Minister Gould highlights Budget 2022 investments in good jobs, clean air and a strong economy

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

Today, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould participated in a roundtable with green jobs and clean technology businesses to discuss how smart climate investments today are good for Canadian workers, good for the Canadian economy, and good for the planet.

Budget 2022 invests in Canadians and making life more affordable. Budget 2022 investments will ensure Canadian workers have the skills they need for the good-paying jobs of today and tomorrow, and will make it easier for the skilled immigrants that our economy needs to make Canada their home. The Budget makes further significant investments in affordable child care, in our public health care system, and in advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

Budget 2022 also invests in Canada's future and the clean economy that will drive it. To help Canadians and Canadian businesses benefit from the global transition to a clean economy, Budget 2022 includes new incentives for the development of clean technologies and carbon capture, utilization and storage. The Government will invest more than $3 billion in funding to make zero-emission vehicles more affordable for Canadians and build and expand a national network of zero-emission vehicle charging stations ,as well as make new investments in clean energy. In addition, Budget 2022 will make further investments to protect our land, lakes and oceans, including funding to renew and expand the Oceans Protection Plan, and support the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

Economic growth and innovation is key to Canada's long-term prosperity. New investments include launching the new world-leading Canada Growth Fund which 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.

Canada entered the pandemic with the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio of all G7 countries—an advantage that has since increased relative to other countries. Canada has seen the best jobs recovery in the G7, and as of March 2022, has recovered 115 percent of the jobs lost at the height of the pandemic, with an unemployment rate that sits at just 5.3 percent—the lowest rate on record since 1976.

With Budget 2022, Canada will maintain this leading position, and maintain its fiscally responsible approach to economic growth and to building an economy that works for everyone. Crucially, it upholds the government's fiscal anchor—a declining debt-to-GDP ratio and the unwinding of COVID-19-related deficits, which will ensure that Canada's finances remain sustainable in the long-term.

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."

– Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland

"Through Budget 2022, we are taking steps to help Canada continue to be a leader in global efforts to fight climate change and protect our nature. Building a clean economy will create the good-paying middle class jobs of today and tomorrow and will help Canadian parents provide the best possible future for their children."

– Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould

Quick Facts

Measures in Budget 2022 to fight climate change include:

• more than $3 billion in funding to make zero-emission vehicles more affordable and build a national network of charging stations;
• significant new investments to protect our land, lakes, and oceans; and
• the creation of the Canada Growth Fund to help attract tens of billions of dollars in private capital toward building a net-zero economy by 2050

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.

Associated Links

• Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable
• Budget 2022: Speech
• Budget 2022: Backgrounder on Creating Good Middle Class Jobs
• Budget 2022: Backgrounder on A Strong, Growing, and Resilient Economy
• Budget 2022: Backgrounder on Clean Air and a Strong Economy

SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada

For media enquiries, please contact: Mohammad Hussain, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould, [email protected];Media Relations, Department of Finance Canada, [email protected], 613-369-4000