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Results: 91 - 105 of 915
View Paul Manly Profile
GP (BC)
View Paul Manly Profile
2021-05-26 17:30 [p.7398]
Madam Speaker, the wage subsidy was put in place to ensure that employers were able to keep staff on. Companies and political parties need to be able to justify taking the wage subsidy. We have seen it being abused by large corporations, and that is a problem.
At the very beginning of the pandemic, we said that we should have specific rules to ensure that there was no pandemic profiteering and misuse of public funds during this pandemic. Those warnings were not heeded. We have seen the misuse of funds, and that is a serious problem.
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
Madam Chair, we are far more concerned about the stability of regular Canadian families, seniors, students, people who have been hard hit by this pandemic. As we see the government cutting back on supports, they will be the most impacted.
Let us look at people with disabilities. The banks got $750 billion in liquidity supports within four days. People with disabilities get a three-year consultation with absolutely nothing in the budget. This is a contrast that all Canadians can see.
I wrote to the finance minister on January 5 to ask her to release the amounts that large corporations have used from the Canada emergency wage subsidy when they laid off workers and paid dividends or paid big executive bonuses. How much was misused in this way? When are the companies going to pay that misused money back?
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, there are a lot of questions there, so let me go through them quickly.
I know the member opposite sincerely cares about workers, seniors and students. So do I, and I know that a collapse of the financial sector would hurt each one of those groups. That is why, in a once-in-a-generation crisis, the government, the Bank of Canada and OSFI acted as they ought to do and as they needed to do.
Let me point out that when it comes to disabilities, the budget includes important measures to provide additional support to students with serious but temporary disabilities. I am really glad that it is there.
When it comes to the wage subsidy, the most important thing for us to bear in mind is that it has supported 5.3 million jobs across the country.
View Raquel Dancho Profile
CPC (MB)
View Raquel Dancho Profile
2021-05-26 21:05 [p.7429]
Madam Chair, the minister unfortunately did not answer my question of how much the private company that administers the student loan was paid. Again, it manages $24 billion of student loans.
We do know that in 2017 and 2018 Finastra was paid over $77 million to run the student loan program. In fact, the taxpayer paid the company over $410 million over a five-year period to administer the program.
We also know that Finastra most recently had nearly $2 billion in revenues, and its customers include 90 of the top 100 banks globally. Therefore, in sum, Finastra is very successful and making a lot of money.
My question is this. Why did Finastra receive the wage subsidy from the Canadian taxpayer and how much did it receive?
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I struggle to understand the sincere intent behind the member's question. Is she implying that somehow we should not be making student loans available to young Canadians? If that is her implication, I could not more strongly disagree. Student loans are essential to our young people. They are an essential investment in our future.
I am so proud that this budget strengthens the student loan program and that, thanks to this budget, young Canadians earning less than $40,000 do not have to start repaying their student loans.
View Raquel Dancho Profile
CPC (MB)
View Raquel Dancho Profile
2021-05-26 21:06 [p.7429]
Madam Chair, I am not sure why the minister would be proud of providing a billionaire company with the wage subsidy when it is making a lot of money. That is my question.
Ultimately, I would like to know this as well. Robert Smith, the CEO of Vista Equity Partners, which owns Finastra, the parent company, recently paid $139 million in tax fines to the American government, which is among the largest tax fraud scandal in American history. The Canadian taxpayer has subsidized one of his companies. Was the minister aware of this?
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, again, I would like to probe a bit the intent behind the member's question. She has been asking about the wage subsidy. That is a program that has supported 5.3 million Canadian jobs. In her native province of Manitoba, it has supported 175,000 jobs alone.
Our priority is Canadian students and Canadian workers, and we will do whatever it takes to support them.
View Raquel Dancho Profile
CPC (MB)
View Raquel Dancho Profile
2021-05-26 21:08 [p.7430]
Madam Chair, the minister keeps quoting that stat, but quite honestly, it sounds like some of these companies could have saved these jobs on their own and had billions of dollars to spare.
The finance minister wrote a book about guys like Mr. Smith, where she argued the super-rich became rich because they were at the right place at the right time. Maybe she is right. A billionaire American tax cheat got richer off students and Canadian taxpayers during the pandemic as a result of the Liberal government's poorly designed wage subsidy program in this regard. Now Canadians with federal student loans will know that every time they make a payment, an American tax cheat will get richer. I guess that is okay by the Minister of Finance's standards. I am not sure, but it sounds like it is.
Ultimately, we know Finastra is worth billions, yet it received the wage subsidy. We know that 32 companies that went bankrupt before the pandemic was declared took millions from the wage subsidy, some of which no longer had any employees at all. Some of the best performing Canadian hedge funds also received the wage subsidy despite making hundreds of millions of dollars of profits last year.
Will the finance minister commit to ensuring no more profitable billionaire companies receive the taxpayer-funded wage subsidy?
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, what I will commit to is an important measure in Bill C-30 and I hope the member opposite will support. This measure applies to publicly listed corporations that received the wage subsidy for any qualifying period after June 5. These corporations would be required to pay the amount by which the remuneration of their top executives in 2021 exceeded their remuneration in 2019 up to the amount of wage subsidy received for active employees for this period. That is an important measure and I look forward to support from the other side of the House for it.
View Annie Koutrakis Profile
Lib. (QC)
View Annie Koutrakis Profile
2021-05-26 21:52 [p.7437]
Madam Chair, I am pleased to be able to speak to the committee of the whole about the actions of the government. I will be speaking for approximately eight minutes and will be following with a couple of questions, hopefully, for the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance.
Budget