(October 4, 2022, St. John’s) – Joedy Wall, PC Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Labour and MHA for Cape St. Francis, is raising concerns regarding the Furey Liberal government’s transitional support program for small businesses. To be eligible for the subsidy, small businesses with less than 20 employees must pay their employees minimum wage.

The transitional support program came into effect on October 1st to coincide with the scheduled minimum wage increase.

“There are many small businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador that pay $0.50, $1.00, $1.50, $2.00 or more over minimum wage, and they are being penalized by not being eligible for this program,” said Wall.

The PC Official Opposition has received numerous calls from small businesses trying to avail of this program but they have discovered that they are ineligible.

“Small businesses have been facing unprecedented cost increases and the Furey Liberal government has ignored them. This program incentivizes businesses to pay the minimum wage and have less than 20 employees to ensure that they qualify,” said Wall.

“It’s bad enough that the Furey Liberal government has failed to act on the cost of living crisis in our province, which ultimately makes it harder for small businesses to stay afloat. Again, we see that when the Furey Liberals try to help, they make matters worse.”

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Contacts:

David Maher

Director of Strategic Communications

(cell) 709-725-0984

DavidMaher@gov.nl.ca