Small Enterprises  Mr. Speaker, that business and every small business across the country is at the very heart of the programs and the support that we have put out to help them. The application today has gone up so that landlords can apply to this. We urge landlords to apply to this and work with their small business tenants so that the small businesses can get the 75% rent relief.

Finance  Mr. Speaker, no Canadian should have to worry about paying the bills, additional child care or putting food on the table at this time. Canada had a strong fiscal position. Canada is ready and able to respond to the challenges of COVID-19. The time to act is now. We will be unwavering in our support to families, our health care system and our economy.

Government Programs  Mr. Speaker, the Canada emergency wage subsidy is there to help workers through this time. Workers deserve that assistance so that they do not have to worry about putting food on the table or weathering this difficult time. We want to support all employers, which is why the wage subsidy is available whether it is a not-for-profit or for-profit business.

Canada Emergency Student Benefit Act  Mr. Speaker, it is incredible for us to be debating this today. Today's youth are tomorrow's leaders, and, indeed, they are the future of Canada. For me, it sort of hits to the heart, because before coming to this place I spent many years at an incredible post-secondary institution.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Mr. Speaker, as I said, the work is not done and nothing is off the table. We continue to listen to businesses, particularly small businesses with a range of circumstances, to make sure that we are providing support and continue to provide support, so that they can weather through this difficult period of COVID-19.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the work that he does so tirelessly for those that he represents. Workers are indeed important. They are at the very heart of what we are doing. We want to make sure that during this very difficult time they are getting the support. One of the things we are doing is making sure that workers and their employers are staying together, so that they have the greatest opportunity of recovering when it is safe to do so.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Mr. Speaker, that is a very important question. We want to make sure that all Canadians are supported through this difficult time. Whether it is adding to the Canada child benefit or creating the Canada emergency response benefit, many of the measures are there to help Canadians through this very difficult period.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by joining my colleagues in offering my condolences to all of those touched by the senseless act of violence in Nova Scotia yesterday. I thank Constable Heidi Stevenson for her bravery and dedication in serving her community and country so well, as well as all of the first responders who are on the front lines every day to keep us safe.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Mr. Chair, I thank the member for his advocacy and what he highlights to me directly about how our programs are helping businesses and where more needs to be done. I really thank the hon. member for his tireless work, just like the examples he has shared with us now. I assure the member that we are listening and will continue to take his feedback and that of many businesses across the country so that we do not see businesses falling behind and that we, indeed, are supporting them through the many measures we have put in place.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, for COVID-19, there has been a vast liquidity put out into the marketplace, and those loans can be available through financial institutions. The larger loans that are not the $40,000 interest-free loans are available at commercial rates. The purpose here is that the companies themselves have a working relationship with their financial institutions, and those financial institutions are best capable of serving their clients to provide them with that lending support.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, the issue raised by the hon. member is exactly what we are trying to do here during the COVID-19 period, which is to help save our businesses and provide them with the liquidity support that is needed during this difficult time. It is why the Government of Canada has provided the guarantees to the financial institutions.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, I will have to commit to returning with more details. What I can is this. As part of COVID-19, the billions of dollars that we have unleashed in capital, while guaranteed by BDC and EDC, are actually provided directly through financial institutions, such as the banks and credit unions, because they exist all across the country.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, that is a really important question. The member is absolutely right. Small and medium-sized businesses are the heart of our communities. One of the most significant expenses that they take on is their rent. We have announced that we are going to provide assistance.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, I appreciate that very good question. Know that, for those businesses, we are listening to them and we are working our way through it. We want to see all of our businesses, particularly those ones that the member just described, be supported through this very difficult time because they are at the very heart of our communities and it is important that we support them during COVID-19.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, in fact, one of the examples I have shared recently is an example like the one the member just provided, which is of a company that has been able to take advantage of the wage subsidy to keep its employees on staff. It has been able to take advantage of the loan because it qualifies, but that employer's paycheque is now gone and because of that it has been able to take advantage of the CERB.