Having temporarily lost her job due to COVID-19, Carolyn Moore said she was flabbergasted when she went to her local EI office on Tuesday and was told she needed to be actively looking for work.

A long-time dental hygienist, Moore was suddenly unable to work as of Monday after her regulatory body deemed it unsafe for dental hygienists to do so due to the growing pandemic.

“I was speechless,” Moore told the Star — even more so when she got home from the EI office and noticed they had sent her a list of dental hygienist postings that were likely out of date.

“I can’t go working as a dental hygienist right now, I’d lose my licence,” she said.

She was eventually able to apply for EI but said it could be weeks before she sees any money, adding she’s fortunate her husband is still earning an income.

Moore is one of thousands of Canadians from a variety of professions and industries who were abruptly put out of work because of COVID-19, and who are now trying to navigate the system to try to get some kind of income to help them get through the pandemic.

The federal government announced a multi-billion-dollar aid package Wednesday to help compensate Canadians out of work, including an emergency support benefit for the unemployed who don’t qualify for EI.

David Szymkowicz is one of those people. A self-employed in-home personal trainer and married father of two, he said his work has almost completely dried up. He had about 10 clients, charging $100 per session sometimes two to three times a week. His prices include HST, and he thought he had been paying into EI until recently discovering he wasn’t.

Now he’s hoping he can still earn some money with online training sessions. He said he’s fortunate that his wife is a teacher who continues to be paid.

“It’s been tough,” he said. “With a mortgage and two kids … I’m watching my bank account every day.”

Matt Richardson finds himself in a similar situation, as someone who also doesn’t qualify for EI. He’s appeared at many institutions including schools and universities to teach topics that include online safety and building a positive online image.

“Business had been really good, I was bouncing from booking to booking,” he said. “And then boom, I lost thousands in one week. When I did the math, I almost cried.”

The pandemic has hit the service industry particularly hard. Restaurants and bars were forced to close on Tuesday unless they could offer takeout or delivery, following Premier Doug Ford’s declaration of a state of emergency.

Vithusan Ranjan said business had already been slowing down for a few weeks at the Scarborough restaurant where he worked as a server, and now he’s out of a job. The 24-year-old recent graduate, who has a loan to pay back and parents he’s helping out, said he’s not sure the EI benefits will completely make up for the income he was earning, including tips.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“The next couple of weeks I’m trying to make sure I have a source of income, so I’m continuing to look,” he said. “But it’s much easier said than done.”

It’s people like Ranjan who restaurant manager Mary Stewart is trying to help with a GoFundMe campaign she launched this week, with the goal of providing $250 “tips” to 100 hospitality workers in need.

“A lot of people who work in the hospitality industry work multiple jobs and they also work for lower wages,” Stewart told the Star. “A lot of people in this industry are supporting families, living paycheque to paycheque. Not everyone, but that’s certainly a reality in this industry.

“And I think this type of situation is going to have significant repercussions to their livelihoods in the long term.”