio: The federal debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to rise to 49 per cent in 2020-21 (from 31 per cent in 2019-20). The federal government says it's getting a better deal on that debt through very low interest rates. "As a consequence of these developments, the government will save over $4 billion in public debt charges in 2020-21 compared to the forecast presented in the 2019 Economic and Fiscal Update in December 2019," the snapshot said. 

Job losses: Between February and April, 5.5 million Canadians either lost their jobs or saw their work hours significantly reduced.  Those losses pushed the unemployment rate to 13.7 per cent in May — the highest rise on record — from a pre-crisis low of 5.5 per cent in January. Finance Minister Bill Morneau said that without government pandemic programs, the GDP would have contracted by more than 10 per cent and unemployment would have risen by another 2 per cent.

Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA): As of July 3, 688,000 applicants have been approved for roughly $27.41 billion in CEBA loans — $7 billion of which is forgivable if the loan is paid back before December 31, 2022. The cost of the program is expected to rise to $13.7 billion by the time it ends.

Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS): The total estimated impact of the Canada emergency wage subsidy will be $82.3 billion. That is an increase from the $45 billion estimate provided by the government last month and reflects the proposed extension and broadening of eligibility for the program.

Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB): As of June 28, the CERB has provided over $53 billion in benefit payments to 8.16 million Canadians. That amount is expected to rise to $80 billion based on the eight-week extension and significant take-up of the program. 

Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB): To date, it has provided over $1.4 billion to over 600,000 applicants, which is expected to rise to $5.2 billion by the time it winds down.

Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA): As of July 3, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), has approved applications for over 29,000 small businesses and total requested funding of over $221 million. CMHC is working closely with large property owners to complete applications to provide rent support to a further 25,000 small businesses.

Sherrard Kuzz LLP Legal Support Program
To help navigate the recovery of COVID-19, CFA members have the opportunity to contact Sherrard Kuzz LLP for one free phone-consultation, once per calendar year, to a maximum of 15 minutes. A member may use their 15 minutes to seek information about any employment, labour or human resources issue related to the User (subject to Sherrard Kuzz LLP successfully completing a conflict check to ensure it may advise on the matter).

HOW TO ACCESS THESE SAVINGS:
To take advantage of this CFA member benefit, contact Michael Sherrard at msherrard@sherrardkuzz.com or 416-603-6240.

Ontario Economic Recovery Act introduced

Today, the Ontario Government introduced the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020, in an effort to boost the province's economic recovery, create jobs. Some of the changes include amendments to the Building Code Act, Environmental Assessment Act, Planning Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Invest Ontario created

Invest Ontario will promote the province as a key investment destination, making Ontario more competitive while sending a strong signal to investors that the province is open for business. It will be a "one stop shop" for businesses and investors. It will move at the speed of business and drive greater economic growth, support strategic domestic firms and attract business from around the world to create good jobs in Ontario. It will initially focus on three important sectors for COVID-19 recovery where Ontario has a globally competitive advantage: advanced manufacturing, life sciences, and technology.

Invest Ontario will include greater business development and deal structuring expertise and build on the many benefits of investing in Ontario, including: a good quality of life, a highly skilled talent pool, a strong and growing innovation sector, and a pro-job creation jurisdiction that can help businesses thrive.

Reducing Regulatory Costs to Business Act, Burden Reduction Reporting Act and Modernizing Ontario for People and Businesses Act

Ontario is proposing to merge the Reducing Regulatory Costs for Business Act, 2017 with the Burden Reduction Reporting Act so that all burden reduction requirements would now be in a single law - the Modernizing Ontario for People and Businesses Act. This new act would enshrine the government's seven burden reduction principles into legislation, so that businesses can count on clear, focused and effective rules that maintain or enhance protections for people's health, safety, and the environment.

These proposed changes will broaden the reach of burden reduction requirements to encompass legislation, regulation, policies and forms - and to include additional stakeholder groups like for-profit and not-for-profit businesses. This will ensure the government is doing everything it can to communicate clearly, ensure digital rather than paper pathways where possible, and deliver on the province's commitment to be a modern regulator.

Occupational Health and Safety Act

As part of the government's commitment to keeping workers safe, an amendment to the Occupational Health and Safety Act will allow nationally and internationally recognized standards to be updated more regularly. These standards set workplace safety expectations for everything from protective clothing to equipment, and they are established by organizations such as Canadian Standards Association Group (CSA). Updating standards without requiring regulatory amendments will allow employers and workers access to more current information on workplace standards.

Canadians' COVID-19 fears are rising again – U.S. might be to blame

Polls suggest Canadians are worried about the situation in the U.S. A Nanos Research survey for the Globe and Mail found that 81 per cent of Canadians polled want the border with the United States to stay closed for the "foreseeable future." Léger finds that 86 per cent of Canadians reject the idea of reopening the border at the end of July, as is currently planned (although the border closures have been renewed and extended repeatedly in the past). Remarkably, 71 per cent of Canadians "strongly disagreed" with a reopening of the border, suggesting a firmly held opinion. In mid-May, Léger reported that 21 per cent of Canadians wanted the border to open by the end of June or earlier. Now, just 11 per cent agree with opening the border by the end of July. These darkening views on the pandemic can't be tied entirely to COVID-19's spread in the U.S., as it's not the the only country with an uncontrolled outbreak.

