Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Oceans, Fishery and the Canadian Coast Guard. Photo: Office of Minister Bernadette Jordan.
Headlines about the 2021-22 federal budget have been dominated by the investments in childcare and long-term care, however, Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Oceans, Fishery, and the Canadian Coast Guard took time to highlight some of the other items flying under the radar.
One item that is particularly relevant to Minister Jordan as Fisheries Minister was the $300 million dollar investment in revitalizing small craft harbors.
“Our seafood industry generates $7 billion annually and a big part of that is done in small craft harbours like the ones in my riding and across Atlantic Canada and other parts of the nation,” Jordan said. ” Many of the harbours are in need of major work so they can continue to strive and keep up with changes in the industry.”
Broadband internet investment was another item Jordan spoke about as the government announced $1 billion dollars will be used to upgrade access in rural and remote communities.
“Throughout the pandemic, more people have been working and studying from home which really brought the issue of internet access to the forefront,” she said.
The funding for broadband access comes in addition to an announcement made earlier this year that will see $6.2 billion which set the goal of connecting 400,000 additional homes to high-speed internet by 2023.
Jordan says in her time as Minister of Rural Economic Development she heard complaints about internet access across the country as well as in her home riding.
“I spoke with a constituent who was working from home through the pandemic along with her two sons in university, they ended up using their cell phone data due to broadband limitations and ultimately she decided to move her kids to Halifax as it was cheaper, that is unacceptable and something we are working to fix.”
Speaking about the budget in general Jordan says the budget has three main priorities which she believes it addresses. “The first priority was dealing with COVID-19, the second is preparing for the recession caused by COVID-19 and lastly we wanted to address a long-term plan for growth.”
As a minority government, the Liberals were obliged to deal with their opposition in creating the budget. Jordan says she feels it includes things all parties should be happy with though their first priority was addressing concerns that Canadians have, not appeasing the opposition.
