Photo Credit: Ms. Alia Youssef
Life in a post-COVID-19 world
Dr. Michael Benarroch is completing his term as provost and vice-president (academic) at Ryerson University in Toronto, and is incoming president at UM. A noted economist, he was interviewed by Martin Cash of the Winnipeg Free Press about what he thinks life (and especially the economy) might look like in a post-COVID-19 world.
He noted:
“One of the real challenges that everybody is facing is the uncertainty. Manitoba is starting to open its economy a little but how do these businesses plan? What measures do you have to put in place? What if there is a rebound and everything shuts down again?”
As for whether we will face a recession, Dr. Benarroch said, bluntly:
“A recession is unavoidable. There was already a downturn in the first quarter and there will be very deep negative economic growth in the second. And while a bounce back is predicted for the third quarter… we will not bounce back all the way.”
Dr. Benarroch’s view is that the provincial government will have to go into debt to support the economy so that the recovery is not pushed further into the future. Otherwise, if the government imposes austerity measures, it will deepen the recession.
Regarding getting us all back on track, he suggested asking people:
“Would you be willing to pay slightly higher taxes in the future to pay it back and delay when you have to pay it back until the economy is recovering? I think you would get most Canadians saying they would buy into that type of approach.”
Read the entire Winnipeg Free Press article by Martin Cash here.