Friday’s economic aid package announced by the provincial government is getting a thumbs-up from the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce.

CEO Steve McLellan says this provides some sense of relief to both employees and employers in what is obviously a very stressful time.

“It’s encouraging to see the province react quickly.  Employers want to keep attached to their employees while treating them fairly.  This allows for layoffs, they aren’t terminated, they can go to E-I and then when things settle down which they will, they can come back,” McLellan said. “It’s greater clarity for both employees and employer.  The stress will still be there in some ways, but the reality is some questions that are out there have been answered.”

McLellan adds that in this time of fiscal restraint, it is nice to see governments of all levels realize what type of situation we are in and are not cutting corners.

“This is not the time to start doing feasibility studies.” McLellan said. “They are evaluating on the fly, but they know people’s lives are at stake and people’s livelihoods are at stake and that means the government needs to be front-and-center with taxpayers money which is our money and they have been at all three levels.  When the dust has settled, we will probably all have to make a contribution both personally and financially. That may result in a series of taxes, but when you are dealing with people’s lives it is the way to go.”

McLellan says people need to go through what was announced to see how it affects them.

While McLellan praises the government for what they have done to help the many in the labour market who have been affected, the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour says not enough has been done.

In a statement, President Lori Johb says this is a good first step, but bigger, bolder solutions are needed for this health and economic crisis.