Today, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, introduced Bill C-30, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 19, 2021, and other measures. This legislation will enact the government’s plan to finish the fight against COVID-19, create jobs, grow the economy, and ensure a robust economic recovery that brings all Canadians along.
Bill C-30 includes key measures that would:
- Provide predictable funding to establish a Canada-wide early learning and child care system.
- Bridge Canadians and Canadian businesses through the third wave of the virus and towards recovery, including:
- The extension of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy, and Lockdown Support until September 25, 2021; and
- The extension of important income support for Canadians such as the Canada Recovery Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit.
- Increase Old Age Security (OAS) for seniors age 75 and older to provide them with better financial security.
- Enhance the Canada Workers Benefit, which will mean more money for low-income Canadians, support about 1 million more Canadians, and lift nearly 100,000 people out of poverty.
- Enhance Employment Insurance sickness benefits from 15 to 26 weeks.
- Establish a $15 federal minimum wage.
- Extend the waiver of interest on federal student and apprentice loans to March 2023.
- Establish the new Canada Recovery Hiring Program, which will help businesses with the costs of hiring new workers.
- Enhance the Canada Small Business Financing Program through amendments to the Canada Small Business Financing Act, including broader eligibility and increased loan limits to facilitate greater access to financing for small businesses.
- Provide an emergency top up of $5 billion for province and territories – specifically $4 billion through the Canada Health Transfer to help provinces and territories address immediate health care system pressures and $1 billion to support vaccine rollout campaigns across the country.
- Provide $2.2 billion to address short-term infrastructure priorities in municipalities and First Nations communities. The funds would flow through the federal Gas Tax Fund, proposed to be renamed as the Canada Community-Building Fund.
Quote
“This legislation is critical to delivering our government’s recovery plan, laid out in Budget 2021. Our plan is about growth, and jobs, which means it’s about people. It’s about making concrete, targeted investments to heal the wounds of COVID; get us all back to work; and put us on a long-term track towards growth, prosperity, and a clean, green future.”