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Summary
- Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s much-awaited Federal Budget 2021 focused majorly on economic regrowth.
- It aims to bring in rapid economic recovery and increase employment, the finance minister said.
- The government revealed plans of creating more jobs and enabling people to secure them in tough market conditions.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland presented the much-awaited Federal Budget 2021 on Monday, April 19, and it was majorly about economic regrowth. With millions of Canadians having lost their jobs amid the pandemic, the Trudeau government focused the 2021 budget on plans to help create new jobs and increase the employability of its people.
According to the Government of Canada, at least 500,000 people remain in between jobs or face fewer working hours due to the pandemic in the country. From 5.67 per cent in 2019, Canada’s the unemployment rate shot up to 8.6 per cent by the end of December 2020, as per a Statistics Canada report.
In the light of this crisis, the Liberal government focused Budget 2021 on rapid economic recovery and aimed to increase employment and income levels over the next few years. Let's take a look at how the Canadian government is planning to do that.
'Committed To Creating One Million Jobs'
In the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had promised to create one million jobs. In this year's budget, the government revealed its plans of creating more jobs and enabling people to secure them in tough market conditions.
©Kalkine Group 2021
The budgetary investments are estimated to create and maintain 330,000 jobs by 2022-2023. The Trudeau government also plans to spend on creating 500,000 new training and work experience opportunities for Canadians.
Creating Jobs Through Infrastructure Investments
FM Freeland announced on Monday the government’s plans to improve the country's infrastructure and build projects that will contribute to a greener environment. An investment of C$ 26 billion is set to be spent over the next six years on building a “sustainable” infrastructure, accessible public transit, etc. This will likely generate employment opportunities for the middleclass in the country.
Helping Businesses To Hire More Workers
Many businesses that were hit hard by the pandemic resorted to cost-cutting measures such as layoffs. In Monday’s budget, the government introduced the Canada Recovery Hiring Program with such businesses in mind to help boost employment.
Through this scheme the government intends to help businesses sustain themselves while continuing to provide jobs to people. This support is meant to remain active between June 6 and November 20 this year.
