Minister Carr highlights support for small and medium-sized businesses in Budget 2021

WINNIPEG, MB, April 29, 2021 /CNW/ - Budget 2021 is the Government of Canada's plan to finish the fight against COVID-19 and ensure a robust economic recovery that is inclusive of all Canadians.

Today, the Honourable Jim Carr, Special Representative for the Prairies, met with the Saskatchewan Chambers of Commerce to discuss investments to support small and medium-sized businesses in Budget 2021: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience.

The COVID-19 recession is the steepest and fastest economic contraction since the Great Depression. It has disproportionately affected low-wage workers, young people, women, and racialized Canadians. For businesses, it has been a two-speed recession, with some finding ways to prosper and grow, but many businesses—especially small businesses—fighting to survive. We need them to get back on their feet. They are the backbone of our economy, our main streets, and our communities.

Budget 2021 is an historic investment to address the specific wounds of the COVID-19 recession, put people first, create jobs, grow the middle class, set businesses on a track for long-term growth, and ensure that Canada's future will be healthier, more equitable, greener, and more prosperous.

The Government of Canada's top priority remains protecting Canadians' health and safety, particularly during this third, aggressive wave of the virus and its variants. Vaccine rollout is underway across Canada, with federal government support in every province and territory. Budget 2021 invests in Canada's bio-manufacturing and life sciences sector to rebuild domestic vaccine manufacturing capacity, and has a plan to put in place national standards for long-term care and mental health services.

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

"Many Canadian businesses, especially small businesses, are fighting to survive during the COVID-19 recession. Through Budget 2021, the Government of Canada will make targeted investments in Canada's businesses so they can hire and train workers, adopt new technologies and come back stronger than ever before."
-  The Honourable Jim Carr, Special Representative for the Prairies

"The connection between business and the federal government is critical to our province's future success. We are pleased to have Minister Carr join us to discuss the recent budget and what we in Saskatchewan can do to make sure it works for this province and for Canada."
-  Steve McLellan, CEO of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce

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: 
• Establishing a Canada-wide early learning and child care system, in partnership with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners, which will help all families access affordable, high-quality, and flexible child care no matter where they live, and no longer shoulder the burden of high child care costs. The budget proposes new investments totaling up to $30 billion over the next five years. Combined with previous investments, a minimum of $9.2 billion per year ongoing will be invested in child care, starting in 2025-26.
• 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 the number of weeks for important income support for Canadians, such as the Canada Recovery Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit.
• Enhancing Employment Insurance sickness benefits from 15 to 26 weeks.
• Increasing Old Age Security for seniors age 75 and older to provide them with better financial security.
• 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.
• Supporting women, Black Canadians, and other underrepresented entrepreneurs who face barriers to launching and owning businesses through $300 million to enhance initiatives like the Black Entrepreneurship Program and the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy.
• Establishing a $15 federal minimum wage.
• Enriching the Canada Workers Benefit, which will support about 1 million more Canadians and lift nearly 100,000 people out of poverty. This will result in additional support of $8.9 billion over six years for Canada's low-wage workers.
• Helping to build, repair, and support 35,000 affordable housing units for vulnerable Canadians through an investment of $2.5 billion and a reallocation of $1.3 billion in existing funding.
• Investing $17.6 billion in a green recovery that will help Canada to reach its target to conserve 25 per cent of Canada's lands and oceans by 2025, exceed its Paris climate targets and reduce emissions by 36 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, and move forward on a path to reach net-zero emission by 2050.
• Closing the gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, supporting healthy, safe, and prosperous Indigenous communities, and advancing meaningful reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit, and the Métis Nation through an historic investment of over $18 billion.

Related Links

• Budget 2021: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience
• Budget 2021: Address by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Associated Links

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

SOURCE Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs

Media may contact: Annie Cullinan, Press Secretary, Office of the Special Representative for the Prairies, [email protected]; Media Relations, Privy Council Office, 613-957-5420