No fiscal anchor until after pandemic, PM says

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government's promised update on the health of its finances won't have a specific anchor to keep spending from spiralling out of control.

He says officials are working on a robust update that will provide some guidelines for spending to help the economy.

Speaking to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce today, the prime minister says it would be premature to lock in a spending anchor while the country is still dealing with the pandemic.

He is defending the unprecedented scale of federal aid, saying doing anything less would have ended up costing the country far more in terms of lost businesses and jobs.

Trudeau used his morning address to announce that businesses that use a personal banking account could finally apply for a popular federal loan program.

He added that legislation would be soon tabled in the House of Commons to create more direct rent relief to companies, as well as an extension to the wage subsidy program.