Politics This Morning: Feds to spend $7.4-billion on new programs; Canada to receive 2.9 million pediatric vaccine doses

Happy Friday! The federal government has announced a number of changes to the popular income and business support programs put in place during the pandemic, set to expire on Saturday. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, during a trip to Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, reminded Canadians on Thursday that the measures were always intended to be “temporary.” “We’re moving from the very broad-based support that was appropriate at the height of our lockdown to more targeted measures that will provide help where it is needed while prudently managing government finances,” she said. The price tag of the new changes totals $7.4-billion. The Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) will be replaced by the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit for those whose work is directly impacted by government-imposed lockdowns. The program will be available until May 7, 2022, and will provide $300 a week to eligible workers. “Temporary lockdowns are still a possibility in the months to come," Ms. Freeland said. "We want Canadians to know that we intend now to put in place measures that would snap into action immediately." Ms. Freeland also announced the implementation of two new programs to help hard-hit sectors, replacing the wage and rent subsidies. The Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program and the Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program will be in place until Nov. 20, and when Parliament returns, the government is proposing to introduce legislation to have them extended until May 7, 2022. The former, which would apply to operations such as hotels, restaurants, bars, festivals and travel agencies, requires applicants to show an average monthly revenue loss of at least 40 per cent for the first 13 qualifying periods of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, as well as a current one-month revenue loss of the same amount. Until mid-March, 2022, the subsidy rate would reflect the revenue decline, up to 75 per cent, and then decline by half until the program’s expiration. The latter program applies to those that don’t fit under the tourism and hospitality umbrella but are still facing significant financial hurdles caused by the pandemic. Eligible businesses would have to show an average monthly revenue loss of at least 50 per cent over the first 13 qualifying periods of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and a current one-month revenue loss of the same amount. The government will also extend the Canada Recovery Hiring Program, for businesses that can show a more than 10 per cent revenue loss, until May 7, 2022 at a subsidy rate of 50 per cent paid to eligible employees. The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit will remain in place until the same time and are being extended by two weeks—moving the sickness benefit from four to six weeks and the caregiving benefit from 42 to 44 weeks. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also unveiled Canada's standard federal proof of COVID-19 vaccination system. The vaccine passport will show your name, date of birth, and COVID-19 vaccine history. “I’m happy to confirm that all provinces and territories have confirmed that they will be moving forward with a standardized national proof of vaccination,” Mr. Trudeau said, speaking to reporters. He added that Saskatchewan, Ontario, Québec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and all three territories have put this national standard into use. “You can download it into your phone, you can print it out, you can ask for a copy by mail if you don’t have those capacities, but you are now able to show proofs of vaccination immediately in all those provinces, and all other provinces have agreed and are working hard to come online,” he said. Canadians will be able to use the proof of vaccination system both within Canada and for international travel, the officials said. Canada will receive 2.9 million doses of Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine shortly after its approval by Health Canada for the five to 11 age group. Mr. Trudeau announced the deal between Pfizer and the federal government at a press conference with Ms. Freeland yesterday. The deliveries provided will be enough to supply the country with a first dose for every eligible Canadian child, Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand said. Ms. Anand said in an emailed statement that her office has been working closely with Pfizer to monitor the timing of its submission of data to Health Canada for review so that they could coordinate deliveries. “Based on this work, Pfizer has agreed to an accelerated delivery schedule of its pediatric vaccine once approved,” the statement read. Ms. Anand said Canada has enough syringes and other supplies necessary to administer the pediatric COVID-19 vaccines, and that delivery of second doses will be “driven by the rapidity of the roll-out and administration of first doses.” Mr. Trudeau said it will take more than a vote in just one province to end the equalization system in Canada. Albertans voted on the issue of equalization payments on Monday, in a provincial referendum that was tied to municipal elections. The final results were expected to be released Oct. 26, but partial results released by some municipalities showed about 60 per cent of Albertans who voted agreed with Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's push for equalization reform. “To eliminate equalization, which is what’s proposed in Jason Kenney’s referendum, is something that cannot be done by the federal government,” Mr. Trudeau said Thursday. “It needs to be done by the federal government working with seven provinces or territories representing over 50 per cent of the Canadian population.” Mr. Kenney said on Tuesday that the governing United Conservative Party is looking for a majority to say "yes" to a fair deal, which was a commitment his party gave to Albertans in the last election. “If we do see that endorsement of the referendum, we would then move forward with a motion in the legislature…to ratify this request for a constitutional amendment, and then move forward with Ottawa on those negotiations," he said. Mr. Trudeau accused Mr. Kenney of making the issue “incredibly political," and pointed out that the current deal was written by former prime minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, in which Mr. Kenney was a cabinet minister. “He himself contributed and approved of the current equalization formula that he’s now stirring up sentiment against a few years later. I find that the kind of politics that is not necessarily helpful,” Mr. Trudeau said. Today in London, U.K., International Trade Minister Mary Ng will deliver remarks at the G7 Trade and Investment Ministers’ Meeting. She will also participate in bilateral meetings with international counterparts from G7 member nations. Mary Simon, Governor-General of Canada, and her husband, Whit Grant Fraser, completed their state visit to Germany, which ran from Oct. 17 to Oct. 21, 2021, and included stops in Berlin and Frankfurt. In scheduled events, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute will host a webinar, "Digging Deeper: Canada's prospects for leadership on critical minerals," a discussion on how Canada can protect its interests and build its economy with a critical minerals strategy. And the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History will host a book launch for The Rowell-Sirois Commission and the Remaking of Canadian Federalism by Barry Ferguson of the University of Manitoba and Robert Wardhaugh of Western University. In The Hill Times news, a number of Canadian MPs say they have seen a noticeable deterioration in political discourse in recent years, particularly on social media and as a function of the COVID-19 pandemic, and say that “we’re dealing with something different” in terms of irrational threats. This comes after British Conservative MP Sir David Amess died after being stabbed multiple times during a constituency meeting on Oct. 15. NDP MP Charlie Angus, who was first elected in 2004 and has been in public life for two decades, said he has seen a dramatic escalation in online rhetoric, threats—“not necessarily to me personally, but the overall toxicity of politics has forced a serious re-think.” “My life is an open book, everybody knows where I live on a rural road, I normally post what I’m doing and where I’m going to be at, and I never gave it a second thought,” said Mr. Angus. The Hill Times' Hot Room has also released its 70th episode, "Why immigrants don't go on 'the dole,'" with Elizabeth Long. An immigration lawyer with Long Mangalji, Ms. Long unpacks the rules and safeguards in Canada's immigration system, and fact-checks Ontario Premier Doug Ford's controversial warning to would-be immigrants to work hard and stay off social assistance. The Hill Times

Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: Feds to spend $7.4-billion on new programs; Canada to receive 2.9 million pediatric vaccine doses

Also, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government alone cannot end equalization payments, which is the issue Albertans voted on in a provincial referendum that was tied to municipal elections on Monday.

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Politics This Morning

Politics This Morning: Feds to spend $7.4-billion on new programs; Canada to receive 2.9 million pediatric vaccine doses

Also, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government alone cannot end equalization payments, which is the issue Albertans voted on in a provincial referendum that was tied to municipal elections on Monday.

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