Trudeau announces aid for energy, arts, culture, sports, research, & cleaning orphan wells

#CanadaPM; #JustinTrudeau; #AidForVariousSectorsAnnounced; #Covid19Pandemic

Ottawa, Apr 17 (Canadian-Media): An aid  was announced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for rural businesses and people working in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, the arts and culture sectors, and an aid amounting to $1.7 billion to clean up orphan wells, media reports said.

Justin Trudeau. Image credit. Official site

The aid is expected to help maintain 5,200 jobs in Alberta alone.

"Our goal is to create immediate jobs in these provinces while helping companies avoid bankruptcy, and supporting our environmental targets," he said.

Trudeau also announced a $750 million emissions reduction fund during his daily briefing outside his residence at Rideau Cottage on Apr 17 with a focus on methane, to create jobs through efforts to cut pollution. 

Included in this fund,  $75 million is devoted  to help the offshore industry cut emissions in Newfoundland and Labrador.
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A funding amounting to $962 million was also announced by Trudeau for regional development agencies to help the smaller employers in rural areas.

In addition, Trudeau announced $270 million fund for a program for entrepreneurial and industrial research,  and another $500 million to support Canadians who work in the arts, culture and sports sectors.

The new measures are in addition to previously announced programs to support struggling businesses, including a 75 percent wage subsidy for businesses of all sizes, charities and non-profits.

Loans of up to $40,000 for businesses that have a payroll between $20,000 and $1.5 million a year, are also being offered by the federal government. Up to $10,000 of the interest-free loan is non-repayable.​ To date, 220,000 loans worth $8.8 billion have been approved.

Although Trudeau said reopening the economy too soon could increase the risk of spread of COVID-19, but some premiers have been considering ways to gradually get people back to work.