With the suspension of the NHL and AHL seasons, there are going to be far fewer events at Bell MTS Place in the coming future. With the most common tenants not being home, there will be many part-time arena workers who rely on events to have work might have to go without an income for the next while as more events get cancelled. Two provinces have already banned large gatherings and with three cases of Coronavirus in Winnipeg already, it would seem the prudent thing to do would be to start cancelling more events. And then True North Sports and Entertainment says this via Mark Chipman:
Mark Chipman on of his employees (other than the players and team staff) will get paid despite the suspension of the season. #NHLJets pic.twitter.com/WvSsw7GjWa
— Scott Billeck (@ScottBilleck) March 12, 2020
There is a lot wrong with this statement:
First of all, it is inherently true that they do not work unless there is work there. However, that does not mean that the rest of their lives wait until the work rolls in. Things like housing, food, and medical needs are all still there whether the work is there or not. If you cannot budget for the change because it was sudden or unexpected like this change is, you are going to be left in a lurch.
There should be a way to help ensure the financial safety of their employees while going through a health crisis. There should be a way forward that will not have people who potentially need the income to get by scrambling to make ends meet when there is the very real possibility we will all be forced to stay home for a while.
Finally, this:
The Winnipeg Jets are part-owned by a man named David Thomson. He is the richest man in Canada, worth about $37.8 billion.
If he went completely insane and gave every part-time employee $50,000 to self-quarantine for the next year, he'd still be worth about $37.8 billion. https://t.co/C8DshD22vI
— Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) March 12, 2020
