Amplify Canadian Federal Govt Policy Response to Covid-19

At a time of crisis, we should all play for Team Canada, regardless of our politics. There is a plethora of topics that I can criticize the federal govt for with regards to handling this pandemic but now is not the time. I want to thank them for all the hard work, for trying to bring Team Canada together and for trying to put forward a coordinated policy response during these unprecedented and scary times.

I intend to write few policy proposals as part of solutions and even send them to my MPs. I would love for my friends (especially the political junkies) across all political stripes to jump in on this. When you have Conservatives fighting for mailing checks or UBI on both sides of the border, you know we are in some extra-ordinary times !! Today i’ll mostly write on the economic front rather than the health front which is of paramount importance. Above everything below, I am hoping for good health for everyone and a fast medical response for the Novel Corona Virus.

Re: Targeted response: I get it, it makes sense to prioritize efforts and that should be the case but I argue that much more should be done and quickly. As I am in the marketing world, we segment targets to understand positions better: Public Sector | Private Sector. We know the latter has been hit harder with revenues dropping on free fall, unemployment soaring in incredible rates and retirement savings being decimated (at least temporarily) in multiple industries. I credit the govt for prioritizing the most vulnerable in our society 1st with all their actions, but more needs to happen and happen quickly.

Private Sector:

• Increase BPA (Basic Personal Amount) for 2019 retroactive: Think about all the unsung heroes: The grocery store employee, the internet support person, the truck driver for medical supplies. People who are working also deserve some relief and liquidity to spend on top of the targeted people who are being supported. We can add further liquidity to drive purchases.
• Increase Incentives on Payroll: 10% Payroll subsidies won’t cut it for small businesses whose revenues have erased dramatically and who know that govt has built EI and other safety nets. Layoffs will be across the board. Either subsidies increase from 30–50 in short term and start phasing out or remove taxes(not defer) for 2019 should they not lay anyone off until July 2020 to provide liquidity and support.
• Industry specific programs: Govt needs to tackle industry level needs on a case by case basis and very soon for Energy / Finance / Agriculture, etc. Ex: 40K foreign workers come to Canada to work in farms, they will not be coming, initiate a plan where workers who are on EI or on the new benefit can have access to those but also work in farms on minimum wage.
• Unique Packages to bail out industries: Multiple packages need to be made to bail out industries (Airlines / Energy) soon. Ensure no share buy backs, some level of representation on board, no dividend hikes for 3–5 years for these companies and a strong ROI oriented exit plan for the Taxpayers.

Public Sector:

• Increase overtime $$ for govt employees working in the front lines.
• Accelerate hiring contract workers, students to support workers in high work load environments such as EI / medicine / social services (Ex. mental health)
• Build a strong medical response network(Refer to Bill Gates Ted talk video) to tackle Covid-19 and similar virus
• Be aggressive on strong infrastructure plans (Transit, roads, highways, yes pipelines too !) to create jobs across the board. With interest rates and consumer confidence shattered, now is the time to invest.

Tax Payers: Who knows what the burden is going to be for future taxpayers as the govts. deficit books are expected to balloon post this crisis. Shout out to the taxpayers and future taxpayers for being the unsung heroes once again. Americans have multiple bullets to increase tax revenue. They increase from highest marginal tax rates at 37- high 40s, roll back the reckless Trump tax cuts, stop carried interest loopholes, bring up capital gains tax as labor tax, decrease the brackets (Yes 518K USD single household is the highest tax bracket!) to name a few. We don’t have too many of those bullets left. Canadians and Canadian industries (Energy / Services / Manufacturing / Banking / Tech ) need to thrive for a large enough pie for us to share and deliver the social safety nets (Ex. Free universal health care, CPP, quality education and public services). Targeted industry level responses are required as soon as possible to stabilize key sectors from free fall and help Canadians through these troubled times.

In times like this, we all support one another, we all fight for Team Canada.