Minister Joyce Murray highlights budget investments to make life more affordable

April 13, 2023

Richmond, British Columbia - Today the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Joyce Murray, and the Member of Parliament for Richmond Centre, Wilson Miao, visited the Grand Value Asian Supermarket in Richmond to highlight Budget 2023’s investments to make life more affordable, including the new Grocery Rebate

Canada has made a remarkable recovery from the COVID recession. Canada’s economic growth was the strongest in the G7 over the last year, and today, 830,000 more Canadians are employed than before the pandemic, including 110,300 in British Columbia. Inflation in Canada has fallen for eight months in a row, our unemployment rate is near its record low, and, supported by our Canada-wide system of affordable early learning and child care, the labour force participation rate for women aged 25 to 54 reached a record high of 85.7 per cent in February.

Budget 2023 builds on this important progress.

To make life more affordable, Budget 2023 delivers the new Grocery Rebate, offering targeted inflation relief for 11 million Canadians and families who need it most with up to an additional $467 for eligible couples with children; an additional $234 for single Canadians without children; and an additional $225 for seniors, on average. The government is also taking action to crack down on junk fees and predatory lending, lower credit card transaction fees for small businesses, and help Canadians keep more money in their pockets.

To strengthen Canada’s universal public health care system, the budget delivers $198.3 billion, including $27.47 billion here in British Columbia to reduce backlogs, expand access to family health services, and ensure provinces and territories can provide the high quality and timely health care Canadians expect and deserve. Budget 2023 also introduces a new Canadian Dental Care Plan, to help up to nine million Canadians and ensure no Canadian has to choose between taking care of their health and paying the bills at the end of the month.