Opinion
New federal program for hard-hit sectors will help investors and banks—not workers
By Ian Robb December 23, 2020
If HASCAP is to be more than a corporate bailout, the government must require full participation in CEWS and guarantee laid-off workers can return to their jobs.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced a new Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program in the Nov. 30 fall economic statement. But unless there’s transparency on how many workers are returned to their jobs, the government—and ultimately taxpayers—will be fully backing the loans of rich real estate investors and big banks and get little in return, writes Ian Robb. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
The federal government may well leave Canada’s most vulnerable workers behind in its effort to bail out hard-hit sectors like hospitality. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland recently announced the Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP), designed to give low-interest loans of up to $1-million, fully backed by the federal government, to hard-hit companies.
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