(Ottawa) Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is not ruling out the possibility of providing an economic and financial update this fall to assess the health of the Canadian economy.
The exercise, which has become semi-traditional since the mid-1990s, would also make it possible to illustrate the extent of the deficit expected in Ottawa at a time when the fourth wave of the COVID-19 epidemic is hitting certain parts of the country in difficult condition. Country.
“That’s a great question. We are discussing this with the Prime Minister,” Minister Freeland said.
The finance minister made the statement while attending a press conference with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday, in which they outlined details of mandatory vaccination for federal government employees.
Nearly three weeks after the September 20 federal election that saw Canadians elect a second consecutive Liberal minority government, El-Sayed said.I Freeland is the only minister reappointed so far. Trudeau said again on Wednesday that he intends to reveal the makeup of his new cabinet, which will have an equal number of men and women again, before the end of October.
At least two of the three opposition parties – the Conservative Party and the Quebecoa Caucus – last week urged the Trudeau government to present a new economic and financial challenge.
They say this economic modernization is the most important given that the Liberals have promised to spend $78 billion over the next five years, but only $25 billion in new revenue.
In April, Minister Chrystia Freeland presented a budget that included a three-year $100 billion stimulus package and projected a deficit of $154 billion in the fiscal year again and about $60 billion in 2022-2023. This budget was the first presented by the Trudeau government in two years, as the COVID-19 pandemic shaken all spending and revenue expectations last year.
Wednesday, mI Freeland also hinted that it could expand trade assistance measures. For example, the wage subsidy program is scheduled to end on October 23.
Associations representing entrepreneurs, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), have appealed to the Trudeau government to maintain these support programs until the health crisis is completely over.
NSI Freeland spoke to CFIB President Dan Kelly about this Tuesday evening. The most targeted support programs could be in the eyes of the government.
“We recognize that the fourth wave and the delta variant is hitting parts of the country hard and we know that government policies have to take that into account. We will be there for Canadians across the country in this fight. We are supporting the health systems in the hardest-hit provinces and will provide support,” Minister Freeland said. economy as needed.
“We are also aware that while some sectors of the economy are recovering strongly, which is very good, some sectors are still particularly affected. Tourism and special events are just a few examples. We are working on ways to make sure there is support for them. She added:” We’ll have things to announce soon.”
