Canada was to present a budget yesterday with billions of dollars for COVID-19 pandemic recovery measures as infections skyrocket, C$2 billion (US$1.6 billion) toward national childcare and new taxes on luxury goods.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first budget in two years would also set aside C$12 billion to extend wage and rent subsidy programs to the autumn, the Toronto Star reported on Sunday.
Canadian Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland was due to present the budget at about 4pm yesterday.
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The document promises in excess of C$2 billion as a “starting point” for a national childcare program, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC) said, adding that the 2020-2021 federal deficit had come in under C$400 billion.
In November last year, the government forecast a deficit of C$381.6 billion, which would be its highest level since World War 2.
The budget would also include a luxury tax effective from next year on new vehicles and private aircraft valued at more than C$100,000, and boats worth more than C$250,000, government sources familiar with the document told reporters.
There is to be a sales tax for online platforms and e-commerce warehouses from July, and a digital services tax for Web giants like Alphabet Inc’s Google and Facebook Inc from next year.
Freeland in November last year promised up to C$100 billion in stimulus over three years to “jump-start” an economic recovery during what is likely to be an election year, and the government so far not backed away from that commitment.
Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson, speaking to the CBC, confirmed that the budget would be “ambitious,” and that the government would “invest for jobs and growth to rebuild this economy,” although he added there would be “fiscal guardrails” to put spending on a “sustainable track.”
Amid a spiking third wave of COVID-19 infections, Ontario, Canada’s most-populous province, on Friday announced new public health restrictions, including closing the province’s borders to non-essential domestic travel.
Canada has been ramping up its vaccination campaign, but still has a smaller percentage of its population inoculated than dozens of other countries, including the UK and the US.
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