OTTAWA —
Canadians will get a clearer picture of the current state of the economy and national deficit when Finance Minister Bill Morneau unveils what’s been billed as an economic and fiscal “snapshot” on Wednesday afternoon. Morneau will present the snapshot inside the House of Commons—which is gathered for a special committee of the whole session— at around 1:40 p.m. ET.
Speaking to reporters in advance of the snapshot being made public, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it’s clear that certain sectors will bounce back and some people will be able to find work, but others won’t, and so ongoing government support will be necessary through the economic rebound phase.
“When the pandemic first hit, a lot of people lost their jobs overnight. They didn’t know how they were going to feed their families, or pay their bills. Faced with this unprecedented challenge our government had two options: We could sit back and let Canadians fend for themselves… or we could swiftly and substantially choose to support Canadians. We chose to support Canadians,” Trudeau said.
The report—which is not a federal budget or a fiscal update—is set to show the current state of the federal deficit and the impact of the nearly more than $193 billion in spending on direct COVID-19 aid to Canadians as well as health and safety measures. Among the biggest ticket items to date: the $2,000 a month Canada Emergency Response Benefit; the 75 per cent wage subsidy; and the Canada Emergency Business Account, which offers businesses loans of up to $40,000.
The snapshot is also going to look at how Canada’s economic response compares to that of other countries and forecast what can be expected economically in the months ahead.
The overall economic numbers will be the first offered by the federal government since a December 2019 update—the only of the Liberal minority since the last election—which projected the deficit would rise to $28.1 billion in 2020-21.
The 2020 federal budget date was scheduled to be March 30 but that was cancelled due to the surging COVID-19 pandemic at the time.
In the December update, Canada’s debt-to-GDP ratio was at 30.9 per cent and projected to remain on track to reduce incrementally over the next few years.
Over the last few months federal job numbers have already showed millions are out of work, and a growing list of businesses are set to shutter their doors permanently.
In an effort to buoy businesses big and small, in addition to the direct spending offered, the federal government has offered billions in liquidity and government-guaranteed loans which Morneau has said he hopes will bridge key job creators in this country to better times.
Today’s snapshot comes after opposition parties and economists called for a more robust fiscal update. Already the Conservatives and New Democrats have spelled out what they expect to see from the economic report card. While the Conservatives are calling for a clear path out of the red—which is now likely to be a years-long endeavour—the NDP want to see a plan for continuing to support those disproportionately impacted by the economic downturn.
Source:- CTV News
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