In a press release proceeding the interview, Chatel lauded the budget as an effort to invest in several areas, including supporting a transition to a “clean, sustainable, and prosperous” economy, ensuring access to health and dental care, making the economy more inclusive, adopting various measures meant to combat inflation and support for Canada’s official languages, which includes “protecting and promoting French in Quebec,”, as well as the language rights of the province’s Anglophone minority.”

THE EQUITY prepared several questions for Chatel on the specifics of these measures.

What are some specific measures the government is introducing in the budget to lessen the burden of cost of living increases?

To me, affordability always starts by having a good job. After the economic slowdown, we are well-positioned to build an economy where we can offer Canadians well-paying jobs. I know it’s not a particularly targeted measure of affordability right now, but it’s to make sure that we deliver well-paying jobs in the future, and the future is 2024.

It’s quite amazing to look at Canada because we have the skilled workers, the innovation that is developed by renowned Canadian universities, the critical natural resources that the world economy will need and we have the financial institutions that have a very good reputation to be solid in times of turmoil and we have a good solid democracy as well. So all that is to say that I think that affordability starts by investing in good and well-paying jobs for Canadians. And I think that that’s what the budget delivers.

One affordability initiative we deliver in this budget is the grocery rebate. This allows 11 million Canadians, access to a one time payment to offset food price increases. Under the provision couples with two children with could up to an extra $467; single Canadians without children with up to an extra $324; and seniors with an extra $225 on average. This additional assistance would be provided by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as soon as possible after the legislation is passed, through the GST credit system.

I also wanted to highlight how the budget is adding to major programs such as investing in more daycare, which will provide a lot of support to the province to deliver childcare. This makes life a lot more affordable for parents of young children.

The budget is also extending the dental care program which will also help, because going to the dentist is expensive. It will be available to people in families with an income of less than $90,000 in 2024. In 2023 it will be accessible to those who are 18-years-old and less.

What are some investments the government is making to encourage job security and maintain the social safety net, especially in the context of a predicted recession?

On the Finance Committee, we heard from a lot of economists during the pre-budget consultation process and it was confirmed that there will be an economic slowdown. But what the economists we spoke to also mentioned was that the job market is very robust in Canada. So that’s good news because it won’t feel that hard. As I said, affordability starts with having a good job. It will be difficult for a few more months, but what is important is that there’s a very bright light at the end of the tunnel. The predictions are that at the end of this year, inflation will go back to its target between two and three per cent. And that means that interest rates will also start decreasing. This is all good news. So what I say to people is hang on there. We’ll keep monitoring the situation and we don’t want anyone to fall into poverty. But there’s very good news coming from our economists. I also know people were a bit insecure about the banking system but, Canada has the best banking system in the world, so we were very proud of that and very confident.

The job market should remain robust and we are also fortunate in Canada to have a solid system of unemployment insurance, so I think we’ll be fine. We have to take this time to position ourselves for next year when the economy will pick up. Now is the time for businesses and governments to think strategically about how to take advantage of the opportunities that are coming.

Are any investments being made in reducing the cost of living in the medium to long term?

We have studied housing inflation in paticular on the finance committee. The bigger problem with the price of houses is really the supply and demand. So there’s more demand than the supply of housing. So we really have to work collectively because the federal government put a lot of money into the housing program in the last budget. That was great, the money’s there. We are in phase three of the rapid housing initiative that is being delivered but it’s a collective effort, as money is only one aspect of housing. Municipalities, real estate agents, real estate companies and communities, they all have to work together to deliver housing. There are a lot of actors that need to come together in order to build more houses that Canadians need. And I think what we are seeing now is a more and more coordinated effort to do that. For example, some MRCs have pulled their resources together for all municipalities they represent and put one kind of Housing Strategy Office where they strategically applied together to get more housing funding.

Can you describe how the budget is relevant to the Pontiac’s economy (agriculture, forestry, ecotourism, infrastructure etc…)?

The first thing I would say is that while we build the 21st-century economy, we cannot forget how important healthcare is. We in the rural caucus heard from a wonderful organization in Shawville, which is the Society of Rural Physicians and Dr. Keith MacLellan. They really helped us understand both the challenges and solutions that could help rural communities to get access to health care. You can see how this budget invests massively into healthcare systems to help provinces deliver on the Canadian promise of universal healthcare, with money specifically going to rural healthcare.

I knew it would be a very fiscally prudent budget but I was really pleased that our government understands how important it is to invest in areas for growth in rural communities. And one of them is tourism. So, there was an announcement of additional money for the Regional Development Agency and that included money to the SADC in Pontiac to increase opportunities for tourism in rural communities.

Of course in Pontiac, what’s very important is agriculture and forestry and the budget has provided very important measures.

One is the almost $400 million to renew and update forest sector programs.

We have $57 million over five years with money ongoing to establish a Foot and Mouth Disease vaccine bank to ensure early vaccination of livestock. That’s important because we want to avoid border closures and protect the livelihood of livestock farmers in the event of an outbreak.

Budget 2023 proposes to provide $13 million in 2023-24 to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to increase the interest-free limit for loans under the Advance Payments Program from $250,000 to $350,000 for the 2023 program year.

Additionally, the government will consult with provincial and territorial counterparts to explore ways to extend help to small agricultural producers who demonstrate urgent financial need.

Budget 2023 proposes to provide $34.1 million over three years, starting in 2023-2024, to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s On-Farm Climate Action Fund to support adoption of nitrogen management practices by Eastern Canada farmers, that will help optimize and reduce the need for fertilizer. Ontario and Quebec farmers will together receive the vast the majority (over 80 per cent) of the funding, consistent with their share of nitrogen fertilizer imports in the spring of 2022.

Can you touch on some of the climate initiatives in the budget?

At the core, the initiatives are really about stimulating innovation and investment in what will be very successful industries in the Canadian economy. So that’s sectors like clean technology, battery systems and infrastructure. We want to stimulate innovation by way of providing investment tax credits to companies of between 40 and 30 per cent when they invest in green technology. One of the pillars of this budget is really to help to empower investors and empower businesses to really become world leaders in the global economy.

To summarize, I would say that we do have an amazing opportunity in front of us and we can see the role of government in empowering Canadians to find opportunities and be very successful. And we are doing that at a time when we have to be very fiscally prudent and we have to be there for Canadians that need help the most and have to invest massively in the healthcare system. And to me, it’s quite amazing that we are doing all of this while maintaining the best debt-to-GDP ratio and the lowest deficit in the G7. So we are fiscally solid. And that’s why we have the means for our ambition and without leaving anyone behind. And to me that’s a real success story.

Register or subscribe to read this content

Thanks for stopping by! This article is available to readers who have created a free account or who subscribe to The Equity.

When you register for free with your email, you get access to a limited number of stories at no cost. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access to everything we publish—and directly support quality local journalism here in the Pontiac.

Register or Subscribe Today!