(Bloomberg) -- Canada's finance minister said the government will do whatever it takes to alleviate the economic fallout from the pandemic and indicated that more fiscal measures are likely.
“We don't take anything off the table,” Finance Minister Bill Morneau said during an interview Thursday with BNN Bloomberg television.
The federal government unveiled a fiscal package Wednesday worth about C$82 billion ($56.7 billion). That included C$27 billion in financial support for individuals and companies and C$55 billion in temporary tax deferrals.
Morneau said the government knows there are immediate issues with cash flow in the airline and oil sectors. The tourism, retail and other sectors will be experiencing challenges as well, he said.
“We're trying to address all these things at the same time, knowing that as more information emerges we will be taking additional measures,” Morneau said. “We will be refining what we've done, we will be thinking about next steps.”
When asked if the government would buy equity in companies as part of bailout plans, Morneau said it's too early to draw a conclusion on that.
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