Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member of Parliament for Vaughan—Woodbridge.
It is a pleasure to be virtually in the House, from my home in Surrey, British Columbia, to speak to Bill C-14, an act to implement certain provisions of the fall economic statement. It contains so many incredible and important initiatives, everything from COVID recovery for Canadians and Canadian businesses to social equality to climate change. The thread that joins all these issues together is that we all make a positive impact in the lives of Canadians from coast to coast to coast now and into the future.
I would like to take this opportunity to talk about some of the many important aspects of the economic update that are of particular interest to my riding of Surrey Centre. I will address some of these areas where individuals and businesses continue to struggle: support for Canadians and businesses as we continue to face the pandemic; creating opportunities and support for youth; and economic development in British Columbia.
Continued support for individuals and businesses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic will be vital for Canadians as we face what will likely be some challenging months ahead. With cases continuing to rise across the country and provinces and territories taking steps to reduce the spread, we continue to see limits on gatherings and restrictions on some businesses in their operations. Support like the Canada recovery benefit and the Canada child benefit, the extension of the Canada emergency wage subsidy and emergency business accounts remain as important as ever.
I continue to hear from constituents in Surrey Centre who need these benefits. They support our government in whatever it takes to ensure that Canadians have the support they need to get through these challenging times. From Surrey Centre restaurants like Bozzini's to the AP Group sawmill that employ over 80 employees, these businesses were able to survive and continue to employ their workers despite the challenges faced by COVID-19, all due to the federal support measures like the Canada emergency wage subsidy and the Canada emergency rent subsidy, to name a few.
Creating opportunities for youth is a topic that is deeply important to the Surrey Centre Constituency Youth Council. The youth involved in my council and youth across the country are very concerned about the impact of COVID-19 and their futures. Many feel they have missed out on chances for learning in the classroom, connecting with peers and lost opportunities for employment. Those who have just entered the job market have had a particularly challenging time to find meaningful work.
While not part of the bill, I want to take the opportunity to highlight the Canada summer jobs program and the impact it has in our communities. The funding delivered by Canada summer jobs is highly desired by organizations and businesses in Surrey Centre to help them create positions for youth that they would otherwise not have the means to provide. Just as important, youth across Canada also rely on these positions each year, including some members of my office's youth council.
The proposed increase of 40,000 jobs for Canada summer jobs across the country for 2021-22 is very welcome news. This means that 120,000 youth will have access to positions created just for them.
In addition to the Canada summer jobs, the fall economic statement also proposes 45,300 job placements for young people through the youth employment skills strategy. Together these initiatives will provide more than 160,000 employment opportunities for Canadian youth, positions that will help them gain valuable experience and develop their skills for future employment opportunities as they enter the job market.
However, while we wait for the additional Canada summer jobs and opportunities, the bill would bring some debt relief to millions of student loan borrowers who have struggled to pay their bills this year, some as a result of entering the job market during COVID, job loss or reduction in hours due to the pandemic. We will achieve this through eliminating the federal interest on Canada student loans and Canada apprentice loans for 2021-22. This will mean $329 million of relief to Canadian student loan borrowers.
Finally, I would like to highlight the regional development agencies across the country. So far these agencies have made $1.5 billion in support available to businesses through the regional relief and recovery fund. Introduced in April, the regional relief fund is providing significant support through Canada's regional development agencies to small businesses that are unable to access other pandemic support programs.
The regional relief and recovery fund has supported 14,700 businesses and protected more than 100,000 jobs so far.
The additional $500 million proposed for the regional development agencies will bring the total support available to more than $2 billion for businesses and entrepreneurs in need of assistance.
Western Economic Diversification Canada, which has served all of the western provinces from Manitoba to B.C. for the last 30 years, has been providing support for businesses, innovators and non-profits by promoting the development and diversification of western Canada's economy and advancing the interests of the west in national economic policy, programs and projects.
We know, however, that western Canada is not a homogeneous region. British Columbia and the Prairies have different economic needs. The proposed new regional development agency for British Columbia has caught the attention of small and medium-sized businesses in Surrey. They know the value of the regional development agencies, and specifically the important support provided by the regional relief and recovery fund. This new RDA would tailor support even further to the specific needs of British Columbia businesses, and allow Western Economic Diversification to do the same and focus on the specific needs of the Prairies. This would help programs like the regional relief and recovery fund create even more impact in the regions they serve.
A new B.C. development agency would help diversify businesses in Surrey that are in the clean tech, health science, forest product, agri-tech and logistics sectors that fuel the economy in B.C. This new RDA would be able to see what is imperative to our local economy and help increase productivity and create more jobs.
These, and many of the other proposed initiatives in the fall economic statement, would be of great help to the millions of Canadians who have been struggling. The quicker we get these programs in place, the quicker they will benefit the Canadians who need them most.