Noon Update for April 9, 2020

Carole James. 📷: Province of British Columbia (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

NANAIMO —Disturbing unemployment numbers were released today. They show 132,000 British Columbians lost their jobs last month, as a result of COVID-19. BC's Minister of Finance says the province's 7.2 per cent unemployment rate does not include thousands of British Columbians who were looking for work in March, but could not find it. Carole James expects those numbers will increase when the next unemployment figures are released. James says she hopes businesses will be able to "hang on" with help from a series of tax cuts and deferrals that the province announced last month. James says the government has set aside one and a half billion dollars as part of its economic recovery plan. But, she says "flattening the curve is our best economic plan at this point."

Nation-wide, the unemployment rate is 7.8 percent, meaning just over one million Canadians lost their jobs in March. Statistics Canada reports a further 800,000 Canadians had their hours cut in half and another 1.3 million Canadians looked for work but could not find it. Another grim statistic is Canada's youth unemployment rate, which is 16.8 per cent...more than double the national rate. Yesterday, the federal government announced it would cover the entire cost of hiring students under its Summer Jobs Program. Today, James praised the move but offered no answer when asked whether BC would create a similar program.

BC's Premier says lives have been turned upside down, people are feeling stress anxiety, disconnection and perhaps depression because of the COVID-19 crisis. John Horgan says that's why the government will spend $5 million dollars to expand mental health services. Most of the money will go to enhancing virtual counselling services. They include the BounceBack program that provides online coaching, along with programs delivered to youth through Foundry BC. There will be new programs for front line health and community care workers with peer support and psychological counselling. The Minister of Mental Health and Addictions says most programs will be free or at a very low cost. Judy D'Arcy says people will be able to access some of them without having to get a referral from their doctors.

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Lisa Cordasco

Senior Reporter and News Director — Lisa is responsible for creating the station's first morning news current affairs show on CHLY. She is also deeply involved in training and mentoring student and citizen journalists who volunteer their time at the station. Before joining CHLY, Lisa spent 35 years in various roles at CBC Radio, from host to reporter. Her passion for journalism and radio has led her to Nanaimo, where she intends to provide CHLY listeners with news they can use, in an alternative radio environment. Her other not-so-secret passion is costuming for any occasion.

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