Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will table her economic update late Thursday afternoon in the House of Commons.
The 2022 Fall Economic Statement is primarily aimed at boosting investment in Canadian clean energy industries in response to new U.S. tax incentives that were passed last summer.
The federal government’s financial situation is better than expected, as inflation and a stronger economic recovery have boosted tax revenues.
After years of costly relief measures to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms Freeland is now expected to signal the need to cut deficits and prepare for an economic recession in 2023.
“It’s an economic statement under the sign of fiscal responsibility,” said Liberal MP for Outremont Rachel Bendayan, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance.
Minister Freeland should not be doing more to help Canadians weather the cost of living crisis. In September, it offered $4.5 billion to temporarily double the GST refund. The federal government also created a dental benefit for most children under 12 and offered a one-time $500 supplement to low-income renters.
GST refunds will start being deposited Friday into the bank accounts of 11 million low- and middle-income families. The Senate is still seized of the bill to create a dental benefit and a supplementary housing allowance.
The government has indicated that the mini-budget will be very modest and will focus on targeted investments rather than large-scale new programs.
It will include a new corporate stock buyback tax to encourage companies to invest in their own operations and introduce new or improved tax incentives to foster the growth of clean energy, including hydrogen. .
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