Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in Toronto
Speech
4 November 2022
Good afternoon, everyone.
I am really glad to be here today with our Prime Minister and with my dear colleague Michael Coteau, who is an excellent representative for Don Valley East. And I really want to thank the staff of the Dennis R. Timbrell Resource Centre for the warm welcome.
And I want to thank everyone here today and especially for the wonderful conversation we had. It was really inspiring to me and it reinforces my absolute confidence that, no matter what the world throws at Canada and Canadians, we will get through it.
As you just heard from the Prime Minister, the key message of the Fall Economic Statement that we tabled yesterday is making sure that we’re there for Canadians. We’re working to deliver hundreds of dollars in new support to low-income renters.
We’re delivering a Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit. That means families across Canada can afford to have a grandparent or a family member with a disability move back in if they want to.
We’re permanently eliminating interest on Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans.
We are enhancing the Canada Workers Benefit—this is for low-income workers and people who work really hard but don’t get paid that much money. And what we’re doing now is changing that benefit so that it is paid quarterly and in advance. And that is going to make a lot of difference for some of the hardest working people in our country.
And, as the Prime Minister has mentioned, the GST Credit payments have been going out this morning to 11 million Canadian households. That money is hitting your bank accounts or you’re getting a cheque in the mail. That is real inflation relief that is going to make a real difference to the people who need it the most.
And I want to assure everyone that our government is going to be there, come what may, to support Canada and Canadians during this global economic slowdown. We can do that because while we are compassionate, we are also responsible.
Canada has the lowest deficit and the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. Just yesterday, Moody’s reaffirmed our Aaa rating with a stable outlook.
There are 513,000 more Canadians working today than before COVID first hit. Our economy is nearly 103 per cent the size it was before the pandemic. So far this year, our economic growth has been the strongest in the G7.
What this means is that there is no country in the world better placed than Canada to weather the global slowdown to come. And there is no country in the world better placed to thrive when the slowdown comes to an end.
Thank you again for being here. And thank you for the hard work you do every day.