Against a backdrop of a steep rise in the cost of living, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, gave her first major speech since the last budget – during which she recalled the main measures already taken by her government to cope with inflation.
Millions of Canadians “wink as they fill up and shop for groceries,” Ms.me Freeland, acknowledging Canadians’ growing concern about the rising cost of living.
“This is a global phenomenon”, fueled by the measures against COVID-19 in China and by the war in Ukraine, stressed the Deputy Prime Minister.
Outside the Empire Club of Canada in Toronto, Mme Freeland recalled measures already announced in the past and which will be implemented this year to help Canadians cope with the rising cost of living. In total, Ottawa is spending $8.9 billion on its plan against inflation.
Among the actions cited, the Deputy Prime Minister recalled that the federal government will, as of this year, pay a payment of $500 to nearly one million Canadian tenants who are having difficulty paying for their housing.
The Liberals are also enhancing the Canada workers benefit, which will allow low-income families to receive up to $2,400 starting this year.
In addition, Ottawa indexes its government benefits to inflation, in addition to offering dental coverage to Canadians earning less than $90,000 a year and reducing childcare costs.
Opposition reviews
For several weeks now, opposition groups in Ottawa have been criticizing the federal government for not doing enough to offset inflation.
“A Canadian [propriétaire] in four will lose their home if interest rates continue to rise. One in four Canadians does not have enough to eat because they cannot afford to buy food,” New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh argued in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
“Tomorrow, the Minister of Finance will give a speech that is supposed to meet their needs. Rather, it will re-announce old measures, none of which will help people,” he said.
On Twitter, Thursday, the interim leader of the Conservative Party is also taken to the lack of action to curb inflation. “While you’re paying record fuel and grocery prices, remember that the NDP and the Liberals refused to cut taxes and give Canadians a break at the pumps,” Candice Bergen said.
Consumer prices increased by 6.8% between April 2021 and April 2022, in Canada. An update of the country’s inflation figures for the month of May will be presented next week by Statistics Canada.