Since the beginning of the outbreak, the relief programs have expanded. Of particular note is the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). CEWS is an over $70 billion dollar program which will see the Canadian state subsidize wage costs for employees, up to 75% of their current wage rate to a $847 per employee per week maximum. It is expected, but not required, that recipients top up their workers wages the additional 25%. The wage subsidy is billed as a means of preventing layoffs. In reality, the Canadian state is handing over billions of dollars to private hands, with little oversight, effectively subsidizing the labour costs of any business affected by COVID-19. And, as we have reported on elsewhere, this is being used to attack wages rather than inflate them.

And, all of these programs do not include the $500 billion (yes, no typo) in credit made available to private companies through crown corporations and the Bank of Canada.

Nor have we addressed the rent moratorium given to airports: private companies which lease land from the federal government.

Nor does this include the promised bailout for the oil companies, including funds to clean up so-called “orphan wells”: abandoned oil wells which the oil companies refuse to clean despite being required to.

What happens when we tally the numbers? $15 billion for some workers: over 42x that amount for the capitalist class.

While the Canadian government is receiving praise for their quick and decisive actions during the pandemic, underneath the surface of their actions is what may be the largest transfer of wealth from public to private hands in Canadian history. Trudeau and his cronies, like billionaire finance minister Bill Morneau, are facilitating the pillaging of the Canadian state by the capitalist class using COVID-19 as cover. All workers in Canada will suffer for it.