In an address Wednesday morning (March 18), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the shutdown of the Canada-US border.
Essential travel will still be allowed under these restrictions.
The government is providing up to $27 billion to directly support workers. This includes a temporary supplement to the Canada Child Benefit payment, financial support for those who can’t access employment insurance, and emergency support for unemployed or low-income individuals.
Additionally, $55 billion is available in liquidity to businesses. This is part of an effort to stabilize the economy.
The April 30 tax filing deadline has been extended until June 1 for individual taxpayers.
Parliament will likely be recalled next week to pass required legislation on these financial updates.
“Right now we are focused on making sure that people who are not getting income or revenue because of this COVID-19 challenge have the money to be able to pay for groceries, to pay for rent, to support their families through this difficult time,” said Trudeau.
“The fundamentals of the Canadian economy are strong. Once we get rolling again, the capacity of the federal government to invest in the economy, to support businesses and individuals, will ensure that we bounce back strongly. We will be able to ensure that our economy gets back up to speed very quickly.”
For more on the Canadian government’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, visit their website: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html.
Hannah Scott, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Richmond Sentinel
