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Results: 501 - 600 of 742
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, that is one of the reasons we put CEBA in place, so that the smallest businesses in our country can get support. That is why we are adding another $20,000, including $10,000 forgivable. It is also—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, as I said, I think it is entirely right for MPs to be concerned about all businesses in their ridings, but I have thought about this really carefully and my view is that the inherently limited resources of the government should be focused on the future. They should be focused on supporting businesses to keep on operating. That means that going-forward support should be and will be our focus.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I am not sure what targeted bailouts the member opposite is referring to, but certainly with LEEFF there are very stringent conditions and that is entirely appropriate.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, let me start by being very clear that it is up to provinces and territories and provincial and territorial public health officers to make the very difficult decisions about whether additional targeted local lockdown restrictions are necessary. I think that we need to support our public health officers across the country where they are introducing these limited targeted local lockdowns. That is what it is going to take to fight the second wave and to stop a huge resurgence.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I want to disagree very strongly with the core premise of that question. There is no silver bullet right now anywhere in the world. Countries like France and Germany that members opposite have cited as using rapid tests are currently experiencing such a surge in coronavirus, they have introduced draconian lockdowns.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I apologize in advance for my French.
I will not give any new numbers, but I can repeat and remind members of the numbers that were announced in July.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, the debt that was announced in July was $1.060 trillion according the economic and fiscal snapshot.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I am sorry, but once again, I will not be giving out any new numbers this evening. They will be released later this year. However, in July, we gave a specific number for the projected deficit, which was $343.2 billion.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, as I said last week and as we said in the throne speech, we will provide new numbers later this year.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I am glad the member agrees with me that the interest rate is very low in Canada and around the world right now.
To be clear, in proportion to the size of our economy, Canada's interest rate is at a 100-year low.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, during my time as minister of foreign affairs and during the NAFTA negotiations, I abided by a very effective rule: never answer hypothetical questions. It is inappropriate for a minister to answer such questions.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I would like to highlight something that the member said himself, specifically, that interest rates are currently very low. The interest rate we are paying today in Canada is at a 100-year low. It is very important that Canadians understand that.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I thank the member for his excellent question.
That will depend on our actions and our willingness to pass it quickly. It will also depend a great deal on the Senate. I would be very grateful if the Conservative Party could speak with the Conservative senators and help us pass this important piece of legislation.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I hope I have understood the question.
The commercial rent subsidy will be retroactive to September 27, so the month of October will be covered.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for his very important question.
During the pandemic, we discovered that there were some very unique cases. I will ask the member to speak with me and my staff. We will look at the particulars of this company and see what we can do.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, the member is absolutely right that the September job numbers were strong, stronger than economists predicted. That is an accomplishment by all Canadians.
Having said that, as the member opposite knows, since then we have entered into a second wave of the pandemic. The provinces are fighting it. Many have put in place local lockdown provisions. That is the right thing to do, but the lockdowns will have a short-term cost.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, inevitably, when we create programs to support Canadians, we need to have broad-based programs. Those are the programs we are voting on this week, and I know Canadian business owners need them and want them. An additional area where business owners can get support is through the regional development agencies.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, we could have made a choice not to provide the CERB to Canadian workers who lost their jobs because of COVID. We could have chosen not to provide the wage subsidy. We could have chosen not to provide the CEBA. Business owners would have gone broke. Canadians would have lost their homes. That was not our choice; it was the right choice.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, questions for the Bank of Canada are properly addressed to the Bank of Canada. I respect the independence of the Bank of Canada, and I urge all members of the House to do so as well.
When it comes to Canadian businesses, I know that a lot of Canadian business owners have made great—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, if we want to get into a discussion of how finances really work as the member opposite suggests, I think we do need to realize that the relationship between the Government of Canada and the Bank of Canada is entirely different from the relationship between a commercial borrower and a commercial bank.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, as we committed to in the Speech from the Throne, we will be providing a fall update later this year, which will provide detailed projections and detailed further information on both what we have done so far and our government's plans going forward.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, the last thing I want to do is add in any way to the real hardships Canadian businesses are facing. That is why I am here tonight with a brand new rent subsidy program, with lockdown support and with the extension of the wage subsidy. We are here for Canadian businesses and we are going to be here for Canadian businesses with this program until next summer.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for her as usual very thoughtful question and for her tremendous care for the lives and struggles of Canadians. The issues she raises both about mortgage deferrals and about credit cards are very good ones and this is something that we are monitoring and looking at as we enter the second wave of the pandemic.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I very much agree with the member that, in this crisis, the RDAs have played an essential role. As we have heard from a lot of members tonight, we have put in broad-based programs that have, by their nature, helped a lot of people, literally millions of Canadians and hundreds of thousands of businesses. That is great, but a broad-based program cannot cover every single specific circumstance, and that is where the RDAs have been so important.
