OPEN LETTER to small business minister on support for self-employed individuals and sole-proprietors

….deep concern over the lack of support for self-employed individuals and sole-proprietors across Canada. In my home province of British Columbia, one-third of small businesses don’t believe they’ll qualify for the support that the government has given. This is especially true for businesses with less than 5 employees, of which nearly half don’t qualify for government support.
Several sole-proprietors have reached out to me personally for help because of the lack of assistance available to them. Many do not qualify for the business supports because they do not meet the payroll requirements, they rely on contract workers, are family-owned, or pay themselves in dividends. Your government has designed the current programs to exclude them. They cannot access the loan, wage-subsidy, or work-share programs. The only support they may qualify for is the individual CERB, which is not enough to get by with the overhead costs these businesses must continue to pay.

April 29, 2020

Honourable Mary Ng
Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6


Dear Minister,

I’m writing to you in my capacity as NDP critic for Small Business and Tourism to express my deep concern over the lack of support for self-employed individuals and sole-proprietors across Canada. In my home province of British Columbia, one-third of small businesses don’t believe they’ll qualify for the support that the government has given. This is especially true for businesses with less than 5 employees, of which nearly half don’t qualify for government support.

Several sole-proprietors have reached out to me personally for help because of the lack of assistance available to them. Many do not qualify for the business supports because they do not meet the payroll requirements, they rely on contract workers, are family-owned, or pay themselves in dividends. Your government has designed the current programs to exclude them. They cannot access the loan, wage-subsidy, or work-share programs. The only support they may qualify for is the individual CERB, which is not enough to get by with the overhead costs these businesses must continue to pay.

Simply put, the government is failing businesses owners and job creators and must take immediate action to correct this oversight.

There are several changes that your government can make to support sole-proprietors, including:

        • Modify the qualification criteria for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) to be based on gross revenue instead of payroll so that businesses that rely on contract work can apply. As GST collection is directly related to gross revenue, this will help the government measure their risk based on the amount collected;

        • Use gross revenue as a measurement, and work with financial institutions to offer scaled loans and non-repayable grants for businesses at different levels of development and need. This would allow those businesses with some income who currently don’t qualify to receive support based on their specific needs;

        • Work with the provinces and territories to put a moratorium on evictions, ensuring that all small businesses have time to understand and apply for the supports available to them. New announcements are coming daily, and without time to understand how they can be used, businesses won’t be able to make fully-informed decisions about their futures;

        • Modify the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) to be more inclusive of businesses that don’t qualify under current requirements.

These businesses provide crucial community services, add to the vibrancy of their communities, ensure that money stays in the local economy, and contribute to the well- being of their neighbours. If sole-proprietors are not able to get support, not only will they be forced to shut down, but their communities will suffer as well.

By changing the qualifying conditions for sole-proprietors, these small businesses can get the help they need now. Businesses have waited for too long, and despite other supports announced for businesses they are still being left behind.

Rent is due for May and many small businesses remain ineligible for the supports you have announced for others. The Government of Canada must recognize, encourage, and support sole-proprietorships in this country

You cannot continue to exclude them from getting help during this crisis. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to your response. Sincerely,

Gord Johns
Member of Parliament for Courtenay-Alberni

 

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In the morning of August 31, Egyptian journalist Hossam el-Hamalawy received an email from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), informing him that it had made a “u-turn” and reversed its decision to deny him entry to Canada.

The reversal came in response to a coordinated solidarity campaign that successfully pressured IRCC, Canada’s department of immigration, to change course.

Almost two weeks earlier, on August 18, IRCC rejected el-Hamalawy’s application for an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), which is required for German citizens to visit Canada. An Egyptian exile and refugee, el-Hamalawy resides in Berlin and has German citizenship. His eTA application was to attend two public speaking engagements in September at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada.

IRCC initially rejected el-Hamalawy’s eTA application after requesting three times that he provide official documents from the Egyptian government that corroborate his experience of detention and torture under the regime.

In Toronto, the Executive Director of REDWORD.ca, Mostafa Al-A’sar, prepared an open letter to Minister Diab signed by prominent labour leaders, journalists, and human rights activists, including Mostafa Fouad, Executive Director of HuMENA for Human Rights; Ehab Lotayef, founding member of Egyptian Canadian Coalition for Democracy; Judy Rebick, feminist and journalist; and Sid Ryan, former President of the Ontario Federation of Labour.

Other activists launched an email campaign, which encouraged supporters to send letters to Minister Diab and her Parliamentary Secretary, Liberal Member of Parliament Peter Fragiskatos (London Centre), as well as their own Members of Parliament. Letters were sent from across Canada, including Halifax, Nova Scotia (Diab’s home riding) and London, Ontario (Fragiskatos’s home riding). Activists in the United States, Britain, and Europe also shared the email appeal.

In addition to the appeal, activists organized two emergency phone actions, which delivered over 200 voicemail messages to Diab, Fragiskatos, and dozens of Members of Parliament.

Finally, on August 31, Jenny Kwan shared her own open letter to the Minister, which echoed all the demands of the solidarity campaign.

*Click image or link to read the article - https://springmag.ca/international-solidarity-works-hossam-el-hamalawy-wins-entry-to-canada

My open letter to Immigration Minister Lena Diab requesting urgent intervention to facilitate entry into Canada for Hossam el-Hamalawy.  

Mr. el-Hamalawy is an award-winning Egyptian journalist, scholar, and human rights advocate who fled persecution in Egypt and is now a German citizen living in exile. He was invited by faculty at Simon Fraser University (SFU) to give two academic lectures this September. However, IRCC denied his Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) after demanding documentation from the very Egyptian authorities responsible for his past detention and persecution—putting him in an impossible and unsafe position.  

It is deeply problematic to expect political exiles to seek papers from the regime they fled. Canada must stand up for human rights, academic freedom, and freedom of the press. I am calling on Minister Diab to use her discretion and immediately reconsider this decision so Mr. el-Hamalawy can share his scholarship at SFU.  

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