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432-00961 (Business and trade)

Paper petition

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the House of Commons

WHEREAS

  • More than 12,000 Independent Travel Advisors in Canada have been without income for one year due to Government imposed COVID Travel restrictions, and these Small Business owners are Sole Proprietors.
  • 100% of Travel Advisors' income comes from commissions earned from their Travel Suppliers, and because of their delayed revenue stream, it takes between 5 and 11 months for Travel Advisors to be paid for work done on the booking of clients' trips.
  • The CRB has been the sole source of assistance for most Independent Travel Advisors, who are still actively working in their businesses, but unable to earn revenue.

We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to:

  • Extend the CRB for 6 months past the lifting of all Travel Advisories, for Travel Advisors
  • Maintain the CRB at the current amount ($2,000/ month) for sectors hardest hit by COVID, including Travel Advisors

Response by the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion

Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Irek Kusmierczyk

The Government of Canada recognizes that many Canadians continue to face financial impacts as a result of the ongoing pandemic. During these unprecedented times, the Government of Canada has focused on putting in place measures to help as many Canadians as possible in a timely manner.

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was an important and necessary temporary response to support Canadian workers, including the self-employed, who stopped working due to COVID-19. The CERB provided a weekly amount of $500 for up to 28 weeks, between March 15, 2020 and October 3, 2020. As part of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, the Government has transitioned from the CERB to a simplified Employment Insurance (EI) program, effective September 27, 2020, to provide income support to eligible workers who remain unable to work. These measures include, allowing workers to qualify for EI one-time with 120 hours of work, introducing a minimum benefit rate of $500 per week (or $300 for extended parental benefits), providing a maximum entitlement of up to 50 weeks of regular benefits, and temporarily waiving the waiting period for new EI claims established between January 31, 2021 and September 25, 2021.

The Government of Canada also introduced a suite of three benefits to support economic recovery and workers who are unable to work due to COVID-19. These three benefits are delivered by the Canada Revenue Agency and are available from September 27, 2020 to September 25, 2021: the Canada Recovery Benefit, the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit.

The Canada Recovery Benefit gives income support to workers ineligible for EI who, for reasons related to COVID-19, are not employed or self-employed or are working but had their earnings reduced by at least 50 percent. In February 2021, the Government announced changes to the Canada Recovery Benefit that would increase the number of weeks available by 12 weeks extending the maximum duration of benefits from 26 weeks to up to 38 weeks.  

To continue to support workers through a transition away from emergency income supports and position Canadians for the recovery, the Government has proposed in Budget 2021 to provide up to 12 additional weeks of Canada Recovery Benefit to a maximum of 50 weeks. The first four of these additional 12 weeks will be paid at $500 per week. As the economy reopens over the coming months, the Government intends that the remaining 8 weeks of this extension will be paid at a lower amount of $300 per week claimed. All new Canada Recovery Benefit claimants after July 17, 2021 would also receive the $300 per week benefit, available up until September 25, 2021.

The trajectory of the pandemic and economic recovery remain uncertain. To ensure flexibility as the pandemic progresses, Budget 2021 proposes legislative amendments to provide authority for additional potential extensions of the Canada Recovery Benefit and its associated suite of sickness and caregiving benefits, until no later than November 20, 2021, should they be needed.

Presented to the House of Commons
Chris Lewis (Essex)
May 13, 2021 (Petition No. 432-00961)
Government response tabled
June 22, 2021
Photo - Chris Lewis
Essex
Conservative Caucus
Ontario

Only validated signatures are counted towards the total number of signatures.