伍凤仪及多位议员会见华文传媒,谈可负担性、安全及包容社区和经济就业问题 Minister Ng and MPs hold roundtable with Chinese Canadian Media on affordability, safe and inclusive communities, and jobs

🔊 朗读

 

 

8 月 25 日,国际贸易、出口促进、小企业和经济发展部长伍凤仪(Mary Ng)与本地加拿

大华文传媒工作者举行圆桌会谈,在联邦政府 2022 年预算出台半年之际,向媒体通报政

府的相关工作和进展。与她一起参加会议的还有士嘉堡北区国会议员陈圣源(Shaun

Chen)、当河谷西区国会议员(Rob Oliphant)、当河谷北区国会议员董晗鹏(Han

Dong)、士嘉堡-爱静阁区国会议员叶嘉丽(Jean Yip)、奥罗拉-橡树岭-列治文山国会议

员莉雅泰勒(Leah Taylor Roy)和士嘉堡中区国会议员张海盈(Salma Zahid)。

伍凤仪部长表示,在经历了长时间的疫情之后,再次与这么多熟悉的面孔当面相聚,甚感

亲切。她强调与当地加拿大华人社区和媒体沟通的重要性。在这场疫情大流行中,许多华

裔加拿大人依靠当地的华文传媒了解 COVID 疫情的最新情况以及与社区周边互动的方式。

当前,正当我们重建经济并面对今日之挑战之际,我们社区持续依赖着少数族裔媒体。

伍部长继续说,我们联邦政府被授予明确的任务再次当选已近一年时间——民众授权我们

扶持加拿大人度过这次前所未遇的时期、创造就业并促进经济增长、并为民众家庭及子孙

后代创造更多成功的机会。而这正是联邦政府通过 2022 年预算及其他各项工作所一直在

做的事情。她概述了政府已经取得的进展,以及未来的道路,包括:

