REGINA -- NDP leader Ryan Meili is calling on the provincial government to provide immediate financial aid for Saskatchewan residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meili wants to see direct cash payments to people struggling financially.
He said the decision to allow businesses to lay-off workers without notice or pay-in-lieu for 12 weeks is going to hurt workers, since applying for Employment Insurance might be difficult.
“We have over 500,000 people applying for EI in Canada last week lone, so there’s a real potential bottleneck, and a situation where as we’re approaching the end of the month people might not have enough money to pay their bills,” Meili said during a teleconference on Monday.
The Opposition leader added the province shouldn’t wait and see if the federal government will give cash to residents, instead offering cash now to people who are out of work.
Meili pointed to models like Quebec, where $500 is being given to families. The NDP leader wouldn’t say an exact amount he would like to see for residents, but says the financial aid should include a sufficient amount of money to pay bills and afford groceries.
Meili believes residents who receive a cash payment will spend in the community, recirculating the funds to local businesses.
