A couple of the big items for families and affordability in the federal budget include an expansion of the new dental care plan and a grocery rebate. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says by the end of this year, the federal government will begin rolling out a dental care plan that will eventually cover up to nine-million uninsured Canadians with an annual family income of less than $90,000. She adds that about 11 million Canadians will be eligible for a grocery rebate to help offset higher prices. It will be part of the GST credit. A couple with two children could receive $467; a senior could receive a one-time payment of $225 and a single person could get as much as $234.
At the same time, Freeland adds that the wealthiest Canadians and large corporations will pay their fair share of taxes to keep things affordable for everyone. The deficit is projected to be nearly $10 billion more than was forecast in the fall, totalling $40.1 billion.
A few other highlights for affordability:
The right to repair – The federal government says it will work to implement a right to repair broken appliances or devices, to make it easier and cheaper for Canadians to repair, rather than replace, their home appliances and electronics. Consultations will be launched this summer. This includes the right to repair and the interoperability of farming equipment.
Common chargers for electronic devices – the government will work with international partners and other stakeholders to explore implementing a standard charging port to lower costs and reduce electronic waste.
Automatic tax filing for low-income Canadians – Staring next year, the CRA will pilot a new automatic filing service to help vulnerable Canadians who don’t currently file their taxes to receive the benefits to which they are entitled. Since 2018, the CRA has had a simple File My Return service, which allows eligible Canadians to auto-file over the phone after answering a series of short questions. In this budget, the number of Canadians will increase and will be almost 2 million people by 2025.
Students – The federal budget proposes increasing Canada Student Grants by 40 per cent, to provide up to $4,200 for full-time students, along with raising the interest-free Canada Student Loan limit from $210 to $300 per week of study and waiving the requirement for mature students to undergo credit screening in order to qualify for federal student grants and loans for the first time.