1. 让民众生活更易于负担

为了应对通货膨胀并支持加拿大民众,联邦政府制定了一个全面的计划。政府增强了“加

拿大工作人士补助”(Canada Workers Benefit),让低收入家庭的口袋里增加 2,400 元的

收入;将 75 岁及以上老人的老年保障金(OAS)提高 10%;降低托儿服务费用,到今年年

底之前在全国范围内平均削减 50%。对于多伦多地区的民众来说,实现每天 10 元的儿童

早期教育及托儿服务意味着为育有婴儿的父母每年节省近 1 万 9000 加元。这些措施都为

人们花在日常食品和家庭支出增加额外的资金。

联邦政府也正在努力增加住房供应,将我们在未来十年内建造的新房数量翻倍。

2. 让我们的社区更安全、更包容

两年前,总理宣布在加拿大禁止攻击型武器以抗击枪支暴力;就在近期,联邦政府新的禁

止手枪进口令开始生效。

在华裔社区,人们还在进行另一场斗争,那就是维护我们已有的包容和多元化社区。我们

已经看到仇视亚裔的种族主义(anti-Asian Racism)出现惊人的增长。伍凤仪部长向大家保

证,她的同事和联邦政府始终坚定不移地抗击仇视亚裔种族主义和各种形式的歧视。

3.继续增长本国经济,为加拿大人民创造优良的就业

过去两年对加拿大人来说非常艰难。在疫情大流行期间,联邦政府一直与民众家庭和企业

同舟共济,对他们予以扶持。全国每 10 元疫情救援中,有 8 元来自联邦政府,这是为了

确保加拿大人得到他们需要的扶持,以便他们能够走上复苏重建的道路。由于加拿大人的

辛勤工作和联邦政府的历史性投资,目前我们已经超额 100%恢复了因疫情而损失的就业,

失业率处于历史最低水平。

伍凤仪强调,遍布全国的小企业是我们经济复苏的核心,它们是我国经济的支柱。联邦政

府实施为小企业减税,以帮助他们发展壮大。对于女性、年轻人、原住民或少数族裔的创

业者,政府出台措施确保所有人都能在我们的经济中获得一席之地。至此,我们已看到这

些投资在发挥作用,新的企业正在创建,企业正在成长。

我们也从疫情中看到加国企业的韧力,其中一件事就是更多企业向数字化转型,以数字化

联络客户。这改变了企业的运作方式。联邦政府做出投资,帮助小企业增进采用数字化的

进程。

伍凤仪还指出,加拿大是个幅员辽阔的国家,也是一个伟大的国家,但我们的人口比加利

福利亚还少。我们的企业要发展,需要通过贸易并争取新客户来成长壮大。加国企业正在

世界各地扩展我们的足迹。作为国际贸易和出口促进部长,伍凤仪一直在与世界各地特别

是印太地区的合作伙伴协同努力,为加拿大工商业开拓新的商机。

在回答有关通货膨胀和利率问题时,伍凤仪承认当前的通胀是一个世界性的现象,它是

COVID 经济衰退所流传下来的结果,并因俄罗斯的非法入侵和供应链的中断而加剧,这些

因素使能源价格和生活成本上升,这并不局限于加拿大。我们深切感受到,高通胀率对加

拿大人仍然是一个切实的挑战。联邦政府正在提供扶持,以帮助让民众生活更易于负担。

董晗鹏(Han Dong)议员解释道,基准利率并不是由联邦政府制定,而是由加拿大央行制

定的。政府不会干预央行的运作,而央行的工作是调节货币政策使通胀处于可控范围内。

莉雅泰勒(Leah Taylor Roy)议员补充说,政府对货币政策没有控制权,但可以制定财政

政策。在上一份预算中,政府支出已经从 COVID 疫情期间的数额上大幅调低。在本财政年

度的第一季度,加拿大获得盈余 102 亿元。她还表示,从长远来看,绿色经济将有助于我

们的整个经济。加拿大具备成为绿色产业领导者的条件,德国和加拿大最近的历史性会晤

就证明了这一点。如果我们利用这些机会,就能够帮助每个人,包括惠及所有的小企业。

陈圣源(Shaun Chen)议员回顾说,我们应该明白加拿大刚刚从一场全球性的卫生危机中

走出来,这场危机对世界各地都造成了冲击。而加拿大政府所做的,是要守护国人的安全

健康,同时确保他们能支付账单,保障企业能继续经营生存,并支持社会上的弱势群体。

政府尽了最大努力来确保加拿大能从这场危机中复苏。自那时起到今天,我们不仅已经恢

复了在疫情大流行期间损失的所有就业岗位,而且还超过了这些数字。我们的失业率创下

历史最低水平。

谈到老年人问题,叶嘉丽(Jean Yip)议员重申,为 75 岁以上老年人增加 OAS 老年保障金

10%的举措,将帮助全额养老金领取者在第一年获得近 800 元。他们从今年 7 月开始收到

第一笔支付款项。此举将帮助 330 万老年人,其中 56%是女性。对于那些希望尽可能留在

家中养老的人们,政府出台了“居家康健养老倡议”(Age Well at Home initiative),帮助

老年人在家中居住。这个项目将帮助老年人做家务、送餐或准备餐食、家居维护、交通等。

张海盈(Salma Zahid)议员表示,我们曾共同走过艰难时期,我们也看到当前的通货膨胀

是一个全球性的现象。扶持加拿大人度过 COVID 疫情非常重要。她自己选区的企业告诉她,

由于政府的支持,他们得以在最黑暗的日子里保留一线光明生机。由于这些投资,我们得

以超额 100%恢复因疫情而损失的就业机会。加拿大儿童福利金 CCB 和老年保障金 OAS 确

实对市民生活起到作用。随着学校即将开学,因为有儿童福利金的帮助,家长们可以负担

许多他们原本无法负担的必备物品。儿童福利金帮助许多孩子们摆脱了贫困。

在回应有关一些国会议员可能计划访问台湾的问题时,国会议员及外交部长议会秘书欧一

凡(Rob Oliphant)表示,国会议员和议会委员会自行决定旅行事宜,独立于政府。他强

调,加拿大与中国有着深厚而重要的关系,我们将继续与中国接触。加拿大与中国有重要

的民间和商业间的关系,继续建立我们与中国的关系非常重要。我们与台湾也有牢固的民

间和商业间的关系。在一个中国政策之下,我们将继续促进我们与台湾的关系,这一个中

国的政策没有任何改变。

“我们是在一个中国政策之下行事”,欧一凡议员继续说道,他重申了曾经说过的“四 C”

