Juno News - $7.1 billion in childcare went to non-permanent residents

00:00:00.000 To make way for the UN's COP30 conference, the Brazilian government felled a large swath

00:00:11.000 of protected rainforest trees. The finance minister revealed that the liberals gave over

00:00:16.280 $7.1 billion worth of child care to non-citizens and non-permanent residents in the last nine

00:00:22.220 years. Prime Minister Mark Carney mocked a question on whether his government would allow

00:00:27.440 new pipelines to be built, calling the topic, quote, boring. Hello, Canada. It's Monday,

00:00:33.580 November 10th, and this is the True North Daily Brief. I'm Cosmin Georgia. And I'm Wally Tam Tam.

00:00:39.920 We've got you covered with all the news you need to know. Let's discuss the top stories of the day

00:00:45.680 and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.

00:00:51.700 Large swaths of once-protected Amazonian rainforest have been slashed to make way

00:00:57.220 for attendees of the COP30 climate summit this month as the city of Belem, Brazil, prepared for

00:01:04.880 more than 50,000 people. Tens of thousands of acres of rainforest and wetlands were destroyed to

00:01:11.320 construct a, quote, sustainable four-lane highway earlier this year for the climate summit, which

00:01:17.540 began on Thursday. While Prime Minister Mark Carney won't be attending the summit, a Canadian delegation

00:01:23.160 led by Environment Minister Julie Dabrussin and Canadian Identity Minister Stephen Guilbeault will

00:01:29.780 be present. Many locals live within 200 meters of where the highway now lies, with harvesters of

00:01:37.220 acai berries now out of work as the trees which produce them have since been bulldozed.

00:01:43.320 Claudio Veriquet, a local of the area, told the BBC in an interview earlier this year,

00:01:49.060 quote, everything was destroyed, our harvest has already been cut down, we no longer have that

00:01:54.460 income to support our family. Heavy excavation equipment also paved over countless acres of

00:02:00.980 wetland to construct the road which erected large concrete walls on either side, preventing the 0.97

00:02:06.920 community from accessing it. According to Veriquet, no government compensation was provided to those who

00:02:13.240 lost their source of income. So, Waleed, you're in Brazil right now, you've attended the prelude to

00:02:20.600 the COP30, where several world leaders have spoken, including the Chancellor of Germany, Emmanuel Macron of

00:02:28.120 France. What are some of the more notable moments you've come across while there so far?

00:02:34.460 Well, so far, we haven't had any functioning water at the bathrooms on the scene at COP30,

00:02:40.400 unfortunately. So many journalists and delegations have been complaining about the lack of basic toiletries

00:02:46.820 while in this event conference. And part of the reason why the government of Brazil chose the lane was

00:02:52.980 the fact that it had this outdoor space and the Amazon rainforest nearby. But this event has been entirely

00:02:58.780 indoors under an air-conditioned environment, so it really hasn't offered that much value to most

00:03:04.480 delegations traveling here, of course, where the infrastructure is very limited. As you know, just to build more

00:03:09.760 highways and roads, we had to cut down thousands of trees. And actually, the city of Belém, by the

00:03:16.480 issue of the government of Pará, the state, has bought and installed some fake trees. So, they haven't

00:03:22.080 replanted any trees of the Amazon rainforest, but they have built and paid for, with millions of their

00:03:27.200 local tax dollars, fake trees to design and decorate the city. So, it's been much symbolic so far.

00:03:34.240 In terms of the climate hypocrisy, I've even got reports from local Brazilian media that President

00:03:40.240 Lula has a hotel cruise ship where himself, his security detail, and staff are staying. Of course,

00:03:47.680 Belém, as a city, does not normally receive that many tourists, so an expansion of hotels is sensible.

00:03:53.120 However, doing it with cruise ships is costing and burning 135 liters of diesel fuel per hour for

00:04:00.640 every hour that ship is docked off the coast of the city. Of course, the world leader's presence has

00:04:07.600 made the event of interest to media from around the world. As you know, Cosmin, I had a chance to speak

00:04:12.960 and engage with the Chancellor of Germany when I asked him about Canada-EU relations, specifically the

00:04:19.200 value of Canadian oil. And he mentioned very clearly that Germany are open to the LNG marketplace from

00:04:25.920 other providers to get off Russian oil. And he mentioned Canada and its potential. He mentioned

00:04:30.240 how his own government in Germany are investing in inbound LNG potential. However, on the Canadian

00:04:36.320 side, there hasn't been any insistence or any confirmation so far. So, he has told me that in

00:04:41.760 terms of bringing in more oil or oil from Canada in the LNG field, this has not been decided yet. And

00:04:48.160 that's mostly on the fault of Ottawa. Elsewhere, the UN chief mentioned and he demanded international

00:04:56.240 communities, more specifically developed countries like Canada, to provide $1.3 trillion in annual

00:05:04.080 funds to support debt relief for developing countries as they supposedly combat climate change, along with

00:05:10.960 an additional $300 billion of immediate yuan funds for the climate relief efforts done by his office.

