By Richard Bell
In a wide-ranging interview from his home in Pictou, Central Nova MP Sean Fraser talked with the Cooperator Thursday, March 26 about working at home on developing the country’s economic response to the COVID-19 crisis, economic help for fishermen and other seasonal workers, and the guiding principle that the country’s households are “too big to fail.”
As Parliamentary Secretary to Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Fraser is part of the team who’ve been developing the economic response to the crisis. “Most of us are now working from home like I am,” Fraser said. “Only three or four people, including the Minister, are still going in to the office in Ottawa. I’m very impressed by the dedication of the ministerial staff and all the department officials who’ve been working through the night more or less every night for week.”
Fraser said that a time of crisis lets people in politics and government, “find out who you are, as a person and as a parliamentarian, and as a government. I’ve been comparing Canada’s current response to the 2008 response in the US to the financial crash in 2008, where the US was treating the financial sector as ‘too big to fail.’ The guiding principle we’re using is that ‘households are too big to fail.” That gives me faith that our hearts are in the right place, and that whatever faults we may have, we’re going to remain roughly on the right track.”
Fraser said that he was very aware of the crisis in the lobster fishery since the Asian markets disappeared, both in terms of lost income for fishers and the impact of restriction of foreign workers who normally staff many fish plants. “We’ve implemented a number of measures that will help fishermen and all seasonal workers,” Fraser said. “And we’re taking steps to solve the labour problem with fish processing plants that should allow more plants to purchase lobster. I spoke with the Fisheries Minister last evening, and we’re starting to see a bit of a rebound in Chinese and South Korean markets which is deeply encouraging.”
Fraser pointed to several changes that will benefit fishermen and other seasonal workers. “We announced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit last week,” Fraser said. “If the virus has caused an interruption in your source of income, you can get $2,000 every 4 weeks for up to 16 weeks if you aren’t earning income.
And if you’ve already applied for EI and are getting benefits, if your EI stops before October 3, 2020, you can then quality for the new Emergency Response Benefit. You can tap into both programs, just not at the same time.” [Click here for more details on the Emergency Response Benefit program.]
Fraser pointed out there were other changes that will benefit people in the fishery, depending on their level of income and family. In May, there will be a one-time $300 increase in the Canada Child Benefit. And if your family qualifies for a GST rebate, there will be a one-time doubling of that rebate in May, $300 per adult and $150 per child. And for employers, there’s a 10% wage subsidy for employers to make it easier for them to keep employees on the payroll.”
Fraser emphasized how rapidly circumstances were changing, and the critical importance of the public’s role in halting the spread of the virus. “Have you seen the jobless EI application numbers?” Fraser asked. “There were 1 million or so last week, compared to only 27,000 this week last year. We can’t make all the decisions we might yet because the scope of the challenge has not made itself clear. And not to be trite about it, but what we have to do depends largely on the level of collective action we see in communities to protect themselves against this public health threat.”
Fraser ended the interview by reviewing what he hopes all Canadians will be doing in the coming weeks: “Take public health advice seriously, self-isolate if you’ve been told to, practice physical distancing, but continue to engage in the level of community support for your neighbors, these are the things that will best determine both the public health and the economic outcome of this crisis,” Fraser said. “I am calling on every community member to be responsible, and please stay home if you can.”
[Note: Here is an explanation of how to apply for the Emergency Response Benefit from the Canadian Union of Public Employees.]
