Finance Minister Bill Morneau isn’t taking the potential for further fiscal stimulus off the table in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an interview on BNN Bloomberg Thursday, Morneau said the federal government is standing at the ready to take decisive action as the situation develops.
“What we’re trying to do is to make sure we take the right decisions at the right times to support people in the right way,” he said. “We have the information that we have right now, and that of course is that people are extremely concerned about their health.”
The federal government tabled an $82-billion aid package Wednesday in a bid to support the domestic economy, representing about three per cent of gross domestic product, including $27 billion directly targeted at consumers.
Morneau said Canadians concerned about job losses or furloughs, and the subsequent loss of income, are among Ottawa’s most pressing priorities.
“We have 5.7 million people in our country out of the 19 million people that are employed that aren’t in the employment insurance system, so that was critical,” he said. “We’re going to need to see the emerging information for what we do tomorrow. We’ve said that we want to support businesses through this time.”
Find more coverage of the fallout from COVID-19 here.
As part of that support package, Ottawa has pledged to provide small employers with a 10-per-cent wage subsidy in order to keep staff on payrolls, a measure that some economists say may not achieve the goal at hand.
In an email to BNN Bloomberg, CIBC Deputy Chief Economist Benjamin Tal said the subsidies were comparatively small compared to similar measures in Europe, but could be beneficial in concert with the other proposals.
“[The subsidy is] a bit light relatively speaking. I guess the hope is that in addition to the other measures that will help, at least at the margin,” he said.
When asked if the federal government might be willing to take equity or debt positions in troubled companies to keep them afloat, the finance minister again wouldn’t limit his options, but emphasized the need for both the private sector and the federal government to collaborate on supporting the economy.
“We’re not going to take anything off the table, that would be inappropriate for us,” he said. “We’re in an unprecedented time and we need to be considering all potential approaches.”
Overall, Morneau said there is a need for speed in the current fluid environment.
“We’re going to have to work fast, but we need to think about what we’re trying to achieve in what we hope is a temporary dislocation of our economy.”
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