I agree with the member opposite on the very important role that the RDAs have played so far in this crisis. We are in a second wave now—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I saw that the member had sent me an email, but to be perfectly honest, I had not had time to open it. I promise to read it when this evening is complete, and to look into the issue carefully.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the member opposite for his support for these measures.
As I think we have all agreed, the economy and businesses need broad-based support. We also need to look at whether there are businesses with specific needs. With our lockdown support, we have provided specific support to businesses subject to additional lockdown restrictions.
I agree with the member opposite that we need to recognize that there are businesses that are particularly vulnerable to our necessary border restrictions and quarantine requirements. That is a form of health measure, too. I think we need to think about how we identify those businesses, and how we provide them with the particular support they need.
I would like to acknowledge that the seasonality that the member opposite referred to is another very important consideration.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, that is an excellent question and something I have wrestled with, too. In putting together both the wage subsidy and the rent subsidy programs, we have tried to balance two things. One is to make it as easy as possible for businesses to get access to this support, but the other is to have a smooth curve of support, so that businesses that need the most get the most. If a business has a 70% revenue decline or more, it gets 65% support, but it does not just drop off. We do not want to create a perverse disincentive. In order to have that smooth curve, which we have achieved, there is a little complexity. I am hopeful that when people actually start applying for the—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I do think, and it is not just my thought, the data shows that Canadians have been going back to work, and we have now recovered 76% of the jobs lost in the depths of the pandemic. I will also say that I think we are going to be operating under some restrictions to our economic activity until we can really vanquish the virus, so we need to have support measures in place until then. That will be the moment for the economy to come roaring back, which I know we are all going to work hard to facilitate.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, it was very kindly meant.
I think that is a very legitimate concern, and what I would say to those businesses is two things. One, we are focused on the future, and two, we have a lot of support for them in the future. They can get up to 90% of their rent paid. That is a lot. They can also get up to 65% of their wages paid. That is also a lot, and they can get another tranche of CEBA, another $20,000, $10,000 of which is forgivable. That is a lot of support.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I thank the member for his excellent question, to which I have two answers.
First, yes, there will inevitably be gaps. A country-wide program cannot account for every possible situation. I would be very happy to discuss this very specific example with the member.
Second, Canada's regional development agencies are there to help businesses that fall into these gaps.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for his question.
I want to begin by saying that, in some ways, this example illustrates just how well the Canada emergency wage subsidy works and how it is targeted properly. It is there for businesses that need it. When the economy is doing better for these companies, as was the case for that inn this summer, they do not need the wage subsidy. Then they can apply for it again later. That was a very good example.
It is hard for me to comment on that specific case without knowing the exact details of the situation. Once again, I would be pleased to discuss it with the member or to have my team speak with his.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, we have already spoken about the tourism industry several times this evening. I agree.
