Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I thank my hon. colleague for sharing the realities of these businesses in his riding. We have been providing the CEBA program for over 669,000 businesses across the country. They can apply through their credit union or their financial institutions, and we have made sure that we have monitored the CEBA and changed eligibility to make sure that we respond to the needs of businesses across the country.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, credit unions and financial institutions have been responding to help businesses get access to the CEBA. We continue to work with these financial institutions to make sure that businesses have access to these loans.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I thank the member for her question. The emergency wage subsidy is available to businesses, non-profit organizations and charities. It is not available to public institutions. However, we have held consultations on how we can improve the emergency wage subsidy. We will soon be reviewing and modifying the criteria, and the emergency wage subsidy will be available until the end of August.

Canada Emergency Student Benefit Act  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his invitation. I have been in Oshawa many times in the past year for volleyball tournaments and it is always a great honour to go to his riding. My kids were playing volleyball, of course, but I support them, I am a mom. Let us get back to the seriousness of this.

Canada Emergency Student Benefit Act  Mr. Speaker, as I was mentioning in my speech, we think that we should have a conversation at some point, but this is not the time. Currently, we are unwavering in our commitment to support Canadians who are facing hardship during this challenging time. Rather than sending a modest amount to every Canadian, we chose to send money to those who are impacted by COVID-19.

Canada Emergency Student Benefit Act  Mr. Speaker, also as associate minister of finance, I have been looking at different ways to help students from different fields and different realities across the country, to see how our supports can help them during this summer period and also prepare them for the fall. We have developed different measures to support these students.

Canada Emergency Student Benefit Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the conversation we are having today, and I believe that we have a broad set of programs and supports for students all over Canada. The member mentioned research. I can tell him that we are increasing by $291.6 million, through the federal granting councils, to support up to 40,000 student researchers and post-doctoral fellows.

Canada Emergency Student Benefit Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. I will answer in French to make sure there is a balance in the House. I would like to say that, in preparing these emergency measures for students, we consulted with student associations. We talked to students across the country to find out how we could better support them in this time of crisis.

Canada Emergency Student Benefit Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by acknowledging my constituents in Ottawa—Vanier who have stayed in touch with me since the beginning of this crisis and shared their ideas and concerns. It is truly by working together in our community that we can support Canadians and especially those in my riding, Ottawa—Vanier.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for his question. We know that many small businesses are worried about being able to pay their rent, pay their suppliers and keep their employees working. As my colleague mentioned, our government is working around the clock to give affected businesses the support they need.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, we do care about seniors, and we want them to know that they are not alone during these very unprecedented times. As members know, to help protect the financial security of seniors, our government passed several new measures, including providing a supplementary payment under the GST credit for those with low and modest incomes, of close to $400 per adult and $600 per couple.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, once again, I thank my hon. colleague for his suggestions. At this time, we have really focused on developing an economic response plan to help workers and Canadians in this crisis situation. I will have a discussion with the Minister of Finance so that we can find solutions as we move forward in this time of crisis.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, I thank my parliamentary colleague for asking that question and suggesting ideas. Right now, as we know, the government is investing billions of dollars in fighting tax evasion and tax havens. In the last few weeks, we have decided to focus on workers and Canadians with our emergency economic response plan.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. The government has invested billions of dollars in fighting tax avoidance and tax havens, and we will continue to do so. In fact, we have made a choice. We have chosen to create an emergency economic plan to help workers and Canadians in this crisis.

COVID-19 Pandemic  Madam Chair, I thank the member for her very important question. We want seniors to know that they are not alone. We are making sure that we include everyone in the emergency programs we have implemented. With regard to seniors' financial security, our government has taken several new measures: introducing the extra GST credit payment for low- and modest-income Canadians, which amounts to close to $400 for single individuals and $600 for couples; reducing required minimum withdrawals from registered retirement income funds by 25%, which will preserve RRIF assets during a volatile market; deferring any new balances due until August 31 and extending the deadline to file income taxes to June 1; and making an investment in the United Way, food banks and other charities to help seniors get the supplies they need, such as groceries.