00:05:19.920 Now, Canada hasn't disclosed any numbers of tax dollars we're sending, of course, on Oats Budget Week,

00:05:25.200 so we'll expect it here soon, especially once former Environment Minister Stephen Gilboa and current

00:05:30.880 Environment Minister Julia de Bruzen arrive hopefully by Monday, tomorrow, and I'll have a chance to speak to them.

00:05:36.000 Hopefully, when they arrive on Monday morning, I'll have a chance to speak with them and ask them about

00:05:39.680 the numbers. But Canada has signed on in principle to both of those UN commitments, but no details on

00:05:46.960 finances have been disclosed so far. So, stay tuned for more on that story.

00:05:55.040 The Liberal government has revealed that it's spent over $7.1 billion in taxpayer dollars on child

00:06:00.480 supports for non-permanent residents and other non-citizens over the last nine years. In written

00:06:05.920 response to a question from Conservative MP Brad V, the Liberal Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne

00:06:12.640 revealed that nearly $7.134 billion in Canada child benefit payments went to people in Canada who

00:06:21.920 were temporary residents, protected persons, or other non-citizens after excluding permanent residents.

00:06:28.480 The response broke down the number of citizens, permanent residents, and others that received the

00:06:32.880 CCB, as well as the total amount paid for each year since 2016. Champagne revealed that $241.5 billion

00:06:41.360 has been paid out to the program recipients since 2016. In the first year, over 60,000 non-permanent

00:06:46.720 residents and non-citizens received more than $318 million from the CCB. By 2024, there were over 160,000

00:06:56.400 temporary residents, protected persons, and other non-citizens who received nearly $1.17 billion.

00:07:03.840 In the first nine months of 2025, there was already an over 17.5% increase in the number of non-citizens

00:07:10.480 and non-permanent residents receiving the CCB. There were also 2.56% more tax dollars spent on the

00:07:17.840 188,000 recipients with over $1.2 billion given to non-citizens and non-permanent residents in Canada

00:07:26.240 in child care benefits. The Ministry of Finance did not respond to Trunaut's request to comment on how

00:07:31.760 the government justifies giving Canadians tax funds to non-permanent residents and non-citizens. So,

00:07:38.160 Cosmin, what are the qualifications for non-permanent residents and non-citizens to get the Canada child

00:07:44.080 benefit? Yeah, Baleed. So, here's how it works. And honestly, it's a bit more complicated than

00:07:49.440 most people realize. To qualify for the Canada child benefit, you don't actually have to be

00:07:56.160 a Canadian citizen. So, the government's own rules say you just need to be what they call

00:08:01.520 a resident of Canada for tax purposes. And that basically means you live here most of the year

00:08:09.280 and file taxes, it doesn't mean you're a permanent resident or even living in Canada long term.

00:08:16.400 You just have to live here for a portion of the year, a majority, and then file your taxes as well.

00:08:22.640 Now, if you're a protected person, so for example, an asylum seeker whose claim was accepted,

00:08:29.280 or you received refugee status, you automatically qualify. So, you don't need citizenship,

00:08:36.000 you don't need permanent residency, but you're still eligible for monthly child payments funded

00:08:41.120 by taxpayers. Now, for temporary residents, like people on work or study permits, the rule is that

00:08:48.800 you have to have lived in Canada for at least 18 months and still have a valid permit in your 19th

00:08:56.640 month. So, once you hit that mark, you can apply for the benefit just like any Canadian citizen could.

00:09:03.280 But these numbers, we have to realize, are over a period where these temporary workers, these temporary

00:09:12.320 immigrants here on student visas, international students, were ramped up year by year to huge 0.99

00:09:19.360 unsustainable levels. So, that's where that seven billion dollar figure comes from. We're talking about

00:09:25.680 a nine-year period. But as for the program, that's pretty much it. There's no citizenship requirement,

00:09:32.080 and the CRA doesn't even track how many applications from non-citizens are denied. So, as long as someone

00:09:39.680 meets those time and paperwork conditions, they can collect the same benefit that Canadian families do. 0.97

00:09:48.640 Prime Minister Mark Carney dismissed pipelines as boring in a Toronto speech, seemingly mocking concerns

00:09:55.760 about new oil infrastructure while championing data centers and tech as the future of Canada's economy.

00:10:02.960 Speaking at the Canadian Club Toronto on Thursday, Carney made the comments while discussing the 2025 federal budget.

