This bill was last introduced in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session, which ended in August 2021.
Chrystia Freeland Liberal
This bill has received Royal Assent and is now law.
This is from the published bill.
This enactment amends the Income Tax Act to revise the eligibility criteria, as well as the level of subsidization, under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) as part of the response to the coronavirus disease 2019. It also extends the CEWS to June 30, 2021. The enactment further amends the Income Tax Act to introduce the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) in order to support those hardest hit by the coronavirus disease 2019. This subsidy provides relief in respect of rent and interest on debt obligations incurred to acquire real property used by businesses, charities and not-for-profit organizations in the course of their businesses or other activities. The rent subsidy is effective as of September 27, 2020.
All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.
Income Tax ActGovernment Orders
November 5th, 2020 / 10:45 p.m.
University—Rosedale Ontario
Liberal
Chrystia Freeland LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Madam Chair, I would like to start with where Canadians are now. I think it is so important for us to appreciate that we are in a second wave of the coronavirus. This is really serious.
Canada is in a lucky position because the virus has hit us later than many other countries, so we can look at their experience. If we look at what is happening with Europe, the situation is really disquieting.
Eric Melillo Conservative Kenora, ON
Madam Chair, I would like to know if the economic plan, or lack thereof, includes rapid testing.
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Madam Chair, I just want to emphasize that the second wave is here. It is hitting countries much like ours with a vengeance—
Eric Melillo Conservative Kenora, ON
Madam Chair, given that many jurisdictions, including the province of Ontario, have brought forward budgets this year, can the minister tell us when we can expect to see a budget from the government?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Madam Chair, as I said earlier this evening, I urge colleagues to have patience. We committed in the Speech from the Throne to a fall economic—
Eric Melillo Conservative Kenora, ON
Madam Chair, if the government will not bring forward a budget by 2021, could the minister please explain why?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Madam Chair, as I said, the next important economic moment is going to be our fall fiscal update. I am glad so many members are looking forward to it.
Eric Melillo Conservative Kenora, ON
Madam Chair, I would like to expand on a letter I actually sent to the Minister of Finance before she became the Minister of Finance earlier this summer. It was an inquiry based on some questions from my constituents.
Our party supported many of the emergency benefits. We supported the border closure measures. We actually called for them long before the government took action, but the lack of certainty from the government and the constant moving of timelines really put a lot of business owners in a difficult position. In my letter I asked if there were any metrics that the government was using to determine when it may move forward from some of these measures, and if it is able to share them.
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Madam Chair, let me start with the premise of the question, which I think is not quite right. With this legislation, which we are all talking about tonight and voting on tomorrow, we are offering certainty to our businesses. We are saying these essential programs will be in place until the summer. That is really important, and I am glad we all support that.
Eric Melillo Conservative Kenora, ON
Madam Chair, many business owners have been speaking out about many different problems with various COVID-19 supports throughout the summer, whether they are onerous criteria, inflexible timelines or a lack of clarity. I think this is especially true for many tourism and seasonal operations in my riding and across northern Ontario.
I would like to know if the government has been consulting with these businesses to ensure the amended programs are going to work as they are intended to.
Income Tax ActGovernment Orders
November 5th, 2020 / 10:50 p.m.
Mississauga—Malton Ontario
Liberal
Navdeep Bains LiberalMinister of Innovation
Madam Chair, we recognize that we need to have sectoral strategies and sectoral supports going forward. That is why, through the industry strategy council, we are engaging with different sectors to better understand their unique challenges and pain points, so we can put forward tailored measures to support them, particularly the tourist sector, which has been hard hit.
Eric Melillo Conservative Kenora, ON
Madam Chair, our party brought forward many different suggestions very early on in the course of this pandemic. Why did it take the government so long to amend many of these programs?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Madam Chair, I am grateful for all the great ideas we hear in this House, and I am really glad we are going to support this important legislation.
