‘They’re scared’: As CERB payments end for early applicants, many say there are still no jobs to go back to

In an ideal world, Aja Sax would be behind a bar, mixing up a negroni or whisky sour and chatting with customers.

Instead, the restaurant and bar industry veteran is worried about what will happen after her final Canada Emergency Response Benefit payment comes in early July.

“I’d be getting maybe $500 a month on EI. I could barely cover my bills with CERB, and that was $2,000 a month,” said Sax of the program introduced by the federal government in April to help people thrown out of work because of COVID-19.

While CERB is open until October, benefits have been capped at four months, meaning anyone who registered in April (retroactive to mid-March) is closing in on their final deposit. The pinch is being felt by workers in a variety of industries, from restaurants, to corporate relocation services, and the live event business.

Being in one of the industries hardest hit by COVID-related restrictions means Sax applied right away. She had also been working in catering for the film and TV production industry, another sector which has ground to a halt.

“I’d prefer to be working, but both the industries I work in are struggling,” said Sax.

While Sax understands that the program has already cost the federal government $43 billion, she said extending the program is a no-brainer. This past Wednesday, the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated that extending CERB until next January would cost another $57 billion.

“I get it. This is our tax money. But millions of people need this. I absolutely think CERB should be extended. Maybe overhaul the qualifications a bit,” said Sax.

Mollie Jacques, who had been chef at the now-defunct Woodlawn Public House, says governments are sorely mistaken if they think the need for CERB has vanished just because some COVID-related restrictions are being lifted.

“There aren’t going to be jobs to go back to,” said Jacques, at least not in the sector she works in.

Once restaurants and bars reopen, they’ll only be allowed at 50 per cent capacity for the foreseeable future. That, said Jacques, means fewer servers and bartenders. And, in many cases, fewer people in the kitchen.

“A lot of owners are just going to be doing the cooking themselves,” said Jacques, adding that she saw a single cooking job advertised recently on an industry jobs board.

The pinch is being felt in other sectors, too.

Cheri Dueck, who works for an executive relocation service, is concerned about what will happen when CERB runs out.

“EI just doesn’t cut it in Toronto. CERB barely covered my bills. The company is hoping there will be some kind of work in July or August, but there’s no guarantee,” said Dueck. There are fewer clients, and some usual services are off-limits, she added.

“We just can’t do the job the way we usually do,” said Dueck, citing airport pickups as one task which is off-limits.

Dueck is concerned about the effect on the city as a whole if people can’t make ends meet after CERB winds down.

“People are going to move out of the city, if they can’t afford to live here. You can’t have Bay Street without having all of the people who support it, whether it’s restaurants or services,” said Dueck.

In the entertainment industry, too, workers are worried about CERB winding down, said Justin Antheunis, president of IATSE Local 58, a union representing stage hands and technical staff at theatres and arenas.

“We were the first industry to be shut down, and we’re going to be the last to reopen,” said Antheunis.

Without CERB, some people working in the industry will be able to collect EI, but that’s a much more cumbersome process, he said.

Get the latest in your inbox Never miss the latest news from the Star, including up-to-date coronavirus coverage, with our email newsletters Sign Up Now

“Employment in this industry is precarious anyway. You might need to be working for 12 places to collect a full-time wage. So EI people will have to run around and get 12 different records of employment. And it would still be a lot less money than CERB,” said Antheunis.

But a lot of people working as stage hands and technical crew work as independent contractors, meaning they aren’t even eligible for EI, he said.