OTTAWA—The federal government expects to spend $15 billion to extend its current emergency rent and wage subsidies from mid-March till June, as Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland defends the Liberal administration’s massive spending push over the past year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Ottawa has already spent $83.5 billion on the wage subsidy that has helped 5 million workers across the country, along with $4.4 billion on the rent subsidy for 129,000 recipients, Freeland and Trudeau said. The government now expects that extending the subsidies from March 14 will add another $15 billion to the cost, Freeland said — $13.9 billion for the wage subsidy and $2.1 billion for the rent supports. Trudeau said he hopes Canadians engage with the debate over how to bounce back once the pandemic is over. Repeating statements from some of his cabinet ministers, Trudeau said it is possible Canada’s vaccine deadline can move earlier.

Source: thestar March 03, 2021 18:06 UTC