Quebec minister: CERB is bad for business
Quebec’s labour minister says CERB is bad for business because people won’t work if they’re not threatened with hunger and homelessness. It’s odd that Jean Boulet can’t see the other side of the coin, which is that if you starve the populace, they won’t be in any position to stimulate the economy. CERB’s all about keeping the economy simmering, not so much about “spoiling” the lazy worker.
Myles 15:22 on 2020-06-29 Permalink
Maybe if employers offered a decent salary, people would be more inclined to work. It’s not like $2000 a month is extravagant.
Blork 15:55 on 2020-06-29 Permalink
We live in a highly developed country in the 21st century. You’d think that “avoid starvation” shouldn’t be the primary reason to get out of bed each morning.
Michael Black 16:17 on 2020-06-29 Permalink
This has a certain spin, and it’s already come up in other provinces.
It portrays people as being lazy and wanting to stay home. Yet there is the real possibility of getting sick, and for some people, even dying. That seems more like the reason than “because they are paid better to stay home.” Maybe it applies to some, but not likely all.
Again, the government wants people to take precautions, but then it’s not a switch to turn on and off. it expects people to turn around when it wants it.
People stayed home because things shut down. It will take effort to change them back, especially given “fear” was driving the shutdown. Every bus I’ve seen in three months has been empty enough that it looks empty (but maybe it is different elsewhere.). Some of it is people stayed home but some of it is that they don’t want to be close to other people, so they use other means of getting around. That won’t change on a dime either.
Propaganda works both ways, you can get the populace to follow, but then you have to make effort to have them follow in another direction.
Ephraim 06:38 on 2020-06-30 Permalink
So, where am I supposed to find this magic job that will let me go back to my business once it returns? Who wants to hire me for a month or two, knowing that I own a business that’s COVID affected and that I may quit at any time? Could I go back to teaching and then just QUIT?
JaneyB 14:34 on 2020-06-30 Permalink
Well, Boulet is not thinking clearly. I’m spending that money here in QC, helping keep the economy humming in some small way while my job is temporarily suspended. And more to the point: How different is that from the 40% salary subsidy that cultural companies (eg: Ubisoft) get from the provincial govt in normal times?
And @Myles is right – it’s poorly paid, high risk jobs that are having trouble finding people and that’s despite the very modest CERB payment option. Employers are used to telling jobseekers to retrain at their own expense and make themselves more attractive. Well, in covid times, those employers need to change their business model and safety protocols to make themselves more attractive than 2000K a month. Really, that shouldn’t be too hard.