Message from Tony
Reducing the risks of climate change
Climate change is affecting the safety, health, and quality of life of people across Canada. Every year, the country faces increasing record-breaking climate events, including wildfires, extreme heatwaves, and floods, on top of slow-onset climate impacts, such as thawing permafrost and rising sea levels. Working together to reduce risk from the changing climate will keep Canadian communities safer and healthier. It will also shield the economy from shocks and help avoid some of the rising costs of extreme weather. Simply put, the choices we made today will help decide the future of our communities, our livelihoods, our environment, and our economy.
To that end, the Government of Canada recently launched the National Adaptation Strategy in Vancouver alongside provincial, and Indigenous government representatives. The Strategy is the product of two years of engagement with provinces and territories, Indigenous partners, key experts, stakeholders, and partners across Canada. It presents a whole-of-society approach to reducing risk and building climate-resilient communities.
The Strategy lays out an agreed-upon framework to reduce the risk of climate-related disasters, improve health outcomes, protect nature and biodiversity, build and maintain resilient infrastructure, and support a strong economy and workers. It also identifies common goals, objectives, and targets to focus the efforts of governments and communities across these key areas and to help ensure future investments are targeted and effective.
Similarly, the Government of Canada Adaptation Action Plan, released alongside the National Adaptation Strategy in November 2022, has been updated to include new federal investments and initiatives related to flooding, freshwater, supply chains, and security. The action plan—which now has 73 actions, compared to 68 in November 2022—outlines the federal contribution to achieving Canada’s climate change adaptation goals.
Canada Day Celebrations
I was pleased to participate in many Canada Day Celebrations across our communities. Like many Canadians, my family were immigrants and I proudly recall the day I became a Canadian citizen. So it was with extreme pride that I once again took the Reaffirmation Oath at a ceremony in Aurora. As I have said many times, I love this country and deeply appreciate the opportunities it has afforded my family. Canada Day is a popular time for citizenship ceremonies. Congratulations to everyone who can now proudly call themselves a Canadian citizen.
Celebrating Canada Day
This past weekend, we celebrated our country and recognized our incredible achievements as a nation.
Canada Day serves as a reminder for us to continue building a better, more inclusive society for everyone.
Happy Canada Day!
Budget Implementation Act Receives Royal Assent
This past March, we tabled Budget 2023, proposing several investments that would help make your life more affordable, grow a green economy, and improve our health care and dental care systems.
Bill C-47, the Budget Implementation Act, received Royal Assent, delivering many of our Budget 2023 commitments, including:
- Delivering automatic advance payments of the Canada Workers Benefit, starting in July 2023, to provide up to $1,428 total for eligible single workers, and $2,461 for an eligible family.
- Protecting air passengers’ rights by strengthening the Canadian Transportation Agency, making airlines more accountable for delays, cancellations, and lost baggage, and ensuring that passengers are fairly compensated when their travel is disrupted.
- Cracking down on predatory lending by lowering the criminal rate of interest from the equivalent of 47 per cent annual percentage rate (APR) to 35 per cent, and imposing a cap on payday loans.
- Cracking down on house flipping by fully taxing assignment sales, to ensure homes are used for Canadian families to live in.
- Supporting the implementation of the new Canadian Dental Care Plan, which will provide dental coverage for up to nine million Canadians once fully implemented by 2025.
- Increasing certain Registered Education Savings Plan withdrawal limits from $5,000 to $8,000 for full-time students to help make postsecondary education more affordable.
- Doubling the tradespeople’s tool deduction from a maximum of $500 to $1,000, to help tradespeople invest in the equipment they need to build Canada’s economy.
We’re committed to building a brighter future for Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
Enhanced Wildland Fire Cooperation
As wildfire seasons become longer and more extreme, we’re focused on keeping people safe while strengthening our long-term response.
Recently, Minister Wilkinson and the United States Ambassador to Canada signed an arrangement that strengthens our countries’ long-standing cooperation to combat wildland fires and protect communities in the face of this climate change-driven threat.
This arrangement that mutual aid is efficiently and effectively deployed where it is needed most by expanding the scope of cooperation to include prevention, research, innovation, technical cooperation, and risk mitigation.
Canada and the United States will continue to work together to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change, protecting communities, livelihoods, and our environment for generations to come.
To stay safe during this wildfire season, download the WeatherCAN app to stay aware about regional hazards like the air quality health index.
Moving Forward on Commitments to Strengthen the Pesticide Review Process
We announced the next steps toward a sustainable approach to pesticide management while giving farmers the tools they need to keep providing reliable access to safe and nutritious food.
Following extensive discussions and consultations on what Canadians expect, we announced additional actions toward a sustainable approach to pesticide management.
These actions include restarting the science-based process of evaluating acceptable increases to pesticide residue, a consultation on proposed regulatory amendments to the Pest Control Products Regulations, and eliminating the cosmetic use of pesticides on federal lands.
As we take move forward on these commitments, we will continue to prioritize the health of Canadians and ensure that all pesticides continue to undergo a rigorous scientific review prior to being approved for sale in Canada.
Supporting the Mining Sector
We’re investing more than $15 million in total funding for the 24 winning recipients of the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator’s (MICA’s) second call for proposals.
In Ontario, several organizations received funding through this call for proposals.
The 24 recipients will use this funding to develop projects focusing on the commercialization of mining technologies that will make the mining sector more productive and sustainable.
Thanks to the second call for proposals, MICA will attract over $100 million in private investment, create and retain over 400 new highly skilled jobs for Canadians and give Canada the building blocks we need for the transition to the low-carbon economy.
