Businesses in Canada hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, are pleading with the federal government to extend emergency relief programs beyond the current June 5 deadline.
The Coalition of Hardest Hit Businesses is urging Congress to extend the federal wage and rent subsidy programs until the end of the year.
The hotel, tourism, arts, culture, and hospitality industries are all represented by the coalition, which is backed up by the results of a survey conducted among its members earlier this month.
Almost 6,000 businesses responded to the survey, and more than half of them said they would go out of business if they didn’t have access to federal assistance programs.
Only 14% of respondents said they have enough money from regular sources to get by.
Only 12% of respondents said they have enough internal resources to stay afloat.
Before the pandemic struck a year ago, the coalition claims that its member businesses employed more than two million Canadians. It’s mostly small and medium-sized businesses, with employees who are mostly young, female, Indigenous, and new Canadians — the people who have been hit the hardest by the pandemic.
News and picture Source: cp24