方针:我们承认中国是重要的主权国家。我们将继续与中国开展竞争(compete),确保

我们有一个公平的竞争环境,为加拿大企业在贸易和投资方面寻求机会。我们将继续在共

同关心的领域与中国开展合作或协作(collaborate or cooperate),比如气候变化,这是一

个非常重要的全球问题。我们将在人权问题上挑战(challenge)中国,因为这是加拿大人

民所期待的,也是加拿大价值观的一部分。在各种时候,我们要共存(co-exist),认识到

双方有看待世界的不同方式。我们将继续倡导缓和地区紧张局势,努力确保我们的世界和

谐共存。这正是我们加拿大的方式。

董晗鹏(Han Dong)议员特别提到与亚裔加拿大人相关的一个非常重要的里程碑。疫情爆

发后,自由党政府重新审视了 2019 年出台的反种族主义战略,增加了仇视亚裔种族主义

(anti-Asian racism)的定义。这就是为什么你会在许多官方新闻发布中看到这个词语。由

于伍凤仪部长和许多同事的共同努力,抗击针对亚裔种族主义的斗争被纳入政府政策和预

算中。其中 1100 万元拨给种族关系基金会(Race Relation Foundation),其中很大一部分

用于应对针对亚裔种族主义的问题。在最近的预算中,政府再次为新的反种族主义战略和

打击仇恨国家行动计划大力增加了资源。这些都将成为全国各地的机构抗击针对亚裔种族

主义问题的一个资源。

Minister Ng and MPs hold roundtable with Chinese Canadian Media on affordability, safe and inclusive communities, and jobs Markham, Ontario

On August 25, Hon. Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business

and Economic Development, hosted a round table with members of local Chinese Canadian

media, to provide an update on the governments work on the half year milestone of Budget

2022. She was joined by Shaun Chen, MP for Scarborough North, Rob Oliphant, MP for Don

Valley West and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Han Dong, MP for

Don Valley North, Jean Yip, MP for Scarborough-Agincourt, Leah Taylor Roy, MP for Aurora-Oak

Ridges-Richmond Hill, and Salma Zahid, MP for Scarborough-Centre.

Minster Ng acknowledged it was terrific to see so many familiar faces in person after a long time.

She emphasized the importance of engaging with the local Chinese Canadian community and

members of the media. Through the pandemic many Chinese Canadians have relied on

members of local Chinese Canadian media for COVID updates and ways to connect with others

in their communities. And as we build back our economy and face today’s challenges, our

communities continue to depend on the ethnic media.

Minister Ng continued to say that it has been almost one year since our government was re-

elected with a clear mandate – to support Canadians through these unprecedented times, to

generate jobs and economic growth, and to create more opportunities for families and their

children to succeed. And that is exactly what the government has been delivering, including

through Budget 2022. She outlined what the government has accomplished, and the road ahead,

including:

1. Making life more affordable for Canadians

The federal government has a comprehensive plan to tackle inflation, and support Canadians

and their families. The government is enhancing the Canada Workers Benefit to put up to

$2,400 more into the pockets of low-income families; increasing the Old Age Security for seniors

75 and over by 10%; cutting child care fees by an average of 50% by the end of this year across

the country. This means that parents with an infant here in Toronto could eventually save nearly

$19,000 a year with the government’s $10 a day plan. This is extra money for people to spend

right now on groceries and their family.

The government is also working to double the number of new homes we build over the next ten

years.

2. Keeping our children and our communities safe and inclusive

Two years ago, the Prime Minister banned assault-style firearms in Canada, and just recently our

new ban on the imports of handguns came into effect.

In this community, the other fight is to make sure that we maintain an inclusive and diverse

community as we are. We have seen the alarming rise of anti-Asian Racism. Minister Ng wants

to assure that her colleagues and the federal government are stead-fast in fighting against anti-

Asian racism and discrimination in all its forms.

3. Continuing to grow our economy and create good jobs for Canadians

The last two years have been very tough for Canadians. The federal government has always

been there with families and businesses during the pandemics. 8 out of 10 dollars of pandemic

support were provided by the federal government, in order to make sure that Canadians have

the support they needed so that they can get on the road of recovery. Thanks to the hard work

of Canadians and historic investments from our government, we have already recovered more

than 100% of jobs lost over the pandemic, and we now have a record low unemployment rate.

At the heart of this recovery is so many small businesses across the country. They are the

backbones of our economy. The government has cut taxes for small businesses to help them

grow. For women, young, indigenous, or racialized entrepreneurs, the government is making

sure that everyone gets a part in our economy. So far, we are seeing that those investments are

working, as we are seeing new businesses created, and businesses growing.

One of the things we saw on resiliency during the pandemic was more businesses going digital

to interact with their customers. It changed the way businesses are doing their work. The

government made investment to help small businesses increase their digital adoption.

