Feds calm down some EI guidelines, present $6B in enterprise assist as Trump makes new tariff threats

The federal authorities is launching a greater than $6-billion help bundle for companies impacted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and stress-free some employment insurance coverage (EI) guidelines to assist staff.

Steven MacKinnon, Mary Ng and Rechie Valdez — the ministers of labour, worldwide commerce and small enterprise — made the announcement Friday afternoon.

“We’ve tried and examined instruments to get our folks by means of the hardest of crises and we won’t hesitate to make use of them,” MacKinnon mentioned.

As a part of the helps for companies, the federal government is offering $5 billion over two years for exporters to assist them discover new markets past the U.S. and a $500-million mortgage program by means of the Enterprise Growth Financial institution of Canada for companies immediately impacted by the tariffs.

Ottawa can also be boosting the financing program for the agricultural sector — referred to as Farm Credit score Canada — to the tune of $1 billion.

WATCH | Ottawa broadcasts billions to assist companies, relaxes some EI guidelines: 

Ottawa broadcasts billions to assist companies, relaxes some EI guidelines

Employment and Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon says the transfer to briefly calm down guidelines for the employment insurance coverage work-sharing program will ‘present stability to our sectors at a time of nice unrest.’ Worldwide Commerce Minister Mary Ng introduced, beginning this yr, the federal authorities will likely be offering $5 billion over two years to ‘assist Canadian companies deal with the challenges imposed on them by these U.S. tariffs.’

The federal government can also be briefly stress-free guidelines round a program that permits staff to obtain partial EI advantages whereas working diminished hours. The federal government says the short-term measures will improve entry to this system and lengthen the time that these advantages are sometimes obtainable.

In a partial climbdown on Thursday, Trump mentioned he’s pausing tariffs on some Canadian items till April 2, providing a reprieve from across-the-board 25 per cent tariffs.

Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc mentioned Thursday that Canada would delay its second spherical of retaliatory tariffs, value $125 billion, till April 2. That is when Trump’s batch of “reciprocal” tariffs is as a consequence of be imposed on nations around the globe. Canada has at the moment levied $30 billion value of U.S. imports.

WATCH | Labour minister says extra helps would come if wanted: 

MacKinnon requested about requires extra EI adjustments amid U.S. tariffs

Minister of Employment and Labour Steven MacKinnon, whereas talking in Ottawa on Friday, says that the federal authorities’s first obligation is to not have U.S. tariffs imposed on Canada. MacKinnon added that if the tariffs proceed, ‘you possibly can completely anticipate that we’d include additional measures to guard our staff.’

Requested by reporters if additional measures could be taken to assist companies and staff, MacKinnon mentioned it could rely on how the state of affairs unfolds.

“The ball appears to bounce every single day. We’ve each intention of customizing a response to tariffs or no tariffs because the case could also be. Our first obligation is to make it possible for these tariffs do not get imposed on Canada,” he mentioned.

MacKinnon famous has Trump employed “chaotic messaging” when making an attempt to justify his tariffs.

“First this commerce conflict was about securing the border and ending drug smuggling. Then it was about migration and the move of individuals going south after which, puzzlingly, it was about American banks or the auto sector,” he mentioned.

Trump threatens tariffs on dairy, lumber

Chatting with reporters within the Oval Workplace on Friday, Trump threatened to hit Canada’s dairy and lumber industries with further tariffs.

“Canada has been ripping us off for years,” the president mentioned.

Canada does not export any dairy merchandise by means of its supply-management system.

Lumber, alternatively, has been a constant sticking level in Canada-U.S. relations for years.

The U.S. already imposes anti-dumping duties on Canadian softwood lumber, however Trump is threatening to high these with further tariffs.

Widespread U.S. tariffs would have a devastating impact on the Canadian economic system, with specialists saying it could result in a whole bunch of hundreds of job losses and wreak havoc in key sectors akin to Ontario’s auto business.

American tariffs on all metal and aluminum are nonetheless as a consequence of come into impact subsequent week. Canada is the main exporter of each metals to the U.S.