Farmers Forum Staff
Why can’t farmers find local labourers? In part, fewer and fewer Canadians want to get their hands dirty or work hard. But the federal government has also contributed to the shortage.
It began with the $2,000 per month from CERB (Canadian Emergency Relief Benefit) that ended for 8.5 million Canadians in October last year. But the federal government then continued to pay out free money under a new program called Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB). The subsidy has since been reduced and those on the program were earning $300 per week until that program ended Oct. 23.
So, everybody back to work, right?
Wrong. While Ottawa gave away $27-billion to more than two-million Canadians on CRB, the government immediately replaced it with the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit offering again $300 per week to stay home. Those eligible include those who are ineligible for employment insurance, which means they don’t have to look for work and, if they share living expenses with others, don’t need to.
So, while there are 880,000 people with lots of time on their hands, there were also 800,000 unfilled jobs in Canada in June.
While industry critics argue that a universal basic income would grievously injure the economy and ruin many businesses, we now have a taste of it. It’s called government handouts. The latest one is the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit.
