A Canadian flag flies in front of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March 22, 2017. REUTERS / Chris Wattie / File Photo
Canada will present a multi-billion dollar budget for pandemic recovery on Monday, while COVID-19 infections skyrocket, C $ 2 billion ($ 1.6 billion) for national childcare and new taxes on luxury goods.
Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first budget in two years will also set aside C $ 12 billion ($ 9.6 billion) to extend wage and rental subsidy programs until the fall, the Toronto Star reported Sunday.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is due to present the budget at around 16:00 (2000 GMT).
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said the document promises more than C $ 2 billion as a ‘starting point’ for a national child care program, adding that the federal deficit in 2020-2021 was less than C $ 400 billion.
In November, the government predicted a deficit of C $ 381.6 billion, which would be the highest level since World War II. [https://tmsnrt.rs/3wSJPcm]
The budget also includes a luxury tax that will apply to new cars and private jets worth more than C $ 100,000 ($ 79,970) from 2022, and boats worth more than C $ 250,000, government sources familiar with the document told Reuters. L1N2MB0LV
There will be a tax on online platforms and e-commerce warehouses from July, and from 2022 a tax on digital services for web giants such as Google (GOOGL.O) and Facebook Inc (FB.O) from Alphabet Inc.
In November, Freeland pledged up to $ 3 billion in stimulus of C $ 100 billion to start an economic recovery during an election year, and the government has so far not backed down from the commitment. read more
Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson confirmed in an interview with the CBC that the budget would be ‘ambitious’ and that the government would ‘invest in jobs and growth to rebuild this economy’, although he added that there were ‘fiscal backlogs’. ‘would be to indicate expenditure. a “sustainable job.”
Amid a spicy third wave of infections, Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, on Friday announced new restrictions on public health, including closing the province’s borders to non-essential domestic travel. read more
Canada has boosted its vaccination campaign, but still has vaccinated a smaller percentage of its population than dozens of other countries, including the United States and Britain.
($ 1 = 1.2514 Canadian dollars)
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