Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds

By Jill Sperling

COVID-19

Wage subsidy provides no help for closed down businesses

Mar 30, 2020 | 5:15 PM

KAMLOOPS — The federal government has announced a wage subsidy for employees impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

But for many Kamloops businesses, their doors have already closed due to safety concerns.

The wage subsidy will provide up to 75 per cent of an employee’s wage in order to take some of the financial strain off of businesses that have lost at least 30 per cent of their revenue.

The support may help businesses that remain open, but in Downtown Kamloops, few places are.

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“That does not help those (closed) businesses whatsoever and more needs to be done to ensure that they’re able to sustain themselves and pull out of this crisis going forward,” said Carl DeSantis, Executive Director for the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association.

“We need a lifeline is what we need. Programs that offer loans — you know what? They don’t need more debt, they don’t need more interest payments, they need a lifeline, they need to be able to get out of this so that we can continue forward.”

The Kamloops Chamber of Commerce is waiting on more details to come out about the wage subsidy, but President Tyson Andrykew believes some Kamloops businesses will benefit from the program.

“I think this will be a great option for businesses to not only keep their people employed and keep them busy and ensure that they’ve got a paycheck and have food to put on the table, but also to prepare us for after this crisis, after the emergency phase, is kind of the other avenue that I’m looking at here and that businesses should be concerned about.” Andrykew said.

“Because right now is really hard, but once the taps get turned back on the next big difficulty will be in servicing those taps.”