'Targeted inflation relief' coming in 2023 federal budget, Freeland says
'Targeted inflation relief' coming in 2023 federal budget, Freeland says
The coming 2023 federal budget will "exercise fiscal restraint" while also making "significant" investments in Canada's health-care system and building a clean economy, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday.
In a speech detailing the Liberal government's priorities ahead of next week's budget release, Freeland said the budget will include "targeted inflation relief" to help Canadians who are most acutely feeling the pinch as a result of rising prices.
This echoed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's commitment last week that the massive fiscal document being tabled will include affordability measures meant to "directly help Canadians."
Though, with the federal government remaining mindful of the need to not pour fuel on the fire of inflation, Freeland is vowing to "exercise fiscal restraint."
"This support will be narrowly focused and fiscally responsible. The truth is, we can't fully compensate every single Canadian for all of the effects of inflation or for elevated interest rates," Freeland said. "To do so would only make inflation worse and force rates higher, for longer."
Addressing the state of the Canadian economy, the finance minister touted Canada's near-record low unemployment rate post-COVID-19 recession, but admitted that inflation is "still too high."
She said that higher interest rates are having their intended impact of slowing the economy down, however that means the federal government's revenues are lower, and no longer in a place where the massive pandemic-era support programs can be sustained.
"Our ability to spend is not infinite," Freeland said, pointing to existing supports for lower-income Canadians as an appropriate place to focus specific cost-of-living efforts.
Speaking about what she said she's heard from Canadians during her pre-budget consultations, the finance minster spoke about how, whether she was talking to someone doing well or struggling to get by they shared a common concern for their neighbours.
"What Canadians want right now is for inflation to come down and for interest rates to fall. And that is one of our primary goals in this year’s budget: not to pour fuel on the fire of inflation."
PRIORITY SPENDING ON HEALTH AND CLEAN ECONOMY
She signalled that with economic prudence in mind, the 2023 federal budget will still be prioritizing "two significant and necessary investments": health-care funding and building Canada's clean economy.
Freeland confirmed that as expected, the budget will include the one-year, $196-billion health-care funding deals recently secured with all provinces and territories, and the $2-billion one-time top-up to the Canada Health Transfer to address urgent pressures being experienced at pediatric hospitals, emergency rooms and surgical centres.
"We will ensure that Canadians can rely on a world-class, publicly-funded health-care system… And we will ensure that a strong and effective public health-care system can continue to care for and nurture a strong and healthy Canadian workforce," Freeland said. "Universal and high-quality health care is rightly a priority for every single Canadian. It is also a national competitive advantage."
As for what kinds of clean economy investments are ahead, Freeland was light on specifics in Monday's speech, but it's expected that it will include measures aimed at ensuring Canadian companies can be resilient in the face of a challenging economic landscape and competitive global markets.
A top concern in this regard is the United States' Inflation Reduction Act, which has the Americans investing heavily in clean energy and net-zero industries.
Freeland said this global pivot to clean technology, and the recently-put-into-focus need to build critical supply chains with allied democracies in light of the pandemic and Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, has Canada uniquely placed to benefit.
"These two fundamental shifts represent a huge economic opportunity for all of us… Because Canadian workers and Canadian businesses have the necessary expertise, and because Canada produces what the world needs," Freeland said.
She set this up as a clear choice in her mind: Canada can either capitalize on this historic opportunity, or be left behind as other countries seize the call for a clean economy.
"That's why the plan we will release next Tuesday will include a serious investment in Canadians, in good jobs, in more vibrant communities, and in a new era of economic prosperity that we will build together," Freeland said. "We will build a Canadian economy that is more sustainable, more secure, and more affordable."
Taking a shot at the Conservatives' call for the 2023 federal budget to present a plan to cut taxes and spending, Freeland called it a "reckless approach."
A New Democrat MP is trying to convince his colleagues to change the rules that govern the House of Commons in a series of ways he says would instill 'democratic controls' on the prime minister's 'unfettered' powers.
Monday morning, the Public Service Alliance of Canada announced it had reached a 'tentative' agreement with the federal government for the 120,000 picketing Treasury Board workers who, since April 19, had been engaged in one of the largest strikes in Canadian history. Here's a rundown of the developments from Parliament Hill as they happened.
The House committee studying foreign election interference heard from top 2019 and 2021 Liberal and Conservative campaign directors on Tuesday, with party officials from both camps speaking about the need for politicians to come together to address any "legislative gaps" ahead of the next vote.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
U.S President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have announced updates on a number of cross-border issues, after a day of meetings on Parliament Hill.
Danielle Smith's win in the Alberta election hands her the most starkly divided province confronting any premier in Canada, writes commentator Don Martin.
Special rapporteur David Johnston didn't recommend public inquiry knowing it was a pathetically insufficient response for a foreign democratic assault of this magnitude, writes Don Martin in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
To frame a few new illustrations on pages tucked inside a passport as proof of a Liberal plot to purge the Canadian historical record seems like a severe stretch, writes Don Martin in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is a bright former federal prosecutor, who was destined to be a star in Justin Trudeau's cabinet. But in an opinion column on CTVNews.ca, Don Martin argues Mendicino has taken a stunning fall from grace, stumbling badly on important issues just 18 months into the job.
It's the most peculiar of elections with the frontrunner and her main opponent being the same person, writes columnist Don Martin. 'In the looming Alberta showdown, it's Premier Danielle Smith versus her mouth.'
As more Canadians pass their family cottages down to the next generation, 'major shifts' in the ownership of recreational homes will occur, according to Re/Max. But amid concerns around the cost of housing, some may be wondering whether they can afford to keep that family cottage. Here's what younger generations need to know about inheriting a recreational property and the market today.
