Many have no reserves if laid off now, survey finds

20% OK FOR MONTH

One in five Canadians would burn through all their available cash sources within a month if put out of work by efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new online survey conducted by DART & maru/Blue.

Federal and provincial governments have been shuttering an increasing number of non-essential businesses to slow the spread of COVID-19, the potentially deadly respiratory illness that has been taking hold in a growing number of countries around the world.

The survey asked respondents to consider all the personal money they could tap into, such as investments, lines of credit, government supplements, and registered savings accounts.

“The immediate future would be bleak for at least one tenth (10 per cent) of Canadians who indicate they have no financial reserves or wherewithal to tap into to pay for the basic necessities of life,” the polling group said.

Another one in 10 “would join that group as they run out of money after the first month.”

The survey found that without any money coming in the door, only 33 per cent of Canadians believe they would be able to weather the storm for a year or more.

“The results are unnerving because of the broader societal implications for when people literally run out of all of their accessible money,” said John Wright, a partner at DART, adding that the responses expose a stark line between “haves” and “have nots” that should prompt consideration by governments and policy-makers in their planning.

“If people can openly loot liquor stores (as they did in Ontario last year) what stops them from doing so with food vendors and others?” Wright said, adding that “desperation is a very motivating propellant.”

Though he acknowledged that some may view Donald Trump’s musings that restrictions may need to be lifted so the economy can move forward as “heretical,” he suggested “there will be a growing group of people in this country who may be on his page because they will have to weigh the odds of what their financial exposure is versus what their potential exposure is to a virus.”