Minister Alghabra announces investments to strengthen our supply chain and create good jobs

BRAMPTON, ON, April 14, 2022 /CNW/ - Through  Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable, the Government of Canada is making targeted and responsible investments to create good jobs, grow our economy, and build a Canada where nobody gets left behind.

Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, announced investments for good jobs, a reliable supply chain, and a strong economy.

Continued investments in transportation infrastructure will help ensure Canada's supply chains can meet the needs of our economy and withstand disruptions caused by climate change and global events. Well-functioning supply chains support good jobs and keep goods moving. 

To help build more resilient and efficient supply chains, Budget 2022 proposes to provide $603.2 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, to Transport Canada, including:

• $450 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, to support supply chain projects through the National Trade Corridors Fund, which will help ease the movement of goods across Canada's transportation networks. This is in addition to the $4.2 billion that has been allocated to the fund since 2017. The Minister of Transport will rename the fund to reflect the government's focus on supply chains;
• $136.3 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, to develop industry- driven solutions to use data to make our supply chains more efficient, building on the success of initiatives like the West Coast Supply Chain Visibility Program. Of this amount, $19 million will be sourced from existing resources; and
• $16.9 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, to continue making Canada's supply chains more competitive by cutting needless red tape, including working to ensure that regulations across various modes of cargo transportation (e.g., ship, rail) work effectively together.

These investments will help lower prices for Canadians; make our supply chains stronger; improve the ability of Canadian businesses to export their goods abroad; and deliver essential goods to our communities.

These investments will complement work the government is doing through the newly established National Supply Chain Task Force, which will work with industry, associations and experts to examine key pressures and make recommendations regarding short- and long-term actions to strengthen the efficiency, fluidity, and resiliency of transportation infrastructure and the reliability of Canada's supply chains.

Budget 2022 invests in economic growth and innovation—the key to Canada's long-term prosperity. This includes launching a new world-leading Canada Growth Fund that will attract tens of billions of dollars in private investment in Canadian industries and Canadian jobs, and a new innovation and investment agency that will help drive productivity and growth across our economy. The budget also proposes to implement Canada's first Critical Minerals Strategy—one that will create thousands of good jobs and capitalize on a growing need for the minerals used in everything from phones to electric cars. Measures also include steps to build more resilient supply chains, and to cut taxes for Canada's growing small businesses.

Quotes

"Budget 2022 is about growing our economy, creating good jobs, and building a Canada where nobody gets left behind. Our plan is responsible and considered, and it is going to mean more homes and good-paying jobs for Canadians; cleaner air and cleaner water for our children; and a stronger and more resilient economy for years to come."

The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

"The investments we are proposing in Budget 2022 will help us take decisive action now to make the supply chain more resilient, create good jobs, and continue to build a strong economy. Our new National Supply Chain Task Force will also work with stakeholders to identify the best recommendations to make this supply chain smoother and more efficient."

The Honourable Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport

Quick Facts

• Further significant measures in Budget 2022 include:
  • $5.3 billion over five years to provide dental care for Canadians with family incomes of less than $90,000 annually, starting with under 12 years-olds in 2022, expanding to under 18 years-olds, seniors, and persons living with a disability in 2023, and with full implementation by 2025. The program would be restricted to families with an income of less than $90,000 annually, with no co-pays for those under $70,000 annually in income;
  • Up to $3.8 billion to implement Canada's first Critical Minerals Strategy;
  • $11 billion in additional funding to continue to support Indigenous children and their families, and help Indigenous communities continue to grow and shape their futures;
  • More than $8 billion in new funding to better equip the Canadian Armed Forces, strengthen Canada's contributions to our core alliances like NATO and NORAD, and reinforce Canada's cyber security;
  • Further support for Ukraine and its people in the face of Russia's illegal invasion, including up to $1 billion in new loan resources to the Ukrainian government through a new Administered Account for Ukraine at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and an additional $500 million in military aid;
  • A temporary Canada Recovery Dividend, representing a one-time 15 per cent tax on the 2021 taxable income above $1 billion of Canada's largest banking and life insurers' groups, to help support Canada's broader recovery; and
  • A permanent 1.5 percentage point increase in the corporate income tax rate of banking and life insurance groups on taxable income above $100 million.

Related Products

• Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable
• Budget Speech
• Budget news release and backgrounders

SOURCE Transport Canada

Contacts: Laurel Lennox, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport, Ottawa, [email protected]; Media Relations: Transport Canada, Ottawa, [email protected], 613-993-0055