Minister Qualtrough highlights the government's affordability plan to build an economy that works for everyone Français

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Employment and Social Development Canada

Nov 07, 2022, 19:03 ET

VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 7, 2022 /CNW/ - In the recent 2022 Fall Economic Statement, the Government of Canada highlighted its plan to continue its sound stewardship of the economy and to be there for Canadians. To help families cope with increasing costs of everyday items, the government is delivering targeted support to the Canadians who need it the most, including by: doubling the GST Credit for 11 million eligible Canadians; enhancing the Canada Workers Benefit to support 4.2 million Canadians; making federal student and apprentice loans permanently interest free for the graduates of today and tomorrow; and investing in more robust skills and training programs for youth.

The government is also moving forward with its comprehensive plan to make housing more affordable, including by helping people save to buy a home and by cracking down on house flipping. And it lays out an ambitious plan to strengthen industry and build a thriving net-zero economy with opportunities and jobs.

Today, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, met with representatives from S.U.C.C.E.S.S to highlight how the Government is making life more affordable. These measures include:

  • helping young Canadians afford a down payment faster with the new Tax-Free First Home Savings Account, which will allow prospective first-time home buyers to save up to $40,000 tax-free toward their first home;
  • establishing the Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit to help families across Canada afford to have a grandparent or a son or daughter with a disability move back in if they need to;
  • providing advance payments of the Canada Workers Benefit to put more money, sooner into the pockets of our lowest-paid—and often most essential—workers;
  • the proposed elimination of interest on the federal portion of Canada Student Loans and Apprentice Loans, saving the average student loan borrower $410 per year; and
  • providing youth – particularly those from marginalized communities – with the support and opportunities they need to gain valuable skills and work experience through the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program, setting them up for a lifetime of success in the job market.

The Canadian economy faces global headwinds from a position of fundamental strength: an unemployment rate near its record low—over 500,000 more Canadians are working today than before the pandemic—the strongest economic growth in the G7 this year, a triple-A credit rating, and the lowest net debt- and deficit-to-GDP ratios in the G7. Canadians should be confident that we will overcome any hurdles and prosper in the days ahead.

Quote

"The Fall Economic Statement reinforces our Government's commitment to make life more affordable for all Canadians. This fiscally responsible plan will help grow the economy, create good-paying jobs, and deliver targeted support for those who need it most. This includes providing continued support to dedicated organizations like S.U.C.C.E.S.S., who are making housing more affordable so that families, seniors, newcomers and young people have a place to call home."

 – Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough

"Our government will continue to have Canadians' backs as we face global economic headwinds. Together, we will make life more affordable, create good, sustainable jobs, and help more Canadians in Vancouver Granville and across the country realize the dream of home ownership."

 – Member of Parliament for Vancouver-Granville, Taleeb Noormohamed

"It was an honour to meet Minister Qualtrough to discuss our innovative employment and workforce readiness programs that help marginalized youth access better jobs and higher education, and also to showcase our new accessible affordable housing units in Vancouver. S.U.C.C.E.S.S. has a long history of reaching underserved communities and we continue to find new ways of both integrating our clients into the labour force and ensuring that newcomers, people with disabilities, and low income community members can afford a place called home."

 – Queenie Choo, CEO of S.UC.C.E.S.S. and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation

Quick Facts

  • The federal government's fiscal anchor—the unwinding of COVID-19-related deficits and reducing the federal debt-to-GDP ratio over the medium term—remains unchanged. The federal debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to continuously decline and is on a steeper downward track than projected in Budget 2022.
  • New measures proposed in the 2022 Fall Economic Statement include:

1. Making Life More Affordable:

    • Permanently eliminating interest on federal student and apprentice loans;
    • Creating a new, quarterly Canada Workers Benefit with automatic advance payments to put more money back in the pockets of our lowest-paid workers, sooner;
    • Delivering on key pillars of the government's plan to make housing more affordable, including the creation of a new Tax-Free First Home Savings Account, a doubling of the First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit, and ensuring that property flippers pay their fair share; and,
    • Lowering credit card transaction fees for small business.

2.  Investing in Jobs, Growth, and an Economy That Works for Everyone:

    • Launching the new Canada Growth Fund which will help bring to Canada the billions of dollars in new private investment required to reduce our emissions, grow our economy, and create good jobs;
    • Introducing major investment tax credits for clean technologies and clean hydrogen that will help create good jobs and make Canada a leader in the net-zero transition, and incentivizing higher wages for workers by increasing the level of the credit when certain labour protections are met;
    • Implementing a new tax on share buybacks by public corporations in Canada; and,
    • Creating the Sustainable Jobs Training Centre and investing in a new sustainable jobs stream of the Union Training and Innovation Program to equip workers with the skills required for the good jobs of today and the future.

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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada

Media may contact: Tara Beauport, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, [email protected]; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]

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Employment and Social Development Canada

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Government of Canada