To fight inflation, Minister Freeland relies on proposals in his budget

Minister Freeland delivered a keynote statement on the state of Canada’s economy onEmpire Club of Canada in downtown Toronto on Thursday afternoon.

In the speech, her first since the budget was filed in April, Ms. Freeland the recent rise of inflation as a global phenomenon of which Canada is no exceptionfueled by the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, continued lockdown in China and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In response, the Minister presented the plans to make life more affordable from the federal government, which includes a range of proposals totaling $ 8.9 billion in new support for Canadians in 2022.

However, these measures were all included in the last two federal budgets and are now in effect. These include:

• Increase Canada Workers Benefit by $ 1.7 billion this year;
• Increase Old Age Security (OAS) by 10%, providing up to $ 766 in new support starting in July;
• Providing a one-time payment of $ 500 to those having difficulty finding affordable housing;
• Reduce the cost of child care services by 50% on average by the end of the year, and bring it to an average cost of $ 10 per day in 2025-2026;
• By 2025, provide free dental care to Canadian households earning less than $ 90,000 and, starting this year, to children under 12 years of age;
• Increase Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), Canada Pension Plan benefits, Canada Child Benefit and GST credit.

Warmed up, says the opposition

For weeks now the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) and the New Democratic Party (NDP) have been urging the government to act on inflation.

During Question Time in the House of Commons on Wednesday, New Democratic Leader Jagmeet Singh warned that the repeated announcement of programs announced in the final budget was not enough to support the people.

One in four Canadians will lose their homes if interest rates continue to rise at the current rate. One in four Canadians is hungry because they can’t afford to buy grocerieslaunched Mr. Singh.

” The Minister of Finance is supposed to give a speech explaining how the government intends to help Canadians, but instead, he will announce measures knowing that, none of which will help the people in the short term. “

According to Mr. Singh, the federal government should show its support for Canadians through direct and immediate financial assistance.

In a speech Wednesday, Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen called on Justin Trudeau’s government to make temporary cuts to the GST and carbon tax levied on gasoline.

This will go a long way in lowering the cost of gas and, frankly, the cost of almost everythinghe argued.

Last month, Statistics Canada reported that annual inflation hit 6.8% in April. This is its highest level since January 1991. The federal agency is scheduled to publish its inflation report in May next week.