Today, the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, met virtually with provincial and territorial Finance Ministers. This was the tenth call chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister.
The Deputy Prime Minister raised the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s annual Article IV mission report from earlier this week that found Canada’s strong and well-coordinated actions at the onset of the pandemic provided crucial support to the economy and helped protect lives and livelihoods. The IMF forecast that our economy will grow by 4.4% this year. The Deputy Prime Minister also spoke of the need to address barriers to interprovincial trade, an area of common interest that the IMF report also highlighted.
Finance Ministers discussed recent federal announcements including today’s extension of the Canada Recovery Benefit, the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit, and the Canada Sickness Benefit. They also addressed the transformative impact of the recent announcement of new permanent federal funding for public transit.
Finance Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to a sustained and collaborative response to the COVID-19 pandemic.