December 7, 2018 – Montréal, Quebec – Department of Finance Canada

With a strong and growing economy, there are more jobs and opportunities for the middle class and people working hard to join it. In the last three years, hard-working Canadians have created more than half a million new full-time jobs, pushing the unemployment rate to its lowest level in the past 40 years. While consumer confidence is strong, and business profits are near record highs, there is still more to be done to ensure long-term growth that will benefit all Canadians.

Today, Finance Minister Bill Morneau spoke with members of the Conseil du patronat du Québec to highlight Canada's economic strengths and discuss the Government's Fall Economic Statement 2018, which includes proposals to:

• Create a new Francophone digital platform, in partnership with TV5MONDE public broadcasters, to showcase French culture and protect its place in the digital world.
• Establish a Quebec Fisheries Fund, supporting good, middle class jobs in coastal communities with an investment of $30 million over five years starting in 2019–20.
• Improve competitiveness by allowing the full cost of machinery and equipment used in the manufacturing and processing of goods to be written off immediately for tax purposes, and by introducing the Accelerated Investment Incentive to support investment by businesses of all sizes and across all sectors of the economy. These changes will make it more attractive to invest in assets that will help drive business growth and secure jobs for middle class Canadians.
• Increase investment in the clean technology sector by allowing specified clean energy equipment to be eligible for an immediate write-off of the full cost. This will help achieve climate goals, and position Canada to be more globally competitive.
• Accelerate support for business innovation by providing a further $800 million over five years to the Strategic Innovation Fund, which will support innovative investments across the country and in all economic sectors. Notably, of this amount, $100 million will focus on providing support to the forest sector.
• Make Canada a globally connected economy by launching an Export Diversification Strategy aimed at increasing Canada's overseas exports by 50 per cent by 2025.
• Remove barriers to trade within Canada by working with provinces and territories to enable businesses to transport goods more easily, to harmonize food regulations and inspections, to align regulations in the construction sector (including the harmonization of building codes across Canada), and to facilitate greater trade in alcohol between provinces and territories.
• Introduce measures to make it easier for businesses to grow by modernizing federal regulations and encouraging regulators to consider economic competitiveness when designing and implementing regulations, while continuing to protect Canadians' health and safety, as well as our environment.
• Support innovative solutions to some of Canada's big challenges by creating a Social Finance Fund that gives charitable, non-profit and social purpose organizations access to new financing, and connects them with non-government investors.
• Advance pay equity by ensuring that women and men in federally regulated sectors receive equal pay for work of equal value.

The Fall Economic Statement also announces the Government's intention to introduce three measures to support Canadian journalism.