Canada is a large country and a great country, but our population is smaller than that of

California. For our businesses to grow, they need to grow through trade and access new

customers. We are increasing our footprint around the world. As Minister of International

Trade and Export Promotion, Minister Ng has been working hard with partners around the

world, especially in the Indo-Pacific region to open new opportunities for Canadian companies.

Minister Ng acknowledged that inflation is a worldwide phenomenon and it is a lingering result

of the COVID recession and has been exacerbated by the illegal invasion of Russian and

disruptions in supply chains, which have raised the price of energy and the cost of living. It is not

inclusive to Canada. We know that high inflation remains a real challenge for Canadians. The

government is providing support to help make life more affordable.

MP Han Dong explained that the interest rate is not set by the federal government; it is set by

the Bank of Canada. The government does not interfere with their operations, and they do have

a mandate to ensure inflation is within control.

MP Leah Taylor Roy added that the government doesn’t have control over monetary policies,

but does set up fiscal policies. For the last budget, the spending came down dramatically from

during the COVID period. Canada recorded a $10.2 billion surplus for the first quarter of this

fiscal year. She also said that the green economy will help our whole economy in the long term.

Canada has what it takes to be leader in green industry, as demonstrated by recent historic

meeting between Germany and Canada. When we take advantage of these opportunities, it

helps everyone, including all the small businesses.

MP Shaun Chen emphasized that Canada emerged as a country from a global health crisis that

affected people all around the world. What the government did was to keep Canadian safe and

to keep them solvent at the same time, to ensure businesses were able to continue, to support

all the vulnerable people in the society. The government did all its best to ensure that Canada

would rebound out of this crisis. Since then, we have recovered all the jobs lost during the

pandemic and exceeded those numbers. We have record low unemployment.

On the issues of seniors, MP Jean Yip reiterated the 10% increase of OAS for seniors over 75 will

help full pensioners to receive up to $800 in the first year. The first payment started in July this

year. This will help 3.3 million seniors, of which 56% are women. For seniors who concern about

trying to remain at home, the government has introduced Age Well at Home initiative, to help

seniors staying at home. It will help seniors with housekeeping, meal delivery or preparation,

home maintenance, transportation etc.

MP Salma Zahid said we have all gone through very tough time, and we have seen the inflation

as a global phenomenon. But it is very important to support Canadians during COVID. The

businesses in her riding told her that because of the government support, they were able to

keep the lights on through the darkest days. Because of those investments, we are able to gain

back 100% of the jobs. The CCB and the OAS have really made a difference in their lives. As

school returns, with the help of CCB, parents can afford many things that they would not

otherwise be able to. And it is helping kids get out of poverty.

Responding to a question about some MPs’ potential plan to visit Taiwan, Rob Oliphant, MP and

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said Parliamentarians and

parliamentary committees make their decisions about travel on their own, independent from

government. He stressed that Canada has a profound and important relationship with China and

we will continue engaging with China. Canada has important people-to-people and business-to-

business ties with China and it very important to continue building our relationship with China.

We also have strong people-to-people and business-to-business ties with Taiwan. Within the

one-China policy, which has seen absolutely no change, we will continue to foster our

relationship with Taiwan.

“We are doing it within the one-China policy”, continued MP Oliphant, as he reiterated the

“four C” approach. We recognize China as an important sovereign nation. We will continue to

compete with China, making sure we have a level playing field, looking for openings for

Canadian businesses on trade and investment. We will continue to collaborate or cooperate

with China on areas where we have mutual concerns, like climate change which is a very

important global issue. We will challenge China on human right issues, because that is what

Canadians want and is part of Canadian values. And at times, we will simply co-exist recognizing

that have different ways of looking at the world. We will continue to advocate for lower regional

tensions and work to ensure that our world exists in harmony. That’s the Canadian way.

MP Han Dong highlighted one very significant milestone related to Asian Canadians. After the

pandemic started, the Liberal government went back to the anti-racism strategy launched in

2019, added the definition of anti-Asian racism to it. That’s why you have seen this phrase in

many official news releases. As a result of Minister Ng and many colleagues, the fight against

anti-Asian racism was included in government policies and the budget. There was $11 million

given to Race Relation Foundation, with a significant portion of that used to address anti-Asian

racism. In the most recent budget, significantly more resources were added to the new Anti-

Racism Strategy and National Action Plan on Combatting Hate. It will be a resource for agencies

across the country to address anti-Asian racism.