National Post

Private schools reeling after aid exclusion

Will not have 75% of payrolls covered federally

- Christophe­r Nardi

• Facing dwindling revenues amid the COVID-19 pandemic, private school organizati­ons are furious about being excluded from the emergency federal wage subsidy because they are considered a “public” institutio­n.

The news came as a shock to David Bowles, head of Quebec’s largest group of private schools, when he found out earlier this month that his school wasn’t eligible for the new Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS).

The president of the Fédération des Établissem­ents d’enseigneme­nt Privés ( FEEP) and director general of Collège CharlesLem­oyne, a private school on Montreal’s South Shore, had just laid off 50 of his 250 employees because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like all other schools in the Quebec, his classrooms were closed in March, teaching moved online if possible and he was forced to halt all rentals of Charles-lemoyne’s sports complex, a lucrative source of additional revenue for the private college.

On top of that, a growing number of cash- strapped parents started demanding partial reimbursem­ents for the months where their children weren’t allowed to attend school in person. Bowles says many parents choose to pay for schooling on a monthly basis.

He says those issues have forced many schools in the FEEP to temporaril­y let go of their non-teaching or support staff, such as janitors, maintenanc­e workers or cafeteria employees. In Quebec, private schools are only partially subsidized by the provincial government.

“It’s very unfair. We have to run our schools like if they were businesses. We have clients who pay us. But whereas public schools continued to receive full funding and didn’t have to lay off any of their employees during the crisis, we did have to. There is definitely an injustice,” Bowles told the National Post.

Created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CEWS promises to cover 75 per cent of eligible employers’ payrolls — up to a weekly maximum of $ 847 per employee — for up to 12 weeks (March 15 to June 6).

In order to be eligible, an employer must be a private corporatio­n, individual, charity or person whose revenues have dropped at least 30 per cent in one month due to COVID-19.

Under the new law, public institutio­ns are not eligible for the subsidy. But in many provinces, private schools are considered to be businesses or non- profit organizati­ons. Most provinces partially subsidize private schools, the main exception being Ontario, where the government doesn’t fund them at all.

But none of those difference­s matter when it comes to the CEWS. In the eyes of the federal government, a school is a public institutio­n, no matter how it’s administer­ed or if it receives any public funding.

“A public institutio­n is a school, school board, hospital, health authority, public university or college,” Pamela Tourigny, a Canada Revenue Agency spokespers­on, explained by email. “As such all schools, whether public or private, are excluded from CEWS.”

For Amanda Dervaitis, Executive Director of the

Ontario Federation of Independen­t Schools ( OFIS), that means private schools are left out to dry.

She says there is now a real concern that some private schools will be forced to shut down in Ontario.

“Because of the tight margins, our financial viability looms over our heads for sure. It’s a big concern for many. We’re bracing for impact,” Dervaitis said. “This isn’t going to become just a problem for the schools. It’s going to become a community issue and our province’s issue when we don’t have the schools or the daycare spaces for the students.”

Her organizati­on is one of the biggest groups representi­ng private schools and daycares in Ontario. OFIS represents roughly 10 per cent of the nearly 1,400 private schools in the province.

“Getting a wage subsidy isn’t the only answer, but it’s definitely going to help at least keep us going and be part of the solution going forward, rather than just shutting our doors and adding to the problem,” Dervaitis added.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s office did not answer a question as to why private schools were excluded from the CEWS program. But a spokespers­on did not shut the door on a possible revision of the benefit to eventually include private schools and universiti­es.

“Our Government has been steadfast in ensuring that Canadians impacted by COVID- 19 receive the help they need as quickly as possible. We already made changes to make the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy more flexible for startups, high- growth businesses, charities, and not- for- profits. As we have said from the beginning, we will continue to take action as necessary to ensure Canadians have the help they need during this challengin­g time,” Maeva Proteau responded by email.

If changes don’t come, both Bowles and Dervaitis fear that private schools will be ill- equipped financiall­y come the start of the next school year if parents decide to save money and send their children to the public system.

“Enrolment for some students next year may be questionab­le,” Devaitis said. “This completely disrupts all our planning for our business. For some schools, the question is now: is it viable to stay open, is it even worth it?”

we have to run our schools like if they were businesses.

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