As with the restaurant industry, which is subject to new lockdown measures and whose employees cannot work, the quarantine and border restrictions are limiting what the tourism industry—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I will continue with my response about the tourism sector. I just wanted to say that the situation facing all businesses that depend on our borders and on travellers was unique. The quarantine measures and border restrictions really hit those businesses—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I imagine I am the minister referred to, because there are a few of us here. I would certainly say that I am glad to be here answering questions tonight.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, what I do see as identical is my accountability to members of the House and to Canadians in all of the roles that I have been privileged to serve in this government.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the really important thing to emphasize for Canadians when talking about the interest charges on our debt is this actually rather startling fact, which is today the interest charges on our debt—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, one thing I pointed out in my speech last week was the way in which interest rates and the relationship between interest rates and growth have changed over the past decades.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, as I said, interest rates have varied over the past century. One very important fact was that only in the eighties and the nineties—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, what I would like the hon. member to reflect on is that only in the eighties and the nineties did the interest rate exceed the rate of growth. That is a fundamental—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I very much understand the relevance of history and the way in which Canada's very traumatic experience of debt in the 1990s is shaping the current debate. That is why I addressed that very directly in my speech—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I am really glad to have the member opposite ask questions about that because I think it is so important for us as a country to remember the lessons of the 1990s and to appreciate—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I am going to quote a Financial Post writer who observed that for sure debt is a concern when it comes to our future generations, but saddling them with a weaker economy than it needs to be is an even greater concern. That is—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I am really pleased that in all the questions we have been receiving tonight, there seems to be a unanimous view that the new rent subsidy program we are debating is a good program that will support our businesses in the future.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I believe that it is the responsibility of banks, landlords and all of us to be supporting the Canadian businesses—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, without knowing the precise details of the enterprise, I cannot give precise guidance, but I would say this. If we can get this legislation passed with alacrity, which I really hope we can, then Canadian businesses will be able to get up to—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, businesses can get up to 90% of rent covered, up to 65% of wages covered, plus a CEBA loan of $60,000, $20,000 of it forgivable.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the first thing I would say is this is not about support two months from now. This is about support really quickly.
The second thing I would say specifically to the Conservatives is that it is time for them to choose a lane. They need to decide whether they think we need to be offering meaningful support to Canadian businesses, as the questions I am getting now suggest, or whether their preoccupation is with debt and deficits. Pick a lane.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I would tell them that it is not about what interest rates were in the 1990s, which seems to be the obsession of the member's caucus colleague. I would urge the members on the Conservative benches to really reflect on what they care about. Is it supporting Canadian businesses or is it debt?
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I thank the member for his question.
The wage subsidy is designed to help employers protect the jobs that Canadians depend on and to rehire workers who have already been laid off. This support applies to employers of all sizes in all sectors, including not-for-profit organizations that have been hit hard by COVID-19.
To date, more than 3.8 million employees across the country are being supported by the wage subsidy. It is an important program—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I thank the member once again for the question.
I know the member is very familiar with the wage subsidy program. As I have already explained, this program was created to help many businesses and organizations in Canada.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I thank the member for his question.
I know that the member is very familiar with the wage subsidy and that he knows that this program was created for all of Canada, for all businesses, big or small, and for not-for-profit organizations. That was the purpose of the program, that is what the program did and that is what it will continue to do.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I did go to high school in the excellent riding of Edmonton Strathcona.
We absolutely know that there are businesses across the country that need support. That is why we are discussing tonight strong programs to support Canadian businesses, rent support of up to 90% if a business is subject to local lockdown.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the wage subsidy is organized to help as many people keep their job as possible, but it is a very important issue to look into and to think about.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, that is an excellent question. We need to focus today on fighting COVID and getting through the COVID winter. Then once COVID is conquered, that will be the time for a program of government investment for jobs and growth.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I really share the member opposite's concerns about the COVID situation in Alberta and particularly in Edmonton. I have been in touch with Don Iveson about it. It is something on which we all really need to focus. Edmonton and Edmontonians really have our government's support in this fight against COVID.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, first of all, I want to thank the member opposite for his support and the support of his chamber for these programs. I think what we will have in place once we get this passed into law is a comprehensive set of supports for workers and for businesses that will get us through together until next summer. That is a really big deal. I can think of no other country in the world that will have such comprehensive—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, thank you for bringing in a note of levity to our late-night debates. I am just going to finish my sentence from the last answer, because it is really important. We are now going to do something very special with this legislation. We are going to have targeted mutually reinforcing programs that go up and down as the economy needs it with—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, our government is very available to answer questions. Here we are late into the evening, and I think we are all actually glad to be here and to be having this discussion. I have also—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I know everyone is really looking forward to it because we have heard a lot about it tonight. We have said we will provide an update later this year.