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Hon. Rechie Valdez

Member of Parliament
Minister of Small Business
Liberal

Mississauga—Streetsville
Ontario
Voting Attendance: 67%
Expenses Last Quarter: $101,328.92

Government Page

Jun/1/23 12:56:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to give a shout-out to the Mississauga Food Bank for its amazing work in giving back to the community and providing our communities with food. As I mentioned, or outlined, earlier in my speech, today, we have designed budget 2023 to have the biggest impact on those who need it most. We have made so many different options available to constituents to assist them in this time of need while avoiding exacerbating inflation. Again, we are committed to providing a brighter future for Canadians through these different measures.

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Context: House Hansard - 204 - Jun/1/23

Mrs. Rechie Valdez

Jun/1/23 12:45:26 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would be remiss on June 1 if I did not say Happy National Indigenous History Month, Deafblind Awareness Month, Filipino Heritage Month, Italian Heritage Month, Portuguese Heritage Month and Pride Month. To go back to the topic at hand, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to discuss this important subject today. The Canadian economy is doing well in the face of global economic challenges, with more than 900,000 Canadians working today than before the pandemic and an unemployment rate close to a record low. However, we are well aware that many Canadians continue to struggle with the cost of living. Since 2015, the government has been making important investments to grow the economy, strengthen Canada's social safety net and make life more affordable for Canadians. These investments have included the tax-free child benefit to support about 3.5 million families annually, an enhanced Canada workers benefit and a 10% increase in old age security payments to seniors aged 75 and over, among others. In budget 2023, we outlined how our government will provide new targeted inflation relief to Canadians, including the grocery rebate, to support the many individuals and families who are struggling to put food on the table because of the rising cost of groceries. The new one-time grocery rebate will deliver targeted inflation relief for 11 million low- and modest-income Canadians and families who need it most, with up to $467 for eligible couples with two children, up to an extra $234 for single Canadians without children and an extra $225 for seniors, on average. The grocery rebate will be delivered to eligible Canadians on July 5, 2023, by direct deposit or cheque, through the Canada Revenue Agency. By targeting the grocery rebate to Canadians who need it the most, the government will be able to provide relief without making inflation worse. We all know that inflation is still too high, and the steep increase in interest rates has caused economic pain for many Canadians, including small businesses, which need to pay more for their lines of credit. We saw the pandemic lead to an increase in people using credit cards when they shop. Canadian small businesses pay fees to process these credit card transactions, with the largest component being the interchange paid to credit card issuers. However, I am pleased to be able to say that the Government of Canada recently announced that, in budget 2023, it will be delivering a commitment to lower credit card transaction fees for small businesses by finalizing new agreements with Visa and Mastercard, while also protecting reward points offered by Canada's large banks for Canadian consumers. For qualifying small businesses, Visa and Mastercard have agreed to reduce interchange fees for in-store transactions, to an annual weighted average of 0.95%, and to reduce interchange fees for online transactions by 10 basis points, resulting in reductions of up to 7%. As a previous small business entrepreneur myself, I am happy to say that these new agreements will help most small businesses in Canada. More than 90% of credit card-accepting businesses in Canada will qualify for the new lower rates and see their interchange fees reduced by up to 27% from the existing weighted average rate. These reductions are expected to save Canadian small businesses about $1 billion over five years. Small businesses will also have free access to online fraud and cybersecurity resources to help them grow their online sales while preventing fraud and charge-backs. In concrete terms, a small store with $300,000 in annual credit card sales should see interchange savings of $1,080 per year. The new rates will come into effect in the fall of 2024 to allow time for systems to be updated. Another important measure in the budget includes working with regulatory agencies in provinces and territories to reduce junk fees for Canadians, including higher telecom roaming charges, event and concert fees, excessive baggage fees and unjustified shipping and freight fees. These costs can add up very quickly. It is important to ensure that businesses are transparent and fair with prices for Canadians. The budget also takes action to crack down on predatory lending. Predatory lenders can take advantage of some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, including low-income Canadians, newcomers and seniors, often by extending loans with very high interest rates. With budget 2023, our government is taking action by proposing to lower the criminal rate of interest by reducing the annual percentage rate from 47% to 35% and imposing a cap on payday loans. Another way the government is taking steps to support low-income Canadians is through automatic tax filing. Having hosted a free tax clinic in my office during tax season, I know first-hand that this will go a long way for all our constituents. We want to ensure that Canadians can easily file their tax returns in order to receive the benefits to which they are entitled. Since 2018, the Canada Revenue Agency has delivered a free and simple File my Return service, which allows eligible Canadians to auto-file their tax returns over the phone after answering a series of short questions. Budget 2023 announced that the federal government would increase the number of Canadians eligible for File my Return—

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Context: House Hansard - 105 - Sep/29/22

Mrs. Rechie Valdez

Sep/29/22 3:59:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to clarify that we are helping families weather inflationary impacts by putting more money back into their pockets this year, including our government's plan to put a price on pollution, which is designed so that the majority of households receive more in climate action payments and help multiple Canadians across the country. For example, the payments will be $745 in Ontario, $830 in Manitoba, $1,100 in Saskatchewan and $1,080 in Alberta. This is real money that will go into the pockets of Canadians and support them further.

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Minister of Small Business

Hon. Rechie Valdez