A Saskatoon business group says not enough attention is being paid to how Saskatchewan’s economy will emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a letter to Premier Scott Moe, North Saskatoon Business Association (NSBA) executive director Keith Moen said the economy is the next “rising wave of catastrophic conditions,” without provincial intervention.
“Federal government programs are well and good, but there are going to be many, many businesses that are going to fall through the cracks because they won’t fit the criteria,” he told the Brent Loucks Show on Wednesday.
“Many Saskatchewan companies simply cannot wait weeks for an influx of capital. It will come too late for them.”
Moen said the government’s attention has been rightly focused on health and safety, but asked Moe to consider adopting revolutionary support for small businesses.
The asks by the NSBA include immediate influx of cash in the form of grants and forgivable loans. Tax, utility and lease holidays, as well as, a “massive” reduction in red tape.
The letter noted, Saskatchewan’s high demand commodities – food, fuel and fertilizer, and strong credit rating make the province well suited to withstand the economic crisis from COVID-19.
“We have a relatively small business community and so, therefore, it could be manageable in terms of what the provincial government could do in terms of provincial debt load.”