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CEWS: a critical support for Oakville businesses

In response to the Canadian economy's struggle against the ongoing pandemic, the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy(CEWS) was passed into law by the government on April 11, 2020 to support Canadian businesses and their employees. Since then it has been extended and is currently slated to end in December.

Oakville Business owner Mark Eglington runs home appliance wholesaler Euro-Line Appliances and was able to re-hire his entire staff thanks to the CEWS, however, he doesn't believe the extension to December will be enough should a second wave hit.

"At the beginning of the whole pandemic, we laid off our entire staff in an effort to protect the company and once Prime Minister Trudeau unveiled the CEWS we were able to take advantage of that and actually hire back everybody . . . If wave two hits and it crushes the economy again, then no, December probably won’t be [enough], but that being said, how much can the Canadian economy really handle,"  Eglington said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself mentioned Euro-Line Appliances in a speech on June 15, 2020 while talking about the financial programs the government has introduced to support Canadians.

"Just take the wage subsidy, and what it has meant for people like the employees at Euro-line in Oakville. This family-owned appliance business had to close their operations and lay off staff because of the pandemic. It was a really tough spring. But when they applied for the wage subsidy, they were able to then rehire their entire team. And that matters to the 22 people who now have their paycheque again," Prime Minister Trudeau said.

Drew Redden, President and CEO of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce, said the CEWS is an important program that needs to continue to support businesses until the economy is fully functioning.

"It’s been hard, there’s no two ways around it. Businesses have certainly struggled. Businesses have innovated and looked for new ways to reach the customer, looked for new ways to market themselves. But at the end of the day, the pandemic has had a major, major impact on businesses here in Oakville," stated Redden.

"We’ve seen a drive to offer products and services online. We’ve seen the restaurant industry adapt with the new patios. Businesses of all products start offering curb side pickup. But that only helps so much, we still need our economy to open up. We still need to find ways to get things going again . . ." he continued.

"The subsidy has been incredible in the way it allowed employers to keep their relationships with employees. We’ve seen businesses take advantage of that wage subsidy and that’s kept Oakvillians and people all across Canada employed. So it’s an incredibly important tool in keeping our economy in a position that when we can recover, our businesses will be in a good place to rebound quickly . . . The program may evolve as we recover, but it’s of course been critical for businesses and I believe the government recognizes that," Redden said.