Honourable senators, with leave of the Senate and notwithstanding rule 5-6(1)(f), I move that the bill be read the second time now.

Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Bill C-2, An Act to provide further support in response to COVID-19.

As the Senate sponsor of this legislation — and I thank Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland for entrusting me with the responsibility — I, of course, support it strongly.

I do have 45 minutes to speak as sponsor, but as we approach the holiday season, my gift to all of you is that I will be brief — relatively, anyway.

Canada has made incredible strides in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks in large part to a high national vaccination rate — which will hopefully extend to children now that they are eligible — and public health mandates, from masks to vaccinations, including for all federally regulated employees.

Of course, we now have the Omicron variant taking over, and it is scary and frustrating after nearly two very long years. We are all feeling it, colleagues.

Some jurisdictions have fared better than others, but none have been spared the tragedies of this pandemic. Along with the heartache and devastation felt by too many Canadian families who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus — including our own Senate family — many have been hard hit financially, having lost jobs and entire businesses.

Continuing to support individual Canadians and business owners is what Bill C-2 seeks to do.

As Minister Freeland announced on October 21 and as indicated in the Speech from the Throne on November 23, the government believes that the time has come to bring in more targeted programs than the ones that were offered at the height of the pandemic last year.

As you know, the general income and business support programs, such as the Canada Recovery Benefit, ended on October 23, 2021.

However, even though public health and the economic situation have vastly improved, in large part because of these temporary lifelines, many Canadians and businesses still need targeted support.

To that end, Bill C-2 amends the Income Tax Act to enshrine into law the programs that came into effect on October 24, namely the tourism and hospitality recovery program, the hardest-hit business recovery program and the local lockdown program.

The bill also introduces the new Canada worker lockdown benefit, which, as its name suggests, provides benefits to workers in the event of a lockdown.

Furthermore, Bill C-2 amends the Canada Recovery Benefits Act and extends the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit beyond November 20, a date that has already passed.

Lastly, the bill would improve and extend the Canada Recovery Hiring Program.

Now for the exciting part, colleagues, where I explain the ins and outs of the elements I just highlighted and what they will do if this bill passes.

The first new benefit, the tourism and hospitality recovery program, would provide support via wage and rent subsidies to businesses, including hotels, tour operators, restaurants and travel agencies. The subsidy rate for this highly targeted group would start at 40% for applicants with a 40% revenue loss and would increase in line with their losses, to a maximum of 75%.

Second, the hardest-hit business recovery program, which would also provide support via wage and rent subsidies, would be available to employers who are able to demonstrate that they have faced deep and enduring losses of revenue. The subsidy rate for this group would start at 10% for applicants with at least a 50% revenue loss. For employers with revenue losses of 75%, the subsidy would increase to a maximum of 50%.

Eligibility for these first two programs will consider two points: first, whether the employer has faced a significant revenue loss over the course of the first 12 months of the pandemic; and second, current month revenue loss.

The last new benefit under Part 1, the local lockdown program, acknowledges that temporary lockdowns in some areas of the country are still possible for the foreseeable future. As we enter the winter season, which drives people indoors, and with the emergence of new variants — the latest being Omicron — unfortunately, this is not outside the realm of possibility. As it did in March 2020, the government announced on December 15 that it is again urging Canadians to avoid all non-essential international travel because of the rapidly spreading Omicron. Much uncertainty lies ahead, colleagues. The local lockdown program would provide employers whose businesses are impacted by new temporary local lockdowns with up to the maximum amount available through the wage and rent subsidy programs.

After Bill C-2 passes, these new programs will be available retroactively, from October 24, 2021, to May 7, 2022. From March 13, 2022, to May 7, 2022, support rates will decrease by half to reflect the government’s intention to prepare for a full recovery and the subsequent end of pandemic-related benefit programs.

Part 2 establishes the Canada worker lockdown benefit through the creation of a new act. This targeted benefit, delivered by the Canada Revenue Agency, will provide income support to workers — including the self-employed — who cannot work due to restrictions mandated by regional COVID-19-related lockdowns in place between October 24, 2021, and May 7, 2022. Eligible workers in this situation would receive income support of $300 per week. This benefit is critical to ensuring that regional health and safety is paramount while also ensuring that workers do not suffer further financial hardship during necessary lockdowns.

I will not list every eligibility criterion for the lockdown benefit, but there is one I will highlight, given that vaccination mandates for employees in various sectors, including our own, are in force.

To qualify for the benefit, applicants must attest that their loss of employment or self-employment, inability to work or income reduction are not due to a failure to adhere to a workplace vaccine policy or other vaccination mandate. This is an important point, colleagues, and one that gained much attention when a vaccination mandate for federal employees was announced.

Bill C-2 would also amend the Canada Recovery Benefits Act and its regulations to extend the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit until May 7, 2022.

The amendments would also add an additional two weeks to the maximum benefit period. More specifically, the caregiving benefit would go from 42 weeks to 44, and the sickness benefit would go from four weeks to six. More than a million Canadians have already used this program.

Lastly, Bill C-2 would extend the Canada Recovery Hiring Program until May 7, 2022, for eligible employers with current revenue losses above 10%. The subsidy rate would also increase to 50%.

This extension would help businesses continue to hire back workers and create the additional jobs Canada needs to fully recover from the losses incurred because of the pandemic.

From October 24, 2021, through May 7, 2022, the government estimates that the total cost of the measures outlined in Bill C-2 will be $7.4 billion. That is a drop in the bucket compared to the $289 billion the government has spent through the extraordinary broad-based income and business supports since the start of the pandemic last year.

At this point I had in my notes a disquisition on inflation. However, that discussion took place between Minister Freeland and Senator Housakos, so I will not repeat what they have discussed. Of course, inflation is cause for concern. The simple truth is that inflation is not a result of politics or partisanship — though how it is discussed and portrayed certainly might be — nor is it due to much-needed benefits programs that have helped people through a once-in-a-century global crisis. Inflation is global in nature and reflects many factors. In my view, Canada is in a strong recovery position, largely as a result of spending on extraordinary temporary benefits programs.

Honourable senators, we are by no means out of the woods. We will likely have a difficult winter. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Mixed metaphors aside, the fact is that while many Canadians and Canadian businesses still need support, Canada is now at a point where it is appropriate to target that support to those who need it most.

Getting here has been hard, and Canada and the entire world have suffered dearly. There is no doubt about that, colleagues.

It has been nearly two years since the emergence of COVID-19, and more than 20 months since the World Health Organization declared the pandemic. Everything has changed in that time, including the very basic societal norms and routines we all took for granted. From how and where we work, to how we gather with family and friends, we have all experienced a fundamental shift.

Birthdays have been missed, weddings postponed and the opportunity to say goodbye to departed loved ones lost.

Despite the pain wrought by the pandemic, we have also seen the very best of humanity; from how communities across our great country and the globe have come together, to truly remarkable advances in science that have led us to the vaccines that are keeping us safe and which will get us to the end of this.

The targeted supports for individual Canadians and businesses outlined in Bill C-2 cannot change the past, colleagues. What it does do, though, is to offer hope and help to people who need it and a strong sign that we are finally in the home stretch of this pandemic.

All of us are receiving mail from concerned Canadians to this effect.

Colleagues, let us pass this bill now and make that final push. Thank you.