Highlights of Canada’s fall economic statement

OTTAWA, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Following are some of the commitments the Canadian government made in its Fall Economic Statement released on Tuesday.

*invest an additional C$15 billion in new loan funding, starting in 2025-26, for the Apartment Construction Loan Program, for a total of more than C$40 billion in loan funding. This investment will support more than 30,000 additional new homes, bringing the contribution to more than 101,000 new homes supported by 2031-32.

*invest an additional C$1 billion over three years, starting in 2025-26, for the Affordable Housing Fund. This investment will support non-profit, co-op, and public housing providers to build more than 7,000 new homes by 2028.

*help remove barriers to internal labor mobility, including by leveraging federal transfers, and other funding, to encourage provinces and territories to cut the red tape that impedes the movement of workers, particularly in construction, health care and child care

*deny income tax deductions for expenses incurred to earn short-term rental income, including interest expenses, in provinces and municipalities that have prohibited short-term rentals. It will also deny income tax deductions when short-term rental operators are not compliant with the applicable provincial or municipal licensing, permitting, or registration requirements.

*propose to spend C$50 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to support municipal enforcement of restrictions on short-term rentals.

*introduce a new Canadian Mortgage Charter, which outlines how financial institutions are to work to provide tailored relief and ensure payments are reasonable for borrowers.

*the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will conduct a prompt investigation of international mobile roaming charges, and will provide an update and concrete next steps in 2024.

*work with the Canadian Transportation Agency to ensure that airlines seat all children under the age of 14 next to their accompanying adult at no extra cost

*explore removing the rule that restricts Canadian pension funds from holding more than 30% of the voting shares of most corporations. It also proposes to require large federally-regulated pension plans to disclose the distribution of their investments, both by jurisdiction and asset-type per jurisdiction, to the Office of the Superintendent ofFinancial Institutions

*begin buying up to C$30 billion of Canada Mortgage Bonds, starting as early as February 2024

(Reporting by Steve Scherer and David Ljunggren)

(steve.scherer@thomsonreuters.com; +1-647-480-7889)

Keywords: CANADA BUDGET/FACTBOX

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