Have you ever wanted to send a text to a political leader? Jagmeet Singh's CERB extension push is continuing on and he wants you to text him ASAP. If you think the benefit should be extended, he's given out a number for you to get in touch. On June 15, the NDP leader posted a video on Twitter and Instagram, with a simple message for Canadians. "Friends, the pressure is working," Singh said in the short clip. "We know millions of Canadians are worried that in a couple of weeks they're going to lose their CERB and they don't have a job to go back to," he continued. Singh has been putting pressure on the federal government to have the funding continue past July, and there has now been some progress. However, he mentioned that the demand for the extension can't stop now. "If you believe that CERB should be extended, you can contact me," Singh said. To get in touch, all you have to do is text "yes" to 604-227-0096. In the caption of his Instagram video, Singh explained that he wants this movement to continue over text. "Together we are going to win," he added. View this post on Instagram The pressure is working! Because of our pressure the PM announced today an openness to extending CERB But that’s not good enough. The Liberal government often says the right things but then doesn’t follow through Text me to keep building the movement. If you believe we should extend CERB text yes to 604 227 0096 Together we are going to win A post shared by Jagmeet Singh (@jagmeetsingh) on Jun 15, 2020 at 6:36pm PDT Singh has been calling for changes to the CERB for a while now. In April, he asked for all the criteria to be scrapped so that the benefit could be universal and anyone who needs help can get it. More recently, he has been campaigning for it to be extended past July. Right now, Canadians can get $2,000 per month for up to four months. Those who have been claiming the money since mid-March will be coming to the end of their monthly payments. The fourth eligibility period is over at the beginning of July. View this post on Instagram Taylor, like many other Canadians, is scared that once his CERB runs out, he won’t be able to put food on the table He lost his job to #COVID19, applies for jobs everyday, but can’t get work He has a very simple question for this Prime Minister: Will the CERB be extended? Taylor, comme beaucoup d'autres Canadiens•nnes, a peur qu'une fois sa PCU épuisé, il ne puisse plus mettre de nourriture sur la table Il a perdu son emploi à cause de la #COVID19, il postule tous les jours, mais ne peut pas trouver de travail Il a une question très simple à poser au Premier ministre : La PCU sera-t-elle étendu ? A post shared by Jagmeet Singh (@jagmeetsingh) on Jun 11, 2020 at 7:08pm PDT On June 15, Justin Trudeau announced that he is working on a solution to extend the CERB for people who aren't able to return to work yet. "In the last few weeks, things have started to look up for a lot of people," he said. "But that said, we also know that far too many Canadians are still struggling." Concrete plans for the benefit are yet to be released. As of June 4, just over $43 billion has been paid out to people through the CERB and more than 15 million applications have been received.
