Vandal raps Pallister for slamming CERB

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This article was published 23/06/2020 (1604 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Manitoba’s federal cabinet minister has chided the Pallister government again, this time saying the province should boost financial supports to businesses instead of fretting about federal COVID-19-related benefits.

Dan Vandal was responding to questions about the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit on Wednesday, one day after Premier Brian Pallister said he would give Manitobans the same amount as CERB if they return to work. He promised not to claw back the $2,000 monthly stipend, which he said discourages some Manitobans from returning to work.

“I’m not sure that getting people off CERB should be the No. 1 priority for Winnipeg and for Manitoba,” Vandal said in a videoconference with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

“I know there are some programs that could be improved in Winnipeg and Manitoba, if the province were to step up a little more to help the businesses.”

The premier’s office asked for clarity over what business supports Vandal was referring to; his office did not specify.

“If the (federal government) has any specific concerns with the programs that Manitoba is providing in the wake of COVID-19, the prime minister is welcome to raise and discuss them on the weekly call with Pallister and his fellow premiers,” Pallister’s spokeswoman, Olivia Billson, wrote.

AMC Grand Chief Arlen Dumas said he was glad CERB arrived, because his reserve of Pukatawagan had struggled after the 2008 recession, in which he said private industry had ample support.

“That shouldn’t be their worry, that CERB is somehow going to cause (economic) demise,” Dumas said.

Despite his comments, Vandal insisted Wednesday that both levels of government need to work together.

“A pandemic is not the time to get into partisanship. I have a good relationship with many provincial MLAs, and we’re going to keep working together,” he said.

Two weeks ago, Vandal blamed Manitoba for slowly rolling out infrastructure funding, specifically, a cost-shared program for northern and rural projects.

“We need to also put the onus on the provinces and the cities, to make sure that they’re doing all they can to bring those projects forward,” he told a local business group on June 10.

“A pandemic is not the time to get into partisanship. I have a good relationship with many provincial MLAs, and we’re going to keep working together.” – Dan Vandal

The Pallister government has said it intends to submit projects to Ottawa by “late spring” and it is in the process of consulting. The premier has said the Liberals have been constructive in responding to the pandemic.

Vandal also said Wednesday he’d look into whether COVID-19 funding is flowing fast enough to Winnipeg’s Indigenous groups.

The federal government put up money for urban-Indigenous groups to weather the lockdown, through two phases of funding applications.

Dumas said the first phase of funding, for which applications were due in mid-April, was received by Winnipeg groups affiliated with the AMC in early June.

“Wow, that’s too long,” Vandal said, adding he’d raise the issue with his colleagues.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca