Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Christia Freeland will deliver her first major speech since the budget today to outline the programs her government has put in place to tackle rising inflation.
“The deputy prime minister’s address will focus on the global challenge of inflation and the real, tangible steps the federal government is taking to make life more accessible to Canadians. Freeland spokesman Adrienne Vaupshas said in an email.
Freeland is expected to use her speech to the Empire Club in Toronto to present her assessment of the state of the economy and explain how she sees measures put in place by her government to help Canadians make ends meet.
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“We may be heading for a recession,” said former Liberal Finance Minister John Manley. “Right now, everything is kind of negative.”
These measures include increases in child benefits in Canada, old-age benefits, housing benefits in Canada and workers’ benefits in Canada.
A background spokesman said changes to Workers Benefit could increase annual payments by up to $ 2,400 for low-income workers.
The spokesman said the speech would discuss the Bank of Canada’s role in maintaining economic stability and the government’s plans to manage debt and increase competitiveness and productivity in the medium term.
Conservative candidate Pierre Poalievre has accused the Bank of Canada and its current governor, Tyff McLem, of exacerbating inflation through its pandemic easing policy. He also vowed to fire MacLeam if he becomes prime minister, a promise that has drawn criticism from some who say the Conservative MP has unfairly politicized an institution that has always distanced itself from guerrilla politics.
The programs that Freeland has to discuss in his speech are not new – they are all listed in the budget. The finance minister is expected to prove that these programs will tackle the country’s accessibility crisis.
The opposition has criticized repeated reports
The NDP and conservatives have been pushing the liberal government over inflation for weeks. NDP leader Jagmit Singh told the House of Commons during the period in question on Wednesday that re-announcing programs that had been revealed in the budget was not enough.
“One in four Canadians will lose their homes if interest rates continue to rise. One in four Canadians is hungry because they can’t afford food,” Singh said.
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Desjardins chief economist Jimmy Jean predicts it may be three to six months before inflation peaks.
“The finance minister will deliver a speech … that was supposed to meet their needs, but instead it will be a re-announcement of previous measures, none of which will help people right now.”
Singh said the federal government should take steps to help people immediately by providing direct financial support to families.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that while programs such as the federal childcare plan were introduced months ago, their financial effects are only being felt now that they are taking effect.
In a speech Wednesday, interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen said the liberal government should make temporary cuts to the GST and carbon taxes on fuels and diesel.
“It would help a lot to reduce the price of gas and, frankly, everything else,” she said.
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