Fiscal update: everything a person needs to know
The Liberal government presented its long-awaited fiscal update in the House of Commons on Monday. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced a stimulus plan of up to $100 billion to build a “greener, more innovative, more inclusive and more competitive” economy and vowed that Canada will emerge from the pandemic stronger.
While details of the stimulus plan will come in Budget 2021, here are 14 things we learned from the federal government's fiscal update.
A MILLION WORKERS
As announced in the throne speech, the government will create a million “middle-class” jobs. The COVID recession led to over 5.5 million Canadians — more than 30 per cent of the workforce — either losing their jobs or having their hours cut back. About 4.4 million Canadians have regained their job or lost hours as of October. Still, 636,000 jobs still hadn't recovered by October and 433,000 workers had less than half the hours they worked before.
NATIONAL CHILDCARE
The government announced “early investments to lay the groundwork for a Canadawide child care system, in partnership with provinces, territories and Indigenous Peoples.” The government is providing $20 million over five years for a Federal Secretariat on Early Learning and Child Care. “The Secretariat will build capacity within the government and engage stakeholders to provide child care policy analysis in support of a Canada wide-system.” The government is also proposing to invest $70 million over five years and $15 million ongoing to sustain the existing federal Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Secretariat.
FAMILIES AND CHILDREN
The government is giving up to $1,200 in 2021 for each child under the age of six for low- and middle-income families who are entitled to the Canada Child Benefit.
TASK FORCE FOR WOMEN
A task force of experts is being created to prepare and implement an Action Plan for Women in the Economy. “Advice of the task force will be intersectional and will support the government's longer-term goal of building a more inclusive and resilient economy. The task force will provide advice on advancing gender equality and equity more broadly over the medium and longerterm.”
HOME OFFICE EXPENSES
The government is simplifying the process for both taxpayers and businesses to claim home office expenses for tax purposes. The Canada Revenue Agency will allow employees working from home in 2020 due to COVID19 with modest expenses to claim up to $400, based on the amount of time working from home, without the need to track detailed expenses, and will generally not request that people provide a signed form from their employers.
HUMANITARIAN WORKFORCE
$150 million to support the Canadian Red Cross and other non-governmental organizations in building and maintaining a humanitarian workforce to provide surge capacity in response to COVID-19 outbreaks and other large-scale emergencies. The Canadian Red Cross will receive an additional $35 million in 2020-21.
SUPPLY MANAGEMENT AID
In addition to a $250 million Dairy Farm Investment Program, and $345 million delivered through direct payments to dairy farmers in 2019-20, the government announced that dairy farmers will receive $1.4 billion in payments over three years, beginning in 2020-21, including a payment of $468 million this year. This brings total compensation provided to dairy farmers, to date, to almost $1.1 billion. There is also $691 million for 10-year programs for supplymanaged chicken, egg, broiler hatching egg and turkey farmers.
DIVERSITY
$33 million over three years to support the 50-30 Challenge, an initiative where Corporate Canada is asked to provide 50 per cent gender parity in senior management and 30 per cent for underrepresented groups, including racialized Canadians, Indigenous people, people with disabilities, and members of LGBTQ2 communities.
HOMES RETROFIT
The government is to give $2.6 billion over seven years to help homeowners improve their home energy efficiency by providing up to 700,000 grants of up to $5,000 to help homeowners make energyefficient improvements to their homes.
SUPER SAVERS
Canadians have managed to save a lot during the pandemic — partly as a result of generous government support measures — and the Liberals hope they are ready to spend it. Unlike other recessions, disposable income actually increased during this one. “These savings helped fuel a quick rebound in retail and consumer spending over the summer and fall,” says the fiscal update. “Given this level of support, household balance sheets are now in a better place than would normally be the case. More important than just sustaining the rebound in consumer spending for the economy, this positions households to be a central force within our economic recovery.” It adds: “These savings are a preloaded stimulus Canadians will be able to deploy once the virus is vanquished and the economy fully reopens.”
CAR CHARGERS
In a bid to move Canadians to electric cars, there will be $150 million over three years to build more charging and fueling stations.
INDIGENOUS SHELTERS
To tackle systemic discrimination against Indigenous peoples and combat violence against Indigenous women, girls and LGBTQ and twospirit people, the government will spend $781.5 million over five years. Most of the money — $724.1 million — is to launch a comprehensive Violence Prevention Strategy to support new shelters and transition housing for First Nations.
POLICE BODY CAMERAS
$238.5 million over six years and $50 million ongoing to implement a National Bodywork Camera Program for frontline RCMP officers. Also $250 million to support antigang programming.
THE TREES — AGAIN
First announced on the campaign trial in September 2019 after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met activist Greta Thunberg, the Liberals are again promising $3.16 billion, over 10 years, to plant two billion trees. To date no trees have been planted under this initiative.