As Ontario and other provinces gradually reopen their economies, the federal Opposition warns emergency aid may dissuade some Canadians from returning to work.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says flaws in the federal support programs might ”derail” provincial efforts to get Canada’s economy back on track.

”At a time when our economy needs stimulus, Justin Trudeau has given it a tranquilizer and risks creating labour shortages across the country,” said Scheer.

As businesses slowly start to reopen, the Tory leader says employees are being forced to choose between taking shifts and keeping their benefits.

”A gradual phase out of the benefit as people earn more and more, we believe, would encourage and incentivize people to re-enter the workforce.

Prime Minister Trudeau says he’s looking forward to scaling back benefits and helping people return to work but ”we’re not there yet.”

To date, over 7.3-million have applied for CERB.

Another 96,000 businesses have applied for the 75% wage subsidy to cover about 1.7-million workers.

Another 518,000 businesses have applied for $40,000 government-backed loans to stay afloat through COVID-19.