Madam Speaker, first, I want to reiterate my appreciation and my deep gratitude to the residents of Gatineau for the honour they have conferred upon me by sending me here to represent them. I try each day to be worthy of it.
In the midst of this pandemic, which is not easy for anyone anywhere in Canada, I want to specifically highlight the work of the Government of Canada's public servants. They are working hard day and night to serve Canadians, often in difficult conditions that are less than ideal.
In the department I work for, Public Services and Procurement Canada, employees are working day and night on the purchase and procurement of PPE, vaccines and treatments for the pandemic. Other departments are taking on important roles, like the Canada Revenue Agency, or Statistics Canada, which is making contact tracing calls, or Employment and Social Development Canada, which is putting income support programs in place, as I will discuss in my speech. These employees are great public servants, and we can be very proud of the efforts they are making, in Gatineau, in the national capital region, and all across Canada. I must thank them.
Since the spring, we have been dealing with an unprecedented challenge, the COVID-19 pandemic. This remains a very difficult situation that definitely will continue throughout the fall and winter. However, our government is there for Canadians. We promised to do whatever it took to support Canadians. That is what we are doing today, and that is what we will continue to do.
We all worked together to flatten the curve by practising physical distancing and following public health guidance. Although these health measures are the key to flattening the curve, they are having an unintended and disproportionate impact on vulnerable people, both in Gatineau and elsewhere in Canada.
Millions of Canadians have lost their jobs, worked fewer hours or had their wages cut. These job losses may be the most serious and most obvious consequence of the global economic disruption we are all facing.
Day by day, as the situation evolves, the number of vulnerable people is growing. This means our approach must also be constantly evolving in order to support Canadians. To strengthen the middle class, we announced a tax cut for the middle class five years ago that reduced their personal income tax rate from 22% to 20.5% in order to put more money into Canadians' pockets. We made a promise, and we delivered.
As a result, single individuals who benefited from this tax cut paid on average $330 less in taxes each year, and couples who received it paid on average $540 less in taxes each year.
Last year, we proposed to amend the Income Tax Act to lower taxes for the middle class and those working hard to join it by increasing the basic personal amount to $15,000 by 2023.
When we talk about the middle class, we are talking about the people in Gatineau, my riding, whose average income is slightly higher than the Canadian average. Measures to help the middle class are aimed directly at the people of Gatineau, and I am proud to be part of a government that puts the economic and other needs of the middle class first.
Increasing the basic personal exemption would mean that Canadians would pay no federal tax on the first $15,000 they earn. Almost 20 million Canadians would pay less taxes thanks to this measure, which would be phased in over four years, starting in 2020. It would put $3 billion in the pockets of Canadian households in 2020, rising to $6 billion by 2023.
Unlike what is being proposed in the motion we are debating today, here is a concrete, feasible, achievable measure, even in the context of a pandemic, that we can propose to middle-class Canadians and that we will implement.
In 2015, our government committed to investing to grow our economy, to strengthen the middle class and to help hard-working people become part of it. We also committed to providing more direct assistance to those who need it most. Five years later, our commitment still stands and is even more important than ever. We are all in this together, and that is why the government has introduced many programs and enhanced existing ones.
Through Canada's COVID‑19 economic response plan, these programs are providing assistance to Canadians, to Canadian businesses, and to those who need it the most, particularly seniors. This year has been difficult for Canada's many seniors. During the COVID‑19 pandemic, a number of them unfortunately had to deal with health challenges, as well as with economic and social impacts. The disease has disproportionately affected seniors, particularly those living in long-term care facilities. Incidentally, if the people in the Chartwell Cité-Jardin residence, in Campus 3, or in long-term care homes in my riding are watching right now, I want to assure them that we are here every day fighting to make their lives better and to provide additional assistance to seniors in Gatineau and across Canada.
That is why, this spring, we announced $2.5 billion in additional financial support for a one‑time tax-free payment of $300 for seniors eligible for the old age security pension and an additional $200 for seniors eligible for the guaranteed income supplement.
In Canada, like everywhere else in the world, the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted certain flaws in how our societies are organized and what they prioritize, especially with regard to income inequality. The measures I mentioned earlier have made a real difference in the lives of Canadians, and we must continue to prioritize Canadians if we wish to ensure a lasting, resilient recovery. For that reason, in September, we stated our intention to strengthen the middle class, build resiliency and generate growth through targeted investments.
We will also identify additional ways to tax extreme wealth inequalities, including by concluding work to limit the stock option deduction for wealthy individuals at large and established corporations, and addressing tax avoidance by multinational companies.
Together, we can build a fairer, more resilient world where everyone has an equal chance to succeed. We must remember that the pandemic is the most serious public health crisis Canada has ever faced. Canadians of all ages across the country have been hit hard. COVID-19 has taken the lives of over 10,000 Canadians. Our government is there for Canadians. We will make it through this crisis together. We can and will do everything in our power to limit job losses and the impact of COVID-19 on Canadians. When this crisis finally comes to an end, we will be better positioned to recover and build a safer and fairer future for everyone, together.