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Budget 2022 Minister Ien highlights how Budget 2022 is making life more affordable for Canadians

Wednesday, 20 April 2022 12:00.PM

Through Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable, the Government of Canada will make targeted and responsible investments to create good jobs, grow the economy, and build a Canada where nobody gets left behind.

Today, Gary Anandasangaree, Member of Parliament for Scarborough Rouge Park and the Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, visited the Malvern Family Resource Centre to highlight investments that will support making life more affordable for Canadians.

Budget 2022's investments also ensure that Canadian workers have the skills they need to obtain good-paying jobs while making it easier for skilled immigrants to enter the workforce. It also makes further significant investments in affordable childcare, our public health care system, and the advancement of the reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

Since 2015 the government has delivered real improvements to make Canadian's lives more affordable, including:

• The introduction of a historic investment of $30 billion over five years to build a Canada-wide early learning and childcare system in collaboration with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners: by the end of 2022, childcare fees will have been reduced by an average of 50 percent, and by 2025-26, the average childcare fee for all regulated child care spaces across Canada will be $10 a day
• The creation of the Canada Child Benefit, which will provide up to $6,833 per child to Canadian families this year and has helped 435,000 children out of poverty since 2015
The expansion of the Canada Workers Benefit to support an estimated one million additional Canadians, which could mean $1,000 more per year for a full-time, minimum-wage worker
• The increase of the federal minimum wage to $15.55 per hour
• The implementation of a 10 percent increase to the maximum Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) benefit for single seniors, and the renversement of the announced increase to the eligibility for Old Age Security (OAS) and GIS back to age 65 from 67
• Ten days of paid sick leave for all federally regulated private sector employees
• The increase of the Climate Action Incentive payments, which puts more money in the pockets of eight out of every ten people in the provinces where the federal system applies and means a family of four will receive, for 2022-2023, $745 in Ontario, $832 in Manitoba, $1,101 in Saskatchewan and $1,079 in Alberta
• The increase in affordability of post-secondary education by waiving interest on Canada Student Loans until March 2023 and enhancing repayment assistance to ensure that no person making $40,000 or less will need to make payments on their federal student loans going forward

Budget 2022 also includes a range of measures that will help to bring down the cost of living, including:

• $5.3 billion over five years to provide dental care for Canadians with family incomes of less than $90,000 annually, starting with under 12 years-olds in 2022, expanding to under 18 years-olds, seniors and persons living with a disability in 2023, with full implementation by 2025
• Doubling support provided through the First Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit from $750 to $1,500
• Introducing a Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit, which provides up to $7,500 in support for constructing a secondary suite; and
• $475 million in 2022-23 to provide a one-time, $500 payment to those facing housing affordability challenges

Making life more affordable is one of the government's primary goals in Budget 2022. In the long run, this will require addressing long-standing, structural challenges to deliver meaningful improvements in living standards for more Canadians. In the short term, Canadians can be confident that they have access to support when they need it most.

"Budget 2022 is about growing our economy, creating good jobs, and building a Canada where nobody gets left behind. Our plan is responsible and considered, and it is going to mean more homes and good-paying jobs for Canadians, cleaner air and cleaner water for our children, and a stronger and more resilient economy for years to come."
- The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Related Links:

• Budget 2022: A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable
• Budget Speech
• Backgrounder – Making Housing More Affordable

SOURCE: Women and Gender Equality Canada

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