National

Spending tied to COVID-19 set to drop sharply: PBO

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 10 Mar, 2021 05:52 PM

Parliament's budget watchdog says the portion of federal spending related to COVID-19 is set to drop by 86 per cent in the coming fiscal year compared to 2020-21, as Canada transitions away from emergency pandemic measures.

REPORT: “The Government’s Expenditure Plan and Main Estimates for 2021-22” https://t.co/u49rBaDh0k #cdnecon #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/ukR58cPH9S
— Parliamentary Budget Officer (@PBO_DPB) March 10, 2021

The government is planning $22.7 billion in COVID-19-related spending over the coming year, versus an estimated $159.5 billion to date, according to a new report from parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux.

Part of the decline relates to a projected plunge in relief spending for individuals.

In 2020-21, an estimated $122 billion flowed to Canadians via labour market supports such as the emergency response benefit, the recovery benefit and enhanced employment insurance, the report states.

The comparable figure for 2021-22 is less than $43 billion, reflecting a gradual phaseout of aid measures.

The report is based on estimates tabled in Parliament last month and does not factor in the coming budget, which may not be introduced until April.

Of the $342.2 billion outlined in the 2021-22 estimates, roughly one in every five dollars is earmarked for monthly payments to Canadian seniors, amounting to $62.4 billion in elder benefits. The benefits are indexed to inflation.

The Canada Health Transfer, indexed to GDP growth, comprises the second-largest component of federal spending, amounting to $43.1 billion to help provinces and territories to help pay for health care.

Parliament must approve government spending through a process called the estimates, with the main estimates — brought forward on Feb. 27 — providing base funding for all departments.

The estimates show the Finance Department budget is slated to shrink by 13 per cent to $103.8 billion and the budget for Employment and Social Development Canada by more than half to $82.4 billion. Public Health Agency of Canada budget is estimated at $8.8 billion, down $21 billion last year.

Of the $342.2 billion outlined in the estimates, $141.9 billion requires House of Commons approval via a pair of appropriation bills.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Crisis lines face volunteer, cash crunch even as COVID-19 drives surge in calls

Despite a surge in demand due to COVID-19, many distress centres across Canada are dangerously close to folding thanks to major declines in both volunteers and revenue. Stephanie MacKendrick, CEO of Crisis Services Canada, which runs the only national suicide-specific helpline in Canada, says her organization relies on a network of approximately 100 community distress centres across the country to field calls from people.

Crisis lines face volunteer, cash crunch even as COVID-19 drives surge in calls

Conservatives gear up to grill government in modified return of House of Commons propose and oppose: Tories

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer laid out Monday the numerous lines of inquiry his party intends to follow this week as a modified version of a House of Commons sitting gets underway. They include the state of the nation's emergency supply stockpile, the mishmash of federal economic benefit programs that allow some to fall through the cracks and to what extent the minority Liberals are backstopping provincial efforts to reopen their economies, Scheer said.

Conservatives gear up to grill government in modified return of House of Commons propose and oppose: Tories

Learning to live with COVID-19 requires permanent fixes to vulnerable settings

Canada's chief public health officer warned Monday there is still a lot we don't know about the virus that causes COVID-19, but said stopping this pandemic or preventing a future one will require more than just physical distancing and handwashing. Dr. Theresa Tam said we simply do not know yet whether someone who has had COVID-19 will be immune from getting it again, or how long that immunity will last.

Learning to live with COVID-19 requires permanent fixes to vulnerable settings

B.C. university creates institute to take microscope-telescope view of pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the world at a tipping point that's challenging social, political, economic and environmental structures, says the director of a new academic research institute at British Columbia's Royal Roads University. Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon said Monday the pandemic is an event with the power to cause those structures to fall like dominos or shift radically to new paths.

B.C. university creates institute to take microscope-telescope view of pandemic

Drugs and cash seized from a Whalley area residence in Surrey

Illicit drugs and cash have been seized from a residence in the Whalley area following an investigation by the Surrey RCMP. The investigation began on March 5th, 2020 by the Surrey RCMP Community Response Unit (CRU). CRU observed suspicious activity consistent with drug trafficking at a residence in the 11400 block of 124 street.

Drugs and cash seized from a Whalley area residence in Surrey

Police say B.C. woman whose disappearance sparked wide search found dead in Burnaby

The body of a missing British Columbia woman has been found two months after she disappeared. A statement from New Westminster police says the body believed to be that of Nirla Sharma was discovered Sunday along the Fraser River between New Westminster and Burnaby. The woman's disappearance from her New Westminster home sparked a major search in late February.