On March 18, 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the government is introducing an economic aid package to help Canadians and businesses cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The package provides up to $27 billion in direct supports to workers and businesses, and $55 billion to meet liquidity needs of Canadian businesses and households through tax deferrals.
FBC provides an overview of the proposed measures that impact self-employed individuals and small businesses.
British Columbia declares state of emergency
The British Columbia government has declared a provincial state of emergency to support the provincewide response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, made the declaration based on the recommendation from B.C.’s health and emergency management officials, after Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, declared a public health emergency on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.
“Declaring a state of emergency is an important measure to support our provincial health officer and minister of health in swift and powerful response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Farnworth said. “We are working with partners across government and industry to co-ordinate emergency response efforts, and we won’t hesitate to use the tools available to us to keep people safe.”
Declaring a state of emergency allows the Province, through the minister, to implement any provincial emergency measures required with access to land and human resource assets that may be necessary to prevent, respond to or alleviate the effects of an emergency. This includes securing the critical supply chains to make sure people have access to essential goods and services, and that infrastructure necessary in a response is readily available.
The state of emergency is initially in effect for 14 days, once issued, and may be extended or rescinded as necessary. The state of emergency applies to the whole province and allows federal, provincial and local resources to be delivered in a co-ordinated effort.
As House leader, Farnworth is also working to resume the legislature to complete urgent government business to expedite government’s response to COVID-19.
“We are all working together and introducing these powers to protect our people, our health system and our economy,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “These are temporary measures that will help us immensely in the long term. I encourage British Columbians to respect the situation as it stands and remember that each of us has an individual responsibility and civic duty to look out for each other by complying with all emergency orders.”
The Province has created 1 888 COVID-19 to connect British Columbians needing non-medical information about COVID-19. This includes the latest information on travel recommendations and social distancing, as well as access to support and resources from the provincial and federal governments. 1 888 COVID-19 is available seven days a week, from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. in 110 languages. The 811 number is also in place for medical-related COVID-19 questions.
Following the Provincial decision, the City of Delta has also declared a state of emergency.
Other Canadian provinces, including Ontario and Alberta, have also instated emergency measures.
COVID-19 information centre
CHC has been working diligently with its commodity and regional representatives, as well as with other agriculture industry organizations, to present a concerted action plan that they hope will allow to bring in Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) while still implementing the most strict public health measures. CHC has also been working closely with the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Food and Beverage Canada, CAHRC, OFVGA, UPA, Mushrooms Canada, FARMS, FERME, and Wali, among others.
Along with industry partners, CHC will continue to work on next steps with the respective government departments, namely Agriculture and Agri-Food, Employment and Social Development, and Immigration, to ensure that not only public health, but food security, food supply and food sovereignty is maintained during these challenging times.
See here for news and helpful resources and information on temporary foreign workers as well as COVID-19 and its impact on the sector.
OFVGA working with government
The OFVGA board and staff have been and will continue to work with urgency to address the impacts of the extraordinary measures being taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic, namely the international travel bans that were announced by the federal government earlier this week. They recognize that not having access to workers this season is extremely worrisome for growers and the industry in general. The OFVGA is working with the government to determine ways in which growers can access workers without putting the health of Canadian citizens and foreign workers at risk, and maintain domestic food security, they share in a statement.