The Federal Government is launching an aid package of more than $ 6 billion for companies affected by the rates of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and relaxing some employment insurance rules (EI) to help workers.
Steven Mackinnon, Mary NG and Rechie Valdez, the Ministers of Labor, International Trade and small businesses, made the announcement on Friday afternoon.
“We have tried and proven tools for our people to go through the most difficult crises and we will not hesitate to use them,” Mackinnon said.
As part of the support for companies, the Government is providing $ 5 billion for two years for exporters to help them find new markets beyond the USA and a loan program of $ 500 million through the Canada Business Development Bank for companies directly affected by rates.
Ottawa is also promoting the financing program for the agricultural sector, known as Farm Credit Canada, for a sum of $ 1 billion.
The Minister of Employment and Labor, Steven Mackinnon, says that the measure to temporarily relax the rules for the employment insurance work program “will provide stability to our sectors at a time of large disturbances.” The Minister of International Trade, Mary NG, announced, as of this year, the Federal Government will provide $ 5 billion for two years to “help Canadian companies address the challenges imposed by these US tariffs.”
The government is also temporarily relaxing rules around a program that allows employees to receive benefits from IE partials while working hours. The government says that temporary measures will increase access to the program and lengthen the time that typically available these benefits.
In a partial climb on Thursday, Trump said he is stopping tariffs on some Canadian products until April 2, offering a 25 percent rate respite on the board.
The Minister of Finance, Dominic Leblanc, said Thursday that Canada would delay his second round of retaliation rates, with a value of $ 125 billion, until April 2. It was then that Trump’s lot of “reciprocal” tariffs is imposed on countries around the world. Canada has currently raised worth $ 30 billion in US imports.
The Minister of Employment and Labor, Steven Mackinnon, while speaking in Ottawa on Friday, says that the first duty of the federal government is not to have US tariffs imposed on Canada. Mackinnon added that if the tariffs continue, “you can absolutely wait for us to come with new measures to protect our workers.”
Asked by reporters if more measures would be taken to support companies and workers, Mackinnon said it would depend on how the situation develops.
“The ball seems to bounce every day. We have all the intention of customizing a response to tariffs or non -tariffs as can be the case. Our first duty is to ensure that these rates are not imposed on Canada,” he said.
Mackinnon said Trump has used “chaotic messages” by trying to justify his tariffs.
“First, this commercial war was trying to ensure the border and end the drug smuggling. Then it was the migration and flow of people who went south and then, disconcerting, it was US banks or the automotive sector,” he said.
Trump threats with dairy tariffs, wood
Speaking to journalists at the Oval office on Friday, Trump threatened to hit the dairy and wooden wood industries with additional tariffs.
“Canada has been cheating for years,” said the president.
Although Canada severely restricts access to its dairy market, the volume of US dairy products.
Wood, on the other hand, has been a conflict point consisting of the relations of Canada-United States for years.
The United States already imposes anti -dumping tasks in Canadian soft wood, but Trump threatens to overcome those with additional tariffs.
Generalized American tariffs would have a devastating effect on the Canadian economy, and experts said it would lead to hundreds of thousands of job loss and havoc cause in key sectors such as the Ontario automotive industry.
American tariffs especially steel and aluminum will still enter into force next week. Canada is the main exporter of both metals to the US.
