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Canada unveils Can$10 bn stimulus to counter coronavirus
OTTAWA, March 14, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced Friday a Can$10 billion (US$7.5 billion) credit package to help businesses struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic.
At the same news conference, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz slashed the central bank’s key lending rate by 50 basis points to 0.75 percent.
This came on the heels of a rate cut last week when the bank warned that the spread of the virus represented a “material negative shock” to the Canadian and global economies.
“These are extraordinary times,” Morneau said. “And that means that we are ready to take extraordinary measures.”
Aid to businesses will be in the form of credit to help them get through the current situation, the minister said.
Earlier in the week, Morneau announced a Can$1 billion emergency fund to reinforce Canada’s provincial health systems, and provide financial aid to Canadians forced to undergo isolation.
Ottawa is also planning to roll out next week another economic stimulus package to help “stabilize our economy, to support businesses and to protect Canadians during this difficult time,” Morneau said Friday.
All of these measures combined should be seen “as a coordinated and very powerful package… to weather the storm,” Poloz said.
“These actions are meant to buttress (business and consumer) confidence and get us a bridge across the trouble,” he said.
BSS/AFP/MMA/2020HRS