Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 13, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A3 Craig Kielburger Craig Kielburger is a humanitarian, activist, social entrepreneur and co-founder of WE, a family of organi- zations that includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. First founded to fight child labour in developing communities, WE now works in nine countries overseas. Closer to home, the organization empowers youth in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom by con- necting students with global issues and social causes, and giving them the tools to get involved. metowe.com/living SPONSORED CONTENT Craig Kielburger is co-founder of the WE Movement, which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. I was a basic income skeptic until the COVID-19 pandemic By Craig Kielburger Nearly half of working Canadians are now unemployed or under-employed due to COVID-19. For the self-employed in Canada's gig economy, government relief programs with rigid barriers are forcing some tough choices. A childcare provider in Arnprior, Ont., agonized over re-opening her shuttered home business to take in children of emergency workers on the frontline, at the risk of exposing her family to the virus. In just three days, a Toronto makeup artist saw clients cancel appointments for the rest of the year. Both face a gut-wrenching choice. If the daycare provider takes in one or two children, or if the makeup artist books a few new jobs, the resulting income still won't be enough to live on. It will, however, put them at risk of disqualification from the Canadian Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB), the federal aid package intended to shore up lost income during the pandemic. Working in international development, I have always believed that a hand up is better than a handout. I was skeptical of politicians like former U.S. democratic candidate Andrew Yang and his monthly cheques for Americans. Then the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. After revelations that CERB would exclude over 800,000 struggling workers, as I write this, the government is promising a third attempt to get income support to even more Canadians financially affected by COVID-19. I am increasingly swayed by arguments that, instead of multiple emergency initiatives, the best solution would be one universal basic income program that gives every affected Canadian a direct payment. In addition to helping people now, it would act as a live experiment. We can test the potential to keep basic income in the long term to address issues in our evolving workplace. Before this crisis, an estimated 1.7 million Canadians were working in the gig economy - freelancers, Uber drivers and others on short- term contracts. Many more are self-employed entrepreneurs. Trend watchers like Deloitte believe this haphazard work is the future of our post-industrial economy. Yet our social safety nets are still geared for the industrial age. Even before coronavirus, gig workers lived in economic uncertainty, often just one cancelled contract or lost client away from financial disaster. Employment Insurance (EI) was designed for nine-to-five workers who are laid off, not for those with frequent gaps between jobs. Universal basic income is a guaranteed monthly sum - enough to cover costs of living, ease stress and improve mental health. It provides economic stability to smooth out the bumps inherent to a gig economy and allows low-wage earners to stop living hand-to-mouth. It may seem like a utopian ideal, but it's not new to Canada in practice. An Ontario trial launched in 2017 was cancelled after just one year due to a change in government. However, 40 years ago, a five-year experiment was conducted in Manitoba. The results from the Mincome Project were never fully analyzed, but small-scale reviews found that, with financial stresses reduced, health in participating communities increased significantly compared to other towns. And contrary to a common criticism, there was not a significant upswing in people refusing to work. Universal basic income could be the hand up that helps Canadians through this crisis and supports vulnerable workers during the next economic evolution. COVID-19 PANDEMIC CITY EDITOR: SHANE MINKIN 204-697-7292 ? CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ? WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM A3 MONDAY APRIL 13, 2020 'This is the challenge of our generation' Trudeau among leaders delivering hopeful messages marking Easter O TTAWA - Canada's political leaders joined Christians from across the country in marking Easter Sunday by issuing messages of hope and calls for strength even as COVID-19 continued to cause pain and suffering for millions of Canadians - with no obvious end in sight. On the same day provincial officials were reporting more confirmed cases and deaths from the nefarious respira- tory illness, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a video statement en- couraging Canadians to stay strong and keep the faith. "This is the challenge of our genera- tion, and each and every one of us has a role to play," Trudeau said. "When we come out of this - and we will come out of this - we will all take pride in the sacrifices we've made to protect each other and to protect the country we love." Similar statements were issued by Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and other federal and provincial lead- ers as Canadians gathered with their families - both physically and virtu- ally - to commemorate the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. "So as you gather as families and as faith communities virtually during the period of pandemic, I hope that your faith will be renewed and I hope that all people who celebrate this as time of new beginnings will feel