4 Canadian political parties claim Covid-19 federal wage subsidy to keep afloat

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, announced by PM Trudeau, offers eligible outfits, mainly companies, nearly CA$ 3,400 per employee per four-week period and was recently extended till August. It has now emerged that most of Canada’s major national parties are using the subsidy to keep their political operations going.

Canada’s political parties, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ruling Liberals, are taking advantage of a historic wage subsidy package that is meant to keep businesses afloat during the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party has been approved for the wage subsidy. A party spokesperson said that the party has “met eligibility criteria for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy in recent weeks and received that support.” (REUTERS)

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy or CEWS was announced by Trudeau and costs the exchequer $ 73 billion Canadian dollars (CA). It offers eligible outfits, mainly companies, nearly CA$ 3,400 per employee per four-week period and was recently extended till August. It has now emerged that most of Canada’s major national parties are using the subsidy to keep their political operations going.

A spokesperson for the ruling Liberal Party confirmed it had been approved for the wage subsidy, noting in a statement that it “has met the eligibility criteria for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy in recent weeks and received that support.” The media outlet CBC quoted a party spokesperson as saying that this was necessitated by the drop off in in-person fund-raising due to the restrictions that came into place in March to combat the coronavirus crisis.

The Liberals are not alone in using public funds to keep their party offices open, even if virtually. The principal Opposition Conservative Party is also on the list of beneficiaries as is the New Democratic Party or NDP and the Green Party.

The only party that has chosen to not use the opportunity is the Bloc Quebecois. In fact, its leader was sharply critical of the other parties dipping into the till. In a tweet in French, Yves-François Blanchet said, “In order to finance their next election campaign, multimillionaire parties like the Liberals and Conservatives are dipping into money from programmes meant for companies worried about going bankrupt.”

All parties have suffered from the pandemic because of the inability to hold fund-raising events and the number of donors drying up due to financial stress.