Canadians are also reporting more pessimism about the future, despite the apparently improving situation here. According to the Léger poll, 82 per cent of Canadians expect a second wave — that's up six points from early June. The poll suggests Canadians have lost some of their late-spring optimism. “Although the weather has improved, patios are open and people can get a haircut again, more and more Canadians appear to be coming to the realization that this is likely to be just a temporary reprieve — and not the new normal.”

Alberta government proposes new agency to attract investment

Bill 33, the Alberta Investment Attraction Act, would allow for the creation of the corporation, which would be governed by a board that would have up to seven members. The bill was introduced in the legislature on Tuesday by Tanya Fir, the minister of economic development, trade and tourism.

The Invest Alberta Corporation would have a budget of $18 million over the next three years to fulfil a mandate of pulling foreign dollars into Alberta as part of an effort to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn.

If the legislation passes, cabinet will appoint up to seven board members, one of whom will be a member of executive council. The board will in turn select a CEO.

Proposed class-action against Skip the Dishes moving forward after Supreme Court's Uber ruling

A proposed class-action lawsuit against Winnipeg-based food delivery service Skip the Dishes can now move forward through Manitoba courts, after the Supreme Court of Canada reached a decision last month in a similar case involving an Ontario Uber Eats driver.

The lawsuit, filed by former Skip the Dishes courier Charleen Pokornik in Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench in summer of 2018, argues the company misled its drivers by classifying them as independent contractors rather than employees, allowing it to avoid labour laws covering minimum wages, paid sick leave and other benefits. 

Pokornik and her lawyers were seeking class-action certification, but the court process was put on hold last year after the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case brought forward by Uber Eats driver David Heller. Like Pokornik, Heller argues Uber has violated the rights of its drivers by misclassifying them as independent contractors. He is also seeking class-action certification. 

The Supreme Court decision, released on June 26, doesn't deal with whether or not Uber drivers are employees or independent contractors.

Instead, it determined that drivers can seek legal recourse through Ontario's court system, rather than going through an arbitration process mandated by Uber and based in the Netherlands.  

In July 2018, days before Pokornik filed her statement of claim, Skip the Dishes changed its contract with drivers, requiring them to go through arbitration instead of the courts to resolve disputes. The new contract also stipulated that any action must be brought individually, and not as part of a class. 

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled in the Uber case, the Skip the Dishes case is set to move to a case management hearing in mid-September, says a lawyer representing Pokornik's class-action application.

If the court decides that Skip drivers are in fact employees and not private contractors, the company could be required to pay drivers retroactively for lost wages, overtime, vacation pay and more.

P.E.I. strengthens recommendation on mask wearing

P.E.I. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison recommended masks should be worn more often to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at a briefing Tuesday morning. Previous recommendations included wearing masks in places such as on public transit. Morrison said she was now strongly recommending masks be worn in other indoor, public spaces where people are unable to maintain a physical distance of two metres. Wearing a mask is a strong recommendation, said Morrison, not mandatory. The changed advice is based on new evidence from around the world about how the coronavirus spreads.

Nova Scotia lumber shortage causing construction delays

There's a lumber shortage in Nova Scotia and it's forcing construction companies to make some tough decisions on what jobs they can complete. The shortage has been caused by producers scaling down production due to distancing and COVID-19 precautions and by an unanticipated increase in demand cause by people doing construction projects.

UPCOMING WEBINARS

JULY 13, 2020
AT 2:00 PM ET

Business Resilience Planning: Preparing your business for long term success
 50 CFE PARTICIPATION  CREDITS  

SPEAKER: Phil Racco, Senior Manager, Enterprise Risk Services, MNP LLP

COVID-19 caused a wave of disruption to business and life in Canada.In this interactive discussion, gain practical insights on how to prepare your business to respond to disruption now and in the future.

We encourage you to submit your questions ahead of time.

 JULY 22, 2020
AT 2:00 PM ET

Diversity and Inclusion in Franchising
 50 CFE PARTICIPATION  CREDITS  

Members of the franchise community know that everything else aside, franchising is about people - and successful franchise owners are ones who take this to heart. Join this session to gain insight into diversity and inclusion practices that will foster growth and innovation in your workplace, giving your company an extra edge as you grow your business.

 JULY 28, 2020
AT 2:00 PM ET

Navigating the digital world and digitizing your business
 50 CFE PARTICIPATION  CREDITS  

Join this panel discussion for an in-depth conversation about business in the digital world including: digital payments and cyber security, managing the customer experience in a digital world, choosing the right solution(s) for your business and where to find them, moving business processes online (e.g. accounting, payroll, etc.), and managing your data.

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Feedback from our Members

“I would like to take this moment to express how amazing the CFA webinar series has been for myself and my stores. I am regularly sharing the information and enjoy the daily "break" around lunch time, basically having a nearly daily lunch and learn.”

 - Suzanne Howie, Franchise Support, Print Three Franchising Corp.

COVID-19's impact on the world is creating waves across all sectors and industries.

Every member of the CFA community is dealing with an issue that is affecting the world, our industries, our communities, our businesses, and our people.

We would like to hear from you if you have any topics, issues or questions to navigate turbulent times in order to support you further: 

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