00:10:10.720 When asked whether a pipeline was coming, Carney replied, quote,

00:10:14.880 it's so boring. He said, quote, don't worry, we're on the pipeline stuff. Danielle's on line one.

00:10:22.000 Don't worry, it's going to happen. Well, something is going to happen. Carney claimed that artificial

00:10:27.440 intelligence infrastructure would have a bigger impact on Canada's productivity when compared to oil.

00:10:33.920 Okay, hands up. Who's working on the pipeline in this room? Okay? Isn't that a problem? No, no, no, no.

00:10:42.560 Look at all the variety. Like, Nav, like, does your, like, it's, we have. Yeah, if there's more

00:10:50.560 prosperity, they'll get more cell phone, cell phone services. But look, look, okay, so what's going to

00:10:56.480 drive, one of the things, what, yeah, don't worry, we're on the, we're on the pipeline stuff. Danielle's on line one.

00:11:01.440 Don't worry, it's going to happen. But, well, something's going to happen. Let's put it that way.

00:11:07.600 It's not very good negotiating by my perspective. But what some in the room will unlock on the

00:11:15.600 data center side, the intelligence infrastructure side, will have a much bigger impact on productivity

00:11:22.000 in this country. We'll have a much bigger impact on our standard of living. And advantaging that,

00:11:28.320 which is what we're doing with the productivity super deduction. Like, it's an easy conversation

00:11:32.720 to have about a pipeline because it's one thing we can see. But the reality is that there's much,

00:11:40.400 much more to the Canadian economy, and there's much, much more to the future of the Canadian

00:11:43.600 economy. And so we're attacking it on all sides. Carney appeared to joke about Alberta Premier

00:11:49.040 Danielle Smith's call for a new West Coast pipeline. The remarks come as Carney's government

00:11:54.720 faces ongoing pressure from Alberta to expand market access for oil and gas. Smith has urged

00:12:01.280 Ottawa to include a West Coast bitumen pipeline on its next list of major projects, which she said

00:12:08.800 should be unveiled around the Grey Cup and warned that if the federal government and British Columbia

00:12:14.960 do not cooperate, she will turn south to willing partners in the United States.

00:12:19.840 Waleed, it seems to me that the Prime Minister is being very casual and flippant even about something

00:12:28.480 very serious for Canada, and that's our economic future. How important has oil and gas been to Canada

00:12:35.760 historically? And how important is the industry today when it comes to Canada's productivity and GDP?

00:12:42.800 Waleed Al- Well, historically, I think the question should be framed around both the history,

00:12:47.520 but also the future. I mean, Canada's oil industry still contributes to our economy as we speak,

00:12:52.480 and will continue to do so in the future. And that's exactly what Carney is attempting to allude

00:12:57.040 into by giving this flirtatious remark about something possibly happening without giving any

00:13:02.080 concrete details. But here's some numbers for you, Cosmin. In total, the oil and natural gas

00:13:08.080 industry counted for $71.4 billion, or 3.2% of Canada's overall GDP in 2022, according to the

00:13:17.680 Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Now, further on, that also accounts for a large number

00:13:24.240 of workers. It accounts for a large number of government revenue that funds our services.

00:13:29.840 The industry is still projected to see some sort of growth across its capital investment, which the

00:13:37.040 association predicts would be around $39.7 billion this year. And in terms of jobs, the estimates look

00:13:44.640 around 150,000 Canadian jobs directly come from the industry, a further 300,000 come indirectly,

00:13:55.040 and a further 450,000 are induced. So the jobs that come from all these activities that the industry

00:14:02.640 produces from both their labor force and their trade mechanisms. So it's an industry with tremendous

00:14:09.120 amount of jobs with a great share of our GDP, especially out west in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British

00:14:17.200 Columbia, where both the production of some of these natural resources and its distribution are critical

00:14:23.200 to their local economies. So Cosmin, you cannot ignore whether you're a Liberal or Conservative

00:14:27.840 Prime Minister, you cannot ignore the industry, but it has been very clearly the policy of the last

00:14:32.640 nine years of Liberal governance to keep oil on the ground and not to expand pipeline access. So we're

00:14:39.680 looking forward to seeing what may change in the future. And of course, here in Brazil at COP30,

00:14:44.800 I'll be continuing to ask questions on Canadian officials and other officials on the value of Canadian

00:14:49.840 oil, both domestically and internationally.

00:14:55.680 That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in. You can stay on top of new episodes

00:15:00.400 every weekday by subscribing to The Daily Brief on iTunes and Spotify. Also, while you're at it,

00:15:06.560 make sure to hit us with a five star rating and please leave a review.

Juno News - November 10, 2025

$7.1 billion in childcare went to non-permanent residents

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