Support for businesses through pandemic extended to spring, $518 M invested in scientific research: Trudeau
Posted March 3, 2021 1:01 pm.
Last Updated March 3, 2021 1:02 pm.
The prime minister is extending critical supports for businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic and investing in scientific research.
Justin Trudeau used his COVID-19 update to announce that the wage subsidy, the rent subsidy, and the lockdown supports for Canadian businesses will continue until June at their current levels.
“We’re making sure that the wage and rent subsidies continue through the spring and that the amount of support remains consistent,” Trudeau says.
There have been signals from the government that these supports would be slowly phased out, but instead they are remaining as is given the country is still struggling with the virus.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says, “the maximum wage subsidy rate for active employees will remain at 75 per cent. the maximum rent subsidy rate will remain at 65 per cent and lockdown support will remain at 25 per cent.”
Trudeau also announced $518-million for scientific research in Canada — that’s expected to help fund more than 100 projects that could include studies on the virus.
Efforts to boost Canada’s ability to produce vaccines are among the projects receiving federal money.
The projects receiving the cash also include ocean sensors to track climate change and setting up a digital archive to house records related to residential schools.
The vaccine-related funding will be directed to the researchers from the Universite Laval-affiliated hospitals in Quebec City.
Their aim is to create a public vaccine production program that will help develop and test vaccines and launch related startup companies.
Frustration that Canada is reliant on foreign manufacturers to access the COVID-19 vaccine has led to calls to boost Canada’s domestic capabilities.