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, as we have heard from the Secretary of the Treasury Board, we strongly support the work of the Auditor General and we believe the Auditor General does need the—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, as I said, I am really thrilled everyone here is waiting with bated breath. The fall fiscal—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, since we talked about this when it came to Edmonton, I would like to start by saying how much all of us in this House are thinking of the people of Manitoba as they fight a very powerful resurgence of COVID. We are here for Manitoba. I do want to point out that the additional lockdown support we are talking about tonight could be of particular—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the changes in the emergency wage subsidy, which we are talking about tonight, were first promised in the Speech from the Throne, and that it would go through to the summer. That is a commitment that I am delighted we are keeping.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I think that we all agree that the new Canada rent subsidy is a really good program that is going to support a lot of Canadian businesses. I am proud that we are discussing it.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, we are talking about some really important legislation. The sound and fury of the past two hours may obscure the fact that we all agree this is legislation—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, this coronavirus pandemic has given me a renewed appreciation of the hard work and the value of CRA. This is the agency that has been able to deliver support to literally millions of Canadians. I am grateful to the people—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I certainly am and when it comes to offering forecasts, we were clear in the Speech from the Throne about that.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, we committed in the Speech from the Throne to offer detailed fiscal projections in the fall economic update and we will do that. We are not going to—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, what I expect is that Canadian businesses and Canadians can now rest easy knowing we have programs in place until then.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I have huge respect for the private sector and I am so thrilled that so many Canadians are back at work, that 76% of Canadian jobs are back. I am grateful for all—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, we have been clear. We committed in the Speech from the Throne to do a fall economic update and that is what we are going to do.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I am delighted to hear Conservatives talking about homelessness in Edmonton. That is a big focus of ours. We are delighted to work with Mayor Iveson. We will keep on doing that. He is doing a great job on homelessness.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I would like to thank the hon. member for his really hard work, not only representing his riding, but also speaking for rural Canada. I always appreciate his advice on these issues.
When it comes to his question about what is so valuable about the measures all of us are supporting in this House tonight, we are now going to be able to say to small businesses across the country they will get up to 65% of their wages covered and up to 90% of their rent covered if they are subject to a local lockdown. Let us not forget about the expansion of CEBA, up to—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I am glad the member mentioned the Atlantic bubble. This was controversial when Atlantic premiers first introduced it. The significant restrictions they—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I would summarize our plan this way: Right now the focus for all of us needs to be fighting the second wave of the coronavirus, and for the government and all members of the House to be supporting Canadians and Canadian businesses as we get through that fight. Then, once the virus is vanquished, it is going to be time for all of us to turn our attention to investing for a roaring-back Canadian economy. We have been talking about that, too, a lot tonight, and that is going to be something we are going to be well positioned to do, and I know that we are all going to contribute to that effort.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, agriculture is so key to the Canadian economy. It is key to Canadian society and Canadian communities. I think we should all be proud of our farmers, and of course agriculture and our farmers are going to be a key part. They are a key part of our economic—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I would like to thank the member opposite for her visible hard work on behalf of her constituents and the businesses in her riding.
What we are talking about tonight is a very substantial, comprehensive set of measures that will help Canadian businesses, like the ones the member opposite has described in her riding, going forward. The rent subsidy means 65% of rent covered and up to 90% if they are subject to a local lockdown, and that goes back to September 27. The wage subsidy is up to 65% of wages covered, and, of course, there is CEBA, which we are going to expand so businesses can get a 60% loan—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, the member opposite makes me want to go dine in London, Ontario with that description.
This program will apply from September 27. It is focused on the future and provides really generous support for businesses.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, we are talking tonight about providing really significant support for enterprises, with up to 65% of wages covered. That is a grant, not a loan.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I will conclude my answer to the last question, because it is important for Canadians to understand. Neither the wage subsidy nor the rent subsidy involve additional debt for businesses. These are straight grants from the government to Canadian enterprises. I agree that is what Canadian enterprises need. That is why we are going to be there for them.
I would also like to point out a new feature of the rent support program. It is available not only to enterprises that are renters but also to support enterprises and entities that are—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I think the New Democratic Party shares our government's absolute focus on helping the small businesses that need the support the most. That is what this program has been—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, obviously, to answer categorically, one would need to know the specific details, but this rent support also covers interest payments. It is not only for rent. If someone has an interest payment on a building, that is covered too.
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