Manitoba waits for Ottawa on aid to hospitality sector

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This article was published 22/01/2021 (1896 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Finance Minister Scott Fielding says Manitoba is waiting to hear how much funding Ottawa will give to the restaurant, tourism and the accommodations industries so they survive the pandemic.

He spoke to reporters Friday after meeting virtually with his federal and provincial counterparts.

“Quite frankly, we do want to see what the federal government has to offer,” Fielding said.

The finance ministers discussed health funding, which is Manitoba’s top priority, followed by infrastructure funding and the federal government’s promise of sector-specific support for restaurants and other businesses hit hard by public health orders that have forced them to close to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“Some of their programs have been very good, like the wage subsidy and others,” Fielding said of the federal supports Manitobans have received. He expects the federal government to announce details of funding for the restaurant and hospitality sector “very soon,” and that Manitoba business owners are anxiously awaiting the news from Ottawa.

“We have heard specifically from restaurant and individuals like that. They do want to hear about the commitment that was made by the federal government,” he said. “We do need need further answers in terms of what that will look like.” The province has already promised $400 million to help Manitoba businesses, said Fielding, who didn’t rule out providing more financial help.

The PC government shouldn’t wait until it finds out how much money it will get from Ottawa before it helps struggling Manitoba businesses, said Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont.

“They’re doing what they’ve done for the last few months: they’re going to sit and wait for the federal government to do something, which is not how you act in an pandemic, and that’s not how you act in an emergency,” Lamont told reporters Friday.

“If your house is burning down, you don’t wait to see if your neighbours are going to call 911 for you.”

He pointed to a Canadian Federation of Independent Business survey this week that warns 5,601 businesses, or 15 per cent of businesses in Manitoba, are at risk of closing. The province needs to provide more help to save them, Lamont said. “This government isn’t doing what it takes.”

Manitobans will have an opportunity to share their priorities for the provincial budget, which normally is released in March but will be “a little bit later this year,” said Fielding.

Pre-budget consultations that begin Tuesday include four online meetings and four telephone town halls.

The government’s priority is to “protect and support all Manitobans through the unprecedented fiscal and economic impacts of COVID-19,” Fielding said in a statement Friday.

The province hasn’t shown it can do either, Lamont said.

“When Scott Fielding says the two major focuses of this government are on protecting businesses and keeping people safe, they’ve completely failed on both those counts,” Lamont said. “We have the second-highest mortality rate (due to the pandemic) and we had the highest number of businesses applying for insolvency protection in August and September.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca