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Results: 1 - 15 of 66
View Peter Fragiskatos Profile
Lib. (ON)
My time is very limited, sir.
On the last point here, certainly the op-ed focused on tech in general. I know your area of expertise is biotech, but I think there's a great deal of overlap.
You, I think in a response to Ms. Koutrakis, talked about IP and tax policy, and you've mentioned tax incentives here again. Could you delve into that a bit more? I know it's unfair because those are big areas and I'm not giving you much time, but it seems that those would be maybe the two key areas, if I've understood you right, we can focus on and really benefit from if we make some changes in those areas.
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
Thanks so much, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to our witnesses for coming with such compelling testimony today, and we hope that you and your families continue to stay safe and healthy during this pandemic.
I'd like to address my first questions to Dr. Collins, Mr. Villeneuve and Madam Hamza, and give our deepest condolences for the doctors and nurses who have died during this pandemic and express our gratitude for the incredible bravery and dedication of Canada's nurses and doctors during this unparalleled health crisis. It is something that all Canadians profoundly appreciate, and we know that many have given their lives. Our condolences go to each and every one of those members of your organizations and their families.
We had compelling testimony in the previous panel that over $50 billion every year goes to the ultra-rich and big corporations because of tax cuts, loopholes, and a tax system that is simply broken down.
All three of you have offered compelling reasons why we really need to prioritize health care funding for primary care, for long-term care and the debacle we've seen there, and for mental health care.
Is it not fundamental that we prioritize health care funding and that we put in place a tax system so that everyone pays their fair share and we actually have the wherewithal to put in place the funding for the needs that you have so clearly identified are absolutely essential to meet in the coming years?
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
Thanks very much, Mr. Chair.
I'm going to come back to Mr. Aylward.
I know that many members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada work within the CRA. We've heard from CRA employees at this committee that they have never been given the legislative tools and resources to really crack down on overseas tax havens, which we know cost us $25 billion in taxes every year. It's a national shame that gets far less media coverage than it should. We know about the billionaires with no wealth tax, and the huge profits for corporations with no excess profits tax.
Mr. Aylward, in your statement you referenced the growing inequalities that we're seeing in this country. How important is it to have in place a fair tax system where everybody pays their fair share so that we have the resources and wherewithal to provide supports to everybody in the country and we stop the growing gap between a very small number of very wealthy people and everybody else?
View Tamara Jansen Profile
CPC (BC)
Yes, I know, but come on, don't cheat me out of this one.
Mr. Moody, in 2018 CPA Canada put out a report that stated the following:
Canada needs to ensure we continue to create jobs, attract investment and remain competitive. But, on these vital measures, our current tax system is falling short, and Canadians and their businesses risk falling ever more behind their global peers.
Especially after the pandemic, more than ever we need to be an attractive place for investors and job creators. Do you see any serious attempts in this budget to tackle the challenge of creating a competitive taxation environment that would attract business to Canada?
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
Thanks very much, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to all of our witnesses for being here today. We hope you and your families continue to be safe and healthy as this third wave crashes on our shores.
Thank you for your important testimony on the many concerns that Canadians have with the lack of a budget addressing real needs in so many ways.
I'd like to start by asking Mr. Sanger a question.
Mr. Sanger, you've been very eloquent about previous crises like the world wars. We had strict laws against profiteering and to ensure that we were all in this together. Today you point out that Canadian billionaires have reaped over $80 billion during this pandemic. There is no wealth tax. Canadian corporations are at record profit levels. There is no tax on excess profits.
At the same time, we see in this budget bill the slashing of COVID benefits while the third wave is crashing on our shores: students being forced to pay their student loans; 60% of seniors excluded from even a modest top-up, which would bring them closer to the poverty line; people with disabilities getting no supports at all; an increase in homelessness; 10 million Canadians who can't pay for their medication, and the government says we can't afford pharmacare.
My question for you is simply this: Is there a cost that we pay as a society, and do Canadians pay a cost, for the fact that we have such an inequitable tax system, with banks and billionaires able to reap the profits and profiteer during a pandemic while so many Canadians struggle?
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to all of our witnesses for coming forward today. It's very important testimony. We hope that you and your families continue to be safe and healthy through this pandemic as the third wave crashes on our shores.
I'd like to start with you, Mr. Macdonald. Thank you so much for your testimony today. You pointed out a number of things that should happen with overall revenue. You're not concerned about the deficit, but we all need to be concerned about the profoundly unequal tax system that we have. The government is refusing to put into place a wealth tax, though it worked in the Second World War; is refusing to put in place a pandemics profits tax, even though we know it's an effective measure that other countries are taking; and is refusing to take any meaningful action against overseas tax havens that the PBO tells us cost over $25 billion a year.
How important is it to have a fair tax system to actually put in place those measures so that we have the wherewithal and the resources to help so many people who are struggling now through the pandemic and in the rebuilding afterwards?
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
Thank you so much.
Mr. Poloz, you talked about growing out of World War II debt. Of course, in World War II, we had strong measures against profiteering, a wealth tax and a 100% excess profits tax at the end of the war, as you well know.
We have a government that has done absolutely nothing about the revenue side—no wealth tax, no pandemic profits tax, no cracking down on overseas tax havens. Do you feel it's important that we start to address tax fairness and the fact that we have billionaires and big corporations making money hand over fist and so many Canadians are struggling at this time and need resources and support?
View Heather McPherson Profile
NDP (AB)
Thank you.
I'm going to ask some questions—I probably don't have a ton of time—of Mr. Geist.
Mr. Geist, my colleague Mr. Champoux has just asked what we could do to make Bill C-10 something that you would be able to support. You speak about taking out that proposed section 4.1.
My concern is that we need to find a way to do this broadcasting legislation. We know it's 30 years overdue. What are the things, aside from that one, that you would like to see us do to ensure this legislation does what we've asked it to do in terms of levelling the playing field, protecting our artistic sector and our broadcasting sector, and also in terms of protecting freedom of expression?
View Martin Shields Profile
CPC (AB)
View Martin Shields Profile
2021-05-17 16:14
You refer to a simple tax to support our cultural industries, and you would like to see it done. As a mechanism, could we do it quickly?
View Heather McPherson Profile
NDP (AB)
Then it's the definition, but you're supportive of the idea of making Canadian content, making it more available, promoting it, ensuring that our stories are being told or whatnot.
When these web giants do not pay their fiscal fair share, I feel like it is a gift from the government to these web giants at the expense of our cultural sector, at the expense of our cultural enterprises and our cultural sovereignty.
How would we fix this so that we're not giving the web giants the gift and instead are giving our cultural sectors these gifts?
View Tamara Jansen Profile
CPC (BC)
I think this might be in the same vein, but you'll have to forgive me if it's not.
Foreign-owned companies employ two million Canadians and are responsible for about half of Canada's exports. Attracting foreign investors is a high priority, yet our tax system makes it difficult for multinationals to transfer funds among its subsidiaries, making our country less attractive for investment.
In 2016, the Conference Board of Canada estimated that the withholding tax costs Canada up to $2.6 billion in foreign investments per year. Shouldn't we be tackling that issue head-on when we're desperately trying to grow our economy?
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
I would just like you to run through those provisions, those changes, so that we can completely understand the impacts.
View Julie Dzerowicz Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Ste-Marie stole my question, but I have a follow-up one. How is it that we're defining “non-resident”?
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
I do thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
First off, Netflix is excluded from paying the much-vaunted new tax. Will the government disclose the secret agreement that took place in negotiations with Netflix behind the scene?
Secondly, concerning the Trans Mountain pipeline, how much does the government expect to pour into that pipeline? Given that the PBO has indicated that it will cost $14 billion for construction and another $4.5 billion for acquisition, at what point will this government step in to say enough is enough: we're not going to keep pouring money into this pipeline?
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