Minister Fortier highlights Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan at OECD roundtable

From: Department of Finance Canada

News release

June 10, 2020 - Ottawa, Ontario - Department of Finance Canada

The Government of Canada is taking immediate action to support communities across the country to restart the economy while continuing to focus on the health and safety of Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, the Honourable Mona Fortier, Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance took part in a virtual Ministerial Council Roundtable hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), focused on “The Path to Recovery: Alternative Scenarios and Macroeconomic Policies”. During this event, the Minister underlined the government’s ongoing support for businesses and workers through its COVID-19 Economic Response Plan and reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to collaborating with international partners.

The Minister took the opportunity to highlight key measures to support businesses and provide income support to those most vulnerable and most affected by the crisis. These include:

  • the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), which provides interest-free, partially forgivable loans of up to $40,000 to small businesses;
  • the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF), which provides liquidity financing for large for-profit enterprises and certain not-for-profit enterprises with annual revenues generally on the order of $300 million or higher.
  • the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), which provides basic income to ensure that millions of Canadians can pay for essentials like mortgages, rent and groceries; and
  • the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), to help employers significantly impacted by COVID-19 keep workers on the payroll and rehire workers.
  • the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA), which offers forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to reduce the rent owed by eligible small businesses by 75%.

These measures and others are part of the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, which is providing billions in support to Canadians and businesses facing hardship because of the pandemic. The government will continue to monitor and respond to the wide-ranging impacts of COVID-19, and take additional actions as needed to protect the health and safety of Canadians and stabilize the economy.

Quotes

“COVID-19 has significantly impacted all aspects of Canadians’ lives. That is why our government is taking action to safely restart the economy, get Canadians back to work, and come out of this crisis stronger. We will continue to get Canadians the help they need today, while finding solutions which will improve their quality of life over the months and years to come.”

- The Honourable Mona Fortier, Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance

Quick facts

  • The government has taken many actions to support Canadians and the businesses which employ them through the outbreak of COVID-19, such as:

    • Providing families who receive the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) an extra $300 per child for the month of May.
    • Providing a one-time special payment through the Goods and Services Tax credit for low- and modest-income families. The average additional benefit is close to $400 for single individuals and close to $600 for couples.
    • Providing approximately $9 billion towards various measures, including the Canada Emergency Student Benefit, to support post-secondary students and recent graduates who are unable to secure employment in order to help them overcome the challenges brought on by the pandemic.
    • Proposing to extend the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, which provides a 75% wage subsidy to eligible employers, up to $847 a week, until August 29, 2020.
    • Allowing all taxpayers to defer, until after August 31, 2020, the payment of income tax amounts that become owing on or after March 18, and before September 2020.
    • Increasing credit available for farmers and the agri-food sector through Farm Credit Canada.

Associated links

Contacts

Media may contact:

Daniele Medlej
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance
Daniele.Medlej@canada.ca
613-762-9446

Media Relations
Department of Finance Canada
fin.media-media.fin@canada.ca
613-369-4000

General enquiries

Phone: 613-369-3710
Facsimile: 613-369-4065
TTY: 613-369-3230
E-mail: fin.financepublic-financepublique.fin@canada.ca

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