(March 18, 2020) - Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) commends Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Economic Response Plan in response to COVID-19 and encourages the government to offer a dedicated package to front-line charities that service community needs and vulnerable sectors.

The prime minister’s $82 billion package provides direct support to Canadian workers and businesses as well as meets "liquidity needs of Canadian businesses and households." The Plan does mention salary subsidies for non-profit organizations and charities as well as assistance to vulnerable communities, including providing $50 million to women’s shelters and sexual assault centres.

“What we are proposing is a much more robust and dedicated package for coast-to-coast charities that are assisting the most vulnerable members of our communities, including food banks, homeless shelters, medical treatment centres, children’s aid organizations and many others. Charitable organizations are often the worst impacted in economic downturns – affecting the most vulnerable communities,” said Avi Benlolo, president and CEO of FSWC.

Front-line charities are a tremendous asset to the well-being of our society and an excellent vehicle for the government to utilize to assist Canadians. For this reason, FSWC is calling on the government to include the charitable sector as a primary area in its Economic Response Plan.