The COVID-19 pandemic is the most serious public health crisis Canada has ever faced. Overcoming the challenges created by the pandemic requires the work and resolve of every order of government, every community, and every Canadian.
Today, the Honourable Mona Fortier, Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance, took part in a virtual town hall with the Mississauga Board of Trade. The Minister was joined by Members of Parliament Omar Alghabra (Mississauga Centre), Peter Fonseca (Mississauga East-Cooksville), Iqra Khalid (Mississauga-Erin Mills), and Gagan Sikand (Mississauga-Streetsville).
During the town hall, the Minister highlighted the government's commitment to continue to support businesses and individuals through this pandemic through Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan and, in the long term, the plan for economic recovery as outlined in the recent Speech from the Throne. The government's approach rests on four pillars: to secure public health and fight the pandemic; support jobs and businesses; build the foundations for a better recovery and safeguard Canada's values while doing so.
To further these priorities, the government is taking additional steps to bridge Canadians to the other side of the pandemic that include:
- Extending the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy through to June 2021 to help businesses and other employers keep their workers;
- Expanding the Canada Emergency Business Account to help businesses keep their doors open;
- Introducing the new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy, which would provide direct and easy-to-access rent and mortgage support until June 2021 for qualifying organizations;
- Introducing further support for industries that have been the hardest hit, including travel and tourism, hospitality, and cultural industries like the performing arts.
In the long term, as laid out in the Speech from the Throne, the government has committed to a sustainable, inclusive recovery plan for a stronger more resilient country. This plan includes:
- Scaling up the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, to provide more paid work experiences for young Canadians;
- Making the largest investment in Canadian history into training for workers;
- Enhancing the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive to help Canadians afford a home; and
- Making a significant, long-term, sustained investment to create a Canada-wide early learning and childcare system.
The meeting is the fourth in a series of town halls that the Minister will be participating in to highlight the continued work of the government to address the pandemic and build back better.
Quotes
"The health and safety of Canadians remain our government's priority. We are committed to bridging Canadians and businesses to the other side of this pandemic, here in Mississauga, and across the country. In the longer term, as we look to a sustainable and inclusive recovery, we are determined to build back better. We will focus on targeted investments to strengthen the middle class, support those working hard to join it, generate clean growth across the country and create good, well-paying jobs."
The Honourable Mona Fortier
Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance
Quick facts
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Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan offers essential support for individuals and businesses to weather the worst of the economic storm, including:
- The Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), which provides a taxable amount of $1,000 every two weeks to employed and self-employed individuals who are directly affected by COVID-19 and are not entitled to Employment Insurance. This level of support is similar to that of the previous Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), which has helped more than 8.8 million people pay their bills and put food on the table.
- The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), which protects jobs by helping employers keep workers on the payroll and encouraging them to re-hire those previously laid off, and has supported over 3.8 million employees, with almost $47 billion paid out in wage subsidies. The government has proposed to extend the CEWS until June 2021.
- The proposed new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), which would cover up to 65 per cent of rent and mortgage interest costs of qualifying organizations affected by COVID-19. The new Lockdown Support would provide an additional 25 per cent through the CERS to those organizations that must shut their doors or significantly limit their activities under a public health order, for a total of up to 90 per cent.
