Trudeau Unveils Fiscal Jolt Worth 3% of Canada’s Economy

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans to roll out a fiscal package worth 3% of Canada’s economy as it grapples with fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
• The measures will be worth a combined C$82 billion ($56.7 billion), Trudeau said Wednesday in Ottawa. This includes C$27 billion in direct support for individuals and companies and C$55 billion in temporary tax deferrals for both households and businesses.
• In addition, it includes steps to bolster child benefit payments, a C$10 billion emergency care program to workers who stay home and don’t have access to paid sick leave, and a 10% wage subsidy to eligible small businesses for the next 90 days. The bulk of the support is a plan to allow taxpayers to defer filing until after Aug. 31 -- a temporary liquidity support.
• Wednesday’s package brings the support offered to businesses and individuals to more than C$500 billion during the crisis, the prime minister’s office said in a statement. The country’s banking regulator is loosening capital requirements to free up C$300 billion of lending capacity, while the country’s housing agency is buying up to C$50 billion in mortgages to provide liquidity.
• Trudeau also confirmed an announcement by President Trump that Canada and the U.S. have agreed to close the world’s longest undefended border to all non-essential traffic.

(Source: Bloomberg)