Pierre Poilievre is off to Manitoba to rally Conservative supporters ahead of a byelection that Maxime Bernier is hoping will send him back to Parliament. The far-right People's Party of Canada leader lost his Quebec seat in the 2019 federal vote and lost again in the 2021 election.
The number of people in Canada with inflammatory bowel disease is increasing rapidly and is expected to grow to 470,000 by 2035, according to a new report from Crohn's and Colitis Canada.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is wishing LGBTQ2S+ people a happy Pride month, linking it with his platform's focus on freedom, but he is not saying whether he'll be attending any Pride events.
As wildfires continue to ravage across Canada, an expert warns that people who live through such natural disasters could experience serious mental health issues in the long term.
As the rainbow flag flew at schools across Ottawa on Thursday, the public school board says some parents kept their children home from school due to possible Pride activities.
The highlight of Game 1 for Jamal Murray came when he dribbled into the middle, planted his surgically repaired left knee in the paint, made a full clockwise turn, then faded away and swished a mid-range jumper.
As wildfires continue to ravage across Canada, an expert warns that people who live through such natural disasters could experience serious mental health issues in the long term.
The wildfires plaguing residents in Alberta and Nova Scotia are part of a larger trend that's driving up the cost of home insurance as extreme weather becomes more common, insurance experts say.
Accessible Community Counselling and Employment Services, a charity that supports internationally trained engineers like Zaitsev, said the dropping of the Canadian experience requirement is a welcome development.
The U.S. Department of Justice has informed former Vice President Mike Pence 's legal team that it will not pursue criminal charges related to the discovery of classified documents at his Indiana home.
Nearly four years after Jeffrey Epstein's suicide, the AP has obtained more than 4,000 pages of documents related to his death from the federal Bureau of Prisons under the Freedom of Information Act.
Border Patrol medical staff declined to review the file of an 8-year-old girl with a chronic heart condition and rare blood disorder before she appeared to have a seizure and died on her ninth day in custody, an internal investigation found.
European Council President Charles Michel said on Thursday he hoped a broad European summit in Moldova would offer the opportunity for Azerbaijan and Armenia to show their willingness to find a solution to their conflict.
Clashes between police and supporters of Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko left nine people dead, the government said Friday, with authorities issuing a blanket ban on the use of several social media platforms in the aftermath of the violence.
The Biden administration is retaliating for Russia's suspension of the New START nuclear treaty, announcing Thursday it is revoking the visas of Russian nuclear inspectors, denying pending applications for new monitors and cancelling standard clearances for Russian aircraft to enter U.S. airspace.
Pierre Poilievre is off to Manitoba to rally Conservative supporters ahead of a byelection that Maxime Bernier is hoping will send him back to Parliament. The far-right People's Party of Canada leader lost his Quebec seat in the 2019 federal vote and lost again in the 2021 election.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is welcoming Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to Canada Friday as the federal Liberals keep quiet about a democratic backslide in his country.
Bill Blair is blaming Canadian Security Intelligence Service director David Vigneault for the fact he didn't receive a memo warning about the alleged targeting of Conservative MP Michael Chong and his family by a Chinese diplomat.
The number of people in Canada with inflammatory bowel disease is increasing rapidly and is expected to grow to 470,000 by 2035, according to a new report from Crohn's and Colitis Canada.
Racial bias built into a common medical test for lung function is likely leading to fewer Black patients getting care for breathing problems, a study published Thursday suggests.
Researchers at Carleton University's Department of Electronics in Ottawa created a ground-breaking testing device to detect early signs of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s through biomolecular activities in a person’s saliva.
Twitter's head of trust and safety, Ella Irwin, told Reuters on Thursday that she has resigned from the social media company, which has faced criticism for lax protections against harmful content since billionaire Elon Musk acquired it in October.
Deep in an open coal mine in southern Greece, researchers have discovered the antiquities-rich country's oldest archaeological site, which dates to 700,000 years ago and is associated with modern humans' hominin ancestors. The find announced Thursday would drag the dawn of Greek archaeology back by as much as a quarter of a million years, although older hominin sites have been discovered elsewhere in Europe. The oldest, in Spain, dates to more than a million years ago.
Cynthia Weil, a Grammy-winning lyricist of notable range and endurance who enjoyed a decades-long partnership with husband Barry Mann and helped write 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling,' 'On Broadway,' 'Walking in the Rain' and dozens of other hits, has died at age 82.
Netflix shareholders voted on Thursday to reject multi-million dollar pay packages for the company’s top executives including for co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters.
More than 20 years after British comedian Ricky Gervais gave insufferable middle-manager David Brent global fame, an Australian version of the hit show 'The Office' is being made, this time with a female lead.
The wildfires plaguing residents in Alberta and Nova Scotia are part of a larger trend that's driving up the cost of home insurance as extreme weather becomes more common, insurance experts say.
As more Canadians pass their family cottages down to the next generation, 'major shifts' in the ownership of recreational homes will occur, according to Re/Max. But amid concerns around the cost of housing, some may be wondering whether they can afford to keep that family cottage. Here's what younger generations need to know about inheriting a recreational property and the market today.
The latest sanctions, if any, that the NBA plans to levy against Memphis guard Ja Morant for his second instance of displaying a gun on social media will be announced shortly after the finals, Commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday.
Bianca Andreescu beckoned the partisan Court 14 crowd for noise as she looked to put the finishing touches on a second-round win over American wild-card Emma Navarro.
America apparently needs more car seats. So, when Volkswagen unveiled the ID. Buzz, a retro-styled electric van, last year, it noted that the version for the North American market would be longer and would have three rows of seats.
