4570 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

Hardware and living space are the two huge factors in this, though. Working from home is no fun at all when you have two people sharing a one bedroom apartment, and even worse when said apartment doesn't have a table. A laptop on the kitchen counter or couch is a huge step down from my double monitor setup at the office.

Our employer gave us the ability to bring our workstations home, but I have nowhere to put it when it's not in use. I'll be much happier once I can be back in the office full time as opposed to one day a week. Most of the people in my department seem to have the same feelings.

I also think you need more than just a double monitor. You need three or more to replicate the office experience. What you need to be able to do is virtually recreate your coworker coming over to your desk to look at some blueprints or peer over your shoulder at your monitor as you both look at a problem on screen.

[spanky123]

CERB claims now up to 7.3M. If you add in the 2.5M collecting EI (since the last update) and the 1M who were unemployed before March then the total number unemployed is almost 11M or 58% of the workforce. As a comparison, Sweden expects to top out at 9% unemployment. 

 

 

10,000 businesses applied for the wage subsidy in the first hours the portal was open.

Edited by spanky123, 27 April 2020 - 12:07 PM.

[Matt R.]

CEWS applications went live today. If you pay your staff for not working, the feds will cover the employer ei and cpp portion too, and in some cases simply pay them 100% of that amount up to a max of 75% of their former wage up to $850 ish a month. Nice one. You can even pay them ~$250 a week from March 15 for nothing and they can collect their CERB.

When going through the application, they tell you if your claim is over $25,000,000 then there is a special “large transfers” division to contact.

Matt.

[spanky123]

An employee who collects CERB while their employer is collecting the wage subsidy is "supposed" to pay it back. After all, they are being paid by their employer. The employer is all "supposed" to be paying the remaining 25% although it seems like that is no longer a requirement that is enforced.

 

As I said earlier, we are incurring so much debt that our national debt/GDP ratio is going to rival Greece and Spain which will mean ratings downgrades and higher rates and taxes for everyone.

[Matt R.]

An employee who collects CERB while their employer is collecting the wage subsidy is "supposed" to pay it back. After all, they are being paid by their employer. The employer is all "supposed" to be paying the remaining 25% although it seems like that is no longer a requirement that is enforced.
 
As I said earlier, we are incurring so much debt that our national debt/GDP ratio is going to rival Greece and Spain which will mean ratings downgrades and higher rates and taxes for everyone.

No, you can earn up to $1000 in the CERB period and keep it all. The top up is optional, but encouraged. What a time to be alive.

Matt.

[Szeven]

It's going to be really odd the next time teachers or nurses strike. How can the govt say there is no money?

The cat is really out of the bag now with the debt monetization.

[spanky123]

No, you can earn up to $1000 in the CERB period and keep it all. The top up is optional, but encouraged. What a time to be alive.

Matt.

 

I am just as critical as anyone else on how stupid some of these programs are but I am 100% certain that if the employer is collecting the wage subsidy then the employee cannot get CERB.

 

OTTAWA – As applications for the new wage subsidy program launched on Monday, the federal government warned Canadians who already receive an emergency benefit about the dangers of cashing in twice.

People who receive the $2,000/month Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) were told they would have to reimburse the program if they end up receiving retroactive pay.

“You won’t be able to keep both the wage subsidy and the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. It’s one or the other, not both,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned on Monday morning

[spanky123]

It's going to be really odd the next time teachers or nurses strike. How can the govt say there is no money?

The cat is really out of the bag now with the debt monetization.

 

If we look back to what happened in previous cycles there is a delay. The full impact of the economic crisis will hit Government when they release their next budget. That is when you will see the cuts coming. First will be any consultants or contractors and then it will hit the core civil service.

Edited by spanky123, 27 April 2020 - 07:08 PM.

[Szeven]

If we look back to what in previous cycles there is a delay. The full impact of the economic crisis will hit Government when they release their next budget. That is when you will see the cuts coming. First will be any consultants or contractors and then it will hit the core civil service.

That's the logical textbook response. I'm thinking of it more from a human level. People won't be able to process why everyone got $8000+ and nurses can't get a 5% raise. The outcome could be a huge shift in Liberal policy or a new ultra left party imo. Too soon?

[Mike K.]

On the other side of that coin we’ll also be able to show how detrimental the payouts were, and how thin the membrane is between fiscal prudence and mismanagement.

[Szeven]

On the other side of that coin we’ll also be able to show how detrimental the payouts were, and how thin the membrane is between fiscal prudence and mismanagement.

They weren't detrimental though. They keep asset prices inflated, so the rich get richer and inequality rages higher.

The irony of course is that we could have eliminated inequality by NOT helping people cause asset prices would crash. But as we know the system is too interconnected for anyone to actually choose that. Never take the pain when you can print money and pay lip service to causes that get you re-elected.

