Minister Jordan highlights Budget 2021 historic investments to support small businesses, including Canada's wine sector

OTTAWA, ON, April 29, 2021 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is providing support where COVID has struck hardest – to women, to young people, to low-wage workers, and to small and medium-sized businesses, especially in the tourism and hospitalityindustry. Budget 2021 is a plan to finish the fight against COVID-19 and ensure a robust economic recovery that is inclusive of all Canadians.

Today, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Bernadette Jordan, and Member of Parliament, Kody Blois, met with the Executive Director of Wine Growers Nova Scotia, Haley Brown, as well as Proprietor and Founder of L'Acadie Vineyards, Bruce Ewert, to discusstargeted investmentsaimed to support wineries from Budget 2021: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience.

The growth of the Canadian wine sector over the last 15 years has been a success story of Canada's agri-food sector. With over twenty vineyards and nearly 1000 acres of grapes planted in Nova Scotia, the sector has become an economic driver in the province's economy. It continues to provide growth opportunities for grape growers and tourism businesses.

Budget 2021 proposes to provide $101 million over two years, starting in 2022-23, from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, to implement a program for the wine sector that will support wineries in adapting to ongoing and emerging challenges, in line with Canada's trade obligations.

For too long, trade barriers within our country have held back Canadian businesses from reaching the full force of the Canadian market. Removing barriers to trade between provinces and territories will help build a more prosperous economy—creating jobs, fueling business expansion, expanding consumer choice of Canadian goods and services, and helping regional economies grow.

Budget 2021 proposes to allocate $21 million over three years, starting in 2021-22, to:

• Work with provincial and territorial partners to enhance the capacity of the Internal Trade Secretariat that supports the Canadian Free Trade Agreement in order to accelerate the reduction of trade barriers within Canada.
• Advance work with willing partners towards creating a repository of open and accessible pan-Canadian internal trade data to identify barriers, including licensing and professional certification requirements, that we can work together to reduce them. Pursue internal trade objectives through new or renewed discretionary federal transfers to provinces and territories.

Budget 2021 is a plan to bridge Canadians and Canadian businesses through the crisis and towards a robust recovery. It proposes to extend business and income support measures through to the fall and to make investments to create jobs and help businesses across the economy come roaring back. It will support almost 500,000 new training and work opportunities including 215,000 opportunities for youth; support businesses in our most affected sectors such as tourism and arts and culture; and accelerate investment and digital transformation at small and medium-sized businesses. Budget 2021 is a plan that puts Canada on track to meet its commitment to create 1 million jobs by the end of the year.

Canada entered the pandemic in a strong fiscal position. This allowed the government to take quick and decisive action, supporting people and businesses, and put it in the position to make historic investments in the recovery.

Quote

"Small businesses, like the independent wineries here in Nova Scotia, are the heart of local communities and essential to our national economy. Budget 2021 makes smart investments to make sure that they not only survive the pandemic, but can create new opportunities on the other side of it. We're making sure that our home-grown small businesses have the resources they need to grow their operations, access new markets and create more jobs for Canadians."

Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Bernadette Jordan

"Budget 2021 makes important investments for small businesses that are the backbone of the economy in rural Canada. The investment to support Canada's wine sector is important to so many small businesses across the country that are creating important opportunities and world class products, including right here in Kings—Hants."

Member of Parliament, Kody Blois

Quick Facts

• Budget 2021 includes $101.4 billion over three years in proposed investments as part of the Government of Canada's growth plan that will create good jobs and support a resilient and inclusive recovery. Key measures include:
• Extending emergency supports to bridge Canadians and Canadian businesses through to recovery, including:
• Extending the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and Lockdown Support until September 25, 2021.
• Extending important income support for Canadians such as a 12-week extension of the Canada Recovery Benefit and 4-week extension of the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit.
• Enhancing Employment Insurance sickness benefits from 15 to 26 weeks.
• Supporting small and medium-sized businesses through several transformative programs, such as:
• A new Canada Digital Adoption Program that will assist over 160,000 businesses with the cost of new technology. And it will provide them with the advice they need to get the most of new technology with the help of 28,000 young Canadians who will be trained to work with them.
• Allowing Canadian small businesses to fully expense up to $1.5 million in capital investments in a broad range of assets, including digital technology and intellectual property. This represents an additional $2.2 billion investment in the growth of Canada's entrepreneurs over the next five years.
• Revitalizing Canada's tourism sector through $1 billion to help tourism businesses recover and support festivals and cultural events that provide jobs and growth in many of our cities and communities.

Related Links

• Budget 2021: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience
• Budget Speech

Associated Links

• Fall Economic Statement 2020: Supporting Canadians and Fighting COVID-19
• Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan

 

SOURCE Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Maritimes Region

Media may contact: Jane Deeks , Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, [email protected]