refreshed and a new sense of hope," Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said in his own video statement. "Goodness knows we need one now in the challenging days of this pandemic." While Sunday marked the first time in nearly a month that the majority of Canada's political leaders and chief medical officers did not appear live to update Canadians on their respective efforts to fight COVID-19, the pandem- ic continued to take a toll. Officials in Atlantic Canada, Ontario and Quebec reported 975 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and 60 more deaths, bringing the national total to 24,292 confirmed and presumptive cases and 713 deaths. The Quebec coroner's office also an- nounced Sunday that it would investi- gate the deaths of dozens of seniors at a private long-term care facility west of Montreal linked to what Premier Fran- cois Legault has described as a possible case of "gross negligence." A police investigation was launched over the weekend after regional health authorities were able to access patient files at the Residence Herron and found that 31 of the residence's 150 or so sen- iors had died since March 13. Quebec's health department is also investigating. Yet even as some families grieved and others struggled with the new re- ality that the pandemic had thrust on them in terms of self-isolating and fi- nancial hardship, Trudeau noted this wasn't the first Easter weekend in which Canadians had been called upon to make sacrifices. Recalling Vimy Ridge on Easter Mon- day in 1917, Trudeau said the "bravery and courage" of Canadian soldiers then "live on in our nurses, doctors, para- medics and custodial workers. In our truckers, cashiers and all frontline workers. They are our heroes now. "And today, we're all being called upon to join them and to serve." Aside from chocolate eggs, Easter Sunday also arrived with desperately needed aid for businesses and work- ers after Parliament approved a mas- sive $73-billion wage subsidy program aimed at helping them survive the eco- nomic ravages of the pandemic. The legislation received royal assent on Saturday night, paving the way for Ottawa to start paying companies 75 per cent of the first $58,700 earned by each employee - up to $847 per week for up to 12 weeks. The economic program, which Tru- deau has described as the most signifi- cant since the Second World War, is retroactive to March 15 and available to companies that lost 15 per cent of their revenue in March or lose 30 per cent in April or May. -The Canadian Press LEE BERTHIAUME COVID-19 AT A GLANCE Cases Manitoba Confirmed: 226 Probable: 16 Recovered: 96 Deaths: 4 Canada Confirmed: 24,365 Probable: 18 Recovered: 7,172 Deaths: 717 THE LATEST FROM MANITOBA: ? Provincial health officials advised on Sunday that no new COVID-19 cases have been identified. In addition, one previously announced probable case has been determined to be a false positive. Manitoba's total case count now stands at 242. Eight individuals are currently in hospital, includ- ing four people in intensive care. Four Manitobans have died due to COVID-19, 96 individuals have recovered. ? The provincial government said in a release the current statistics may be a reflection of the effect strict social distancing measures have had and cautioned against the view that the risk of COVID-19 has reduced. ? Manitobans continue to be reminded there have been reports of multiple phishing scams and fraud related to COVID-19. Manitobans are advised not to provide any financial data, hang up on the caller and to report the call to the Canadian Anti- Fraud Centre at (toll-free) 1-888-495-8501. THE LATEST FROM ELSEWHERE: ? Worldwide, many Christians spent Easter at home, rather than church. Police checkpoints in Europe and outside closed churches elsewhere left the faithful with few worship options other than watching services online or on TV. In the United States, some pastors went ahead with in-person services despite state or local bans on large gatherings. ? The Quebec coroner's office will investigate the deaths of 31 seniors at a private long-term care facility west of Montreal. Premier Francois Legault said yesterday that at least five of the deaths at the Residence Herron in Dorval, Que., were due to COVID-19. A police investigation was launched after regional health authorities obtained an order to access patient files at the residence and learned of the dozens of deaths that had occurred since March 13. ? British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has posted a video on Twitter in which he hails the staff in the National Health Service for saving his life when it could have "gone either way." Johnson spent a week in hospital, three days of which were in intensive care. He was given oxygen but was not put on a ventilator. ? The United States' top infectious disease expert says the economy in parts of the country could be allowed to reopen as early as next month. Dr. Anthony Fauci says there's no light switch that will be clicked to turn everything back on. He says a "rolling re-entry" will be required based on the status of the pandemic in various parts of the country. QUOTE: "COVID-19 is going to do far greater damage to national security than terrorism ever did." - Security-and-intelligence expert Wesley Wark at the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs GRAHAM HUGHES / THE CANADIAN PRESS People place a sign translating to 'Protect our Seniors' outside Maison Herron in Dorval, Que., Sunday. The Quebec coroner is investigating after 31 of the home's 151 residents died. 'When we come out of this - and we will come out of this - we will all take pride in the sacrifices we've made to protect each other and to protect the country we love' - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau A_03_Apr-13-20_FP_01.indd A3 2020-04-12 9:59 PM ;