Today, the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Quebec Lieutenant, met virtually with the owners of Panierlocal.ca to discuss investments supporting economic growth from Budget 2021: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience.
The COVID-19 recession is the steepest and fastest economic contraction since the Great Depression. It has disproportionately affected low-wage workers, young people, women, and racialized Canadians. For businesses, it has been a two-speed recession, with some finding ways to prosper and grow, but many businesses-especially small businesses-fighting to survive. Budget 2021 is an historic investment to address the specific wounds of the COVID-19 recession, put people first, create jobs, grow the middle class, set businesses on a track for long-term growth, and ensure that Canada's future will be healthier, more equitable, greener, and more prosperous.
The Government of Canada recognizes that a rapid and sustained economic recovery is the most reliable way to narrow economic inequalities and secure higher employment and income levels and improved and expanded job opportunities. The government has provided a suite of measures that have helped, and are still helping, to support Canadian businesses and Canadian workers through the crisis. Some of the measures Budget 2021 proposes to continue these supports are:
- helping small and medium-sized businesses move into the digital age through programs like the Canada Digital Adoption Program;
- providing $2.6 billion on a cash basis over four years, starting in 2021-22, to the Business Development Bank of Canada to help small and medium-sized businesses finance technology adoption;
- allowing immediate expensing of up to $1.5 million of eligible investments by Canadian-controlled private corporations made on or after Budget Day and before 2024. Eligible investments will cover over 60 per cent of capital investments typically made by Canadian-controlled private corporations; and
- providing $700 million over three years, starting in 2021-22, for the regional development agencies to support business financing.
Altogether, Budget 2021 investments will create or maintain 330,000 jobs in Canada by 2022-23. This budget also creates almost 500,000 new training and work experience opportunities for Canadians.
The Government of Canada's top priority remains protecting Canadians' health and safety. Vaccine rollout is underway across Canada, with federal government support in every province and territory. Budget 2021 invests in Canada's bio-manufacturing and life sciences sector to rebuild domestic vaccine manufacturing capacity.
Budget 2021 aims to help Canadians and Canadian businesses through the crisis and towards a robust recovery. It proposes to extend business and income support measures through to the fall and to make investments to create jobs and help businesses across the economy come roaring back. Budget 2021 puts Canada on track to meet its commitment to create 1 million jobs by the end of the year.
Canada entered the pandemic in a strong fiscal position. This allowed the government to take quick and decisive action, supporting people and businesses, and put it in the position to make historic investments in the recovery.
Quotes
"Organizations like Panierlocal.ca are the backbone of our communities. Budget 2021 proposes several measures to support main streets and help businesses work toward a successful recovery from the pandemic. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been there to help our small businesses and we will continue to be there to help them adapt, evolve and benefit from the recovery."
- The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Quebec Lieutenant
Quick facts
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Budget 2021 includes $101.4 billion over three years in proposed investments as part of the Government of Canada's growth plan that will create good jobs and support a resilient and inclusive recovery. Key measures include:
- Establishing a Canada-wide early learning and child care system, in partnership with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners, which will help all families access affordable, high-quality, and flexible child care no matter where they live, and no longer shoulder the burden of high child care costs. The budget proposes new investments totaling up to $30 billion over the next five years. Combined with previous investments, a minimum of $9.2 billion per year ongoing will be invested in child care, starting in 2025-26.
- Extending emergency supports to bridge Canadians and Canadian businesses through to recovery, including:
- Extending the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and Lockdown Support until September 25, 2021.
- Extending important income support for Canadians such as a 12-week extension of the Canada Recovery Benefit and 4-week extension of the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit.
- Enhancing Employment Insurance sickness benefits from 15 to 26 weeks.
- Supporting small and medium-sized businesses through several transformative programs, such as:
- A new Canada Digital Adoption Program that will assist over 160,000 businesses with the cost of new technology. And it will provide them with the advice they need to get the most of new technology with the help of 28,000 young Canadians who will be trained to work with them.
- Allowing Canadian small businesses to fully expense up to $1.5 million in capital investments in a broad range of assets, including digital technology and intellectual property. This represents an additional $2.2 billion investment in the growth of Canada's entrepreneurs over the next five years.
- Revitalizing Canada's tourism sector through $1 billion to help tourism businesses recover and support festivals and cultural events that provide jobs and growth in many of our cities and communities.
- Supporting women, Black Canadians, and other underrepresented entrepreneurs who face barriers to launching and owning businesses through $300 million to enhance initiatives like the Black Entrepreneurship Program and the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy.
