In the fourth in a series of programs about Canada’s 2021 Budget, Rachel Blaney, MP for North Island Powell River talks about the temporary COVID Relief subsidies and benefits.
Continue reading Budget 2021: COVID relief subsidies and benefitsCategory Archives: Jobs
Port Alberni’s floating dry dock project
By Melissa Renwick, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
For over two years, the Port Alberni Port Authority (PAPA) has been forging ahead trying to secure provincial and federal government funding to build a floating dry dock within the city.
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NDP Want $900 Million Given to Canada Summer Jobs
National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The NDP’s party whip wants Ottawa to take the $900-million budget for WE Charity’s now infamous and defunct volunteer initiative and distribute it to another federal youth program.
It’s not too late to use the funds to employ youth and support businesses and community groups across the country that are struggling economically during the pandemic, said Rachel Blaney, MP for North Island-Powell River.
“We are reminding (the Liberals) that they have avenues to do it if they really care about young people and communities across this country,” Blaney told Canada’s National Observer.
“And we hope they will look at them.”
Blaney wants the federal government to funnel the shelved WE funds into the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program, a wage subsidy plan for employers who hire youth and one that is already operational, Blaney said.
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BC’s Minimum Wage Insufficient
National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
As of June 1, minimum wage workers in the province earn $14.60 an hour, up from $13.85. But low wages, part-time or precarious work, coupled with low vacancy rates and high rents, are significant drivers of homelessness in the North Island region, said Kristi Schwanicke, co-ordinator of the Campbell River and District Coalition to End Homelessness.
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