Federal Economic Statement released
On November 30, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland delivered the Fall Economic Statement (FES). The FES focuses on two priority areas and was presented in four themes:
- Fighting COVID-19;
- Supporting Canadians through the Pandemic;
- Building Back Better; and
- A Prudent Fiscal Plan.
The FES will not be voted on directly, but it outlines spending measures that will require legislation in order to take effect. It is highly unlikely there will be sufficient time for any such legislation to become law this year.
The FES includes several commitments that are of interest to municipalities, including:
- additional funding of $299.4 million in 2021-22 through Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy to enable physical distancing, enhanced cleaning, and other emergency health and safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in shelters.
- enabling the Rental Construction Financing Initiative to provide an additional $12 billion in new lending over seven years, which will allow the construction of an additional 28,500 rental units, starting in 2021-22.
- $66 million over two years, starting in 2020-21, to support community-based organizations responding to substance use issues.
- $250 million over 5 years, starting in 2021-22, for municipalities, community-led initiatives and Indigenous communities, to support anti-gang programming.
- committing an additional $750 million to the Universal Broadband Fund to enable more Canadians to access to high-speed internet. In total, $1.75 billion will be provided over seven years starting in 2020-21.
