Yellowknife, Northwest Territories - Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
Today the Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, PrairiesCan and CanNor, was in Yellowknife to highlight Budget 2023: A Made-in-Canada Plan: Strong Middle Class, Affordable Economy, Healthy Future and investments to make life more affordable.
Canada has bounced back remarkably since the pandemic. Canada's economic growth was the strongest in the G7 over the last year, and today, 830,000 more Canadians have jobs than before the pandemic. Inflation, while still too high, has fallen for eight months in a row, our unemployment rate is near its record low, and, supported by our Canada-wide$10-a-day child care system, a record number of women are working, including in the Northwest Territories.
Budget 2023 builds on this important progress.
To make life more affordable, Budget 2023 delivers the new Grocery Rebate, offering targeted inflation relief for 11 million Canadians and families who need it most with up to an additional $467 for eligible couples with children; an additional $234 for single Canadians without children; and an additional $225 for seniors, on average. The government is also taking action to crack down on junk fees and predatory lending, lower credit card transaction fees for small businesses, and helping Canadians keep more money in their pockets.
To strengthen Canada's universal public health care system, the Budget delivers $311 million here in the Northwest Territories to reduce backlogs, expand access to family health services, and ensure the territory can provide the high-quality and timely health care people in Canada expect and deserve. Indigenous Peoples face unique challenges when it comes to receiving the health care they deserve, so we're also investing an additional $2 billion over 10 years to help ensure access to quality and culturally safe health care services, in line with the priorities of Indigenous partners. Budget 2023 also introduces a new Canadian Dental Care Plan, to help up to nine million people in Canada and ensure no one has to choose between taking care of their health and paying the bills at the end of the month.
To build Canada's clean economy, the budget makes transformative investments to fight climate change and create new opportunities for businesses and workers in Canada. This includes significant measures that will deliver cleaner and more affordable energy, support investment in our communities, and create good-paying jobs for people in the Northwest Territories.
In partnership with the Northwest Territories and Indigenous partners, Budget 2023 clean electricity measures will support projects across the North that support the transition away from diesel and in meeting emissions goals, including the Taltson Hydro Expansion Project, Atlin Hydro Expansion Project, and the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link.
With a responsible fiscal plan that will see Canada maintain the lowest deficit and the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, Budget 2023 will help to build a Canada that is more secure, more sustainable, and more affordable for people from coast to coast to coast.
