Ottawa is loosening its purse strings with regard to asylum seekers, whose number has exploded in the past year.
Ottawa increases by 470 million the envelope dedicated to the health care of asylum seekers who are not yet insured by the provincial government. The federal government is also adding $530 million to temporarily accommodate applicants who have no other means of accommodation at hotels. Migrants entering Canada through the now-closed Roxham Road have helped boost the number of asylum seekers in the country. In addition to housing and health care expenses, migrants receive last resort assistance paid by the host province while waiting to obtain a work permit. In the Montreal area, the number of social assistance recipients jumped in 2022 due to the increase in asylum seekers. Quebec is asking Ottawa to reimburse part of this invoice. The budget makes no provision for this. Discussions are continuing, Finance is told.
Canada could imitate Europe and impose on electronic device manufacturers a universal socket for charging. “Over the past 10 years, manufacturers of phones, tablets, cameras, laptops and other devices have multiplied charging devices,” the budget explains. Every time Canadians buy new devices, they have to buy new chargers to go with them, driving up costs and generating e-waste. We remind you that the European Union will make the USB-C port mandatory for all small portable devices and computers by 2024. Without going that far, we announce a timid first step: Ottawa “will work with international partners and ‘other stakeholders to consider the establishment of a standardized charging port in Canada’.
Consumers will surely agree with this passage from Budget 2023: Appliances and appliances “should be easy to repair” and “spare parts should be readily available.” The Trudeau government is committed to holding consultations this summer and to implementing a “right to repair” in 2024. It is also counting on the cooperation of the provinces and territories for the implementation of this right. We hope to encourage Canadians to repair rather than throw away their devices. “High repair costs and lack of access to specific parts often lead people to buy new products rather than repair existing ones,” it says. This reaction is expensive and generates hazardous waste. »
What do you think of this federal budget tabled by Chrystia Freeland?