[Mike K.]

Right, same argument, I guess. Eventually taxes will rise to pay for this, and it’s the middle class that pays the taxes. The rich, though, invest their money and employ the middle class. They’re the most important lug in the wheel (and I don’t mean that disparagingly towards workers, heck I am one, but workers need the work to come from somewhere/someone).

[Matt R.]

I am just as critical as anyone else on how stupid some of these programs are but I am 100% certain that if the employer is collecting the wage subsidy then the employee cannot get CERB.
 
OTTAWA – As applications for the new wage subsidy program launched on Monday, the federal government warned Canadians who already receive an emergency benefit about the dangers of cashing in twice.
People who receive the $2,000/month Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) were told they would have to reimburse the program if they end up receiving retroactive pay.
“You won’t be able to keep both the wage subsidy and the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. It’s one or the other, not both,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned on Monday morning

How else would someone earn $1000 a month. Some employer not collecting the wage subsidy? The person collecting cerb doesn’t collect the wage subsidy, the employer does.

This is from the CERB application page.

Who is eligible
The Benefit is available to workers:

Residing in Canada, who are at least 15 years old;
Who have stopped working because of reasons related to COVID-19 or are eligible for Employment Insurance regular or sickness benefits or have exhausted their Employment Insurance regular benefits or Employment Insurance fishing benefits between December 29, 2019 and October 3, 2020;
Who had employment and/or self-employment income of at least $5,000 in 2019 or in the 12 months prior to the date of their application; and,
Who have not quit their job voluntarily.
When submitting your first claim, you cannot have earned more than $1,000 in employment and/or self-employment income for 14 or more consecutive days within the four-week benefit period of your claim.

When submitting subsequent claims, you cannot have earned more than $1,000 in employment and/or self-employment income for the entire four-week benefit period of your new claim.

Matt.

[Redd42]

If someone has lost their self-employment income due to Covid but still has rental and pension income, do they qualify for CERB?

[Mike K.]

I’d talk to an accountant about that. If you do, please let us know what you’ve gleaned.

[LJ]

If someone has lost their self-employment income due to Covid but still has rental and pension income, do they qualify for CERB?

I would guess that if you were still making over 1k a month the answer would be no.

[Victoria Watcher]

Malls Face Catastrophic Hit in Canada With Unpaid Rent Surging

https://www.bloomber...id-rent-surging

 

 

Canada’s malls are facing a wave of skipped rents and could see vacancy rates triple by year-end, with the coronavirus poised to leave its scars on a fragile retail sector long after the pandemic ends.

 

In the country’s enclosed regional malls -- a category that includes Toronto’s Eaton Centre and Pacific Centre in Vancouver -- only 20% to 25% of tenants paid rent in April, according to brokerage firm JLL Canada. Big box shopping centers and community strip malls took in only a little over half their expected rent.

 

“I’ve been in this business over 30 years and I have never seen anything as catastrophic or as impactful in a negative way in our business,” Tim Sanderson, who heads retail at JLL Canada, said in an interview. “It’s the mid-tier smaller-scale landlord that cannot make their mortgage payments to their lender that are going to be in trouble.”

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 28 April 2020 - 03:48 AM.

[VIResident]

In new survey, 69% of Canadians say they would like to work from home more often in future 
Of 1515 surveyed,  

 

https://leger360.com...-april-28-2020/

 

HIGHLIGHTS (APRIL 28, 2020)

Leger’s latest survey about COVID-19, conducted in partnership with the Association for Canadian Studies (ACS) and published in The Canadian Press, reveals that:

• 69% of Canadians who are currently working from home due to COVID-19 restrictions would like to work from home more often after the crisis
• 45% of Canadians would agree with governments using location data from people’s mobile devices to monitor social distancing/self-isolation
• The majority of Canadians would feel comfortable going to farmers’ markets and allowing in-home renovations after governments lift the protective measures
• When a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, 60% of Canadians think it should be mandatory for all
•  

Edited by VIResident, 29 April 2020 - 06:43 AM.

[VIResident]

Renting just got a whole lot easier in Victoria

Our resident real estate analyst Leo Spalteholz breaks down why COVID-19 might be a boon to the city’s renters 

Before the BC Capital was beset by an infectious disease crisis it was in the midst of a rental crisis. With a rental vacancy rate of 1%, the city had spiraling rents and rising renovictions. But COVID-19 has changed everything, including the rental market. Read more at The Capital.  

Edited by VIResident, 29 April 2020 - 06:45 AM.

[Mike K.]

Let’s not lose our composure just yet.

The same analyst said real-estate prices would drop by a considerable rate, and so far they’re holding steady with sales outpacing most estimates (even here we thought 225 for April would be good, but it’s on track to hit 300).

Lots of theorizing and conjecture is being thrown around everywhere but it’s all just opinion at this point.