Legislature returns to approve billions in COVID-19 relief

Horgan calls rare December session to `flow dollars to families and individuals'

Premier John Horgan is back in the legislature Monday for a rare December session as his government faces questions over whether it could be doing more to assist with worker sick pay and support the tourism sector during the pandemic.

Horgan said MLAs will gather in person and online with the main goal of passing billions of dollars in new spending that could roll out immediately.

“The priority is getting the supply bill passed, so we can flow dollars to families and individuals,” he said. “We don't have any anticipated additional legislation. We don't anticipate the session going more than a week or two and then we will begin to prepare for next year, and hopefully a much better year than 2020 has been.”

The NDP promised at least $2 billion in extra COVID-19 relief during October's election campaign. More than half of that is earmarked to fund tax-free payments of up to $1,000 for families to spend as needed during the holidays. When and how that money will arrive remains unclear.

Horgan said the payments will spur consumer spending, which in turn will help boost the economy. However, it is also possible people may save the money to use it to pay down debt, which would produce less-immediate economic benefit.

“As people spend this COVID benefit, there will be provincial sales tax collected, there will be GST, the federal tax will be collected,” Horgan said.

“It will create activity within the community.”

Horgan said with the legislature in session, it's possible his government could pass additional help for the tourism sector, depending on the outcome of a tourism task force led by the CEO of Vancouver International Airport, Tamara Vrooman.

Hotels, conference centres, and other attractions that rely on tourists have been hit hard by COVID-19 travel restrictions and limits on social gatherings. The sector sought $680 million in government aid, but was told in September it could tap only an extra $10,000 on top of $30,000 small business grants within a $300-million provincewide small business program.

“The report will come next week and we'll take whatever steps we can to keep the industry going with liquidity, with access to staffing resources and retraining, and a whole host of other initiatives I know will be in their recommendations,” Horgan said.

The interim Opposition Liberal leader, Shirley Bond, said the delay has been unacceptable.

“This is a government that has had months to think about these things,” Bond said. “There should be far less studying and far more action.”