An Open Letter to the Canadian Government

Dear Canadian Government:

I was texting with my sister-in-law yesterday. She is a kind and wonderful person, a retired school librarian who spent a good part of her career serving the needs of students at an inner-city school. We live about an hour and a half drive from one another, and checking in isn’t uncommon. What is uncommon, however, was the subject matter of our texts. Overnight, we found ourselves in an entirely new world; Ontario, where we live, just declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19.

Social distancing and being cognizant not to be part of the problem of this quickly spreading virus is paramount. I firmly believe that our financial concerns are miniscule compared to the health risks we are facing. However small in proportion these economic concerns are, they do exist, nonetheless.

I own a company that publishes and supplies books to schools, but schools are no longer in session for the foreseeable. This is affecting me profoundly, as I usually do about 80% of my business in the month of March because of one particular resource I sell. I was lamenting via text when my sister-in-law mentioned how this situation was affecting someone else who was a small-business owner, someone who was a landlord of a business building. If tenants were unable to continue doing trade during the coronavirus crises, they could become unable to pay rent, the ripple widened and so on.

There are many layers to this, my sister-in-law texted.

Yes, there are, I replied.

At the time of writing this article, Canada’s Prime Minister has spoken in generalities about how our government will support us financially. Parliament is scheduled to meet tomorrow, and we should have more information on Canada’s plan of action. Currently, employees who are let go or laid off can apply for Employment Insurance without the usual two-week waiting period, and that is good. If you work for someone else. However, if you are like me, self-employed, a sole proprietor who does not pay into Employment Insurance (Why would I? I can’t fire myself, and I am past childbearing years), the financial landscape feels unstable at the moment. Many of us feel as if we are freefalling without a net.

My worry is, how do I prove my business is suffering because of the virus? When it comes down to it, all businesses are affected—some for the better and some for the worse. This year will go down in history as the year of the toilet paper manufacturer.

Then came the text: I have an idea.

Yeah? What is it? I queried.

What if banks collected only the interest on all mortgages and loans for a year? The principle would be frozen, and the banks would still be making their money. It seems too obvious. For some reason it probably won’t work. What do I know? No one will listen to me. I am just a retired schoolteacher.

I thought it was a brilliant idea. It would allow a lot of people and small businesses (and big ones for that matter) have more of a chance to weather the storm. The banks don’t want to own all our homes, especially if the housing market plummets. My sister-in-law made perfect sense to me!

I am sure the announcement tomorrow will be well-vetted and researched by politicians, analysts, economists and financial experts. Whatever the plan, it is my hope that our government remembers the entrepreneurs, the ones building things from nothing, those Ma and Pop/single mom/you-name-it operations who started in the basement with a hundred bucks and a dream. Because those are the people who are feeling financially naked and exposed at the moment.

Whatever is announced tomorrow, it is also good to remember that we all have something to contribute to our community. Whether considered viable or not by experts, my sister-in-law’s idea was creative; she should be proud of thinking of it. No one is just a schoolteacher/entrepreneur/stay-at-home dad/fill-in-the-blank. We are all Canadians, and for the moment, strong and free. And we are counting on you, our elected officials, our Canadian Government, to try to keep us that way. I don't envy your job right now, but I am trusting that all of you, across partylines, will work tirelessly to bring our nation through this. And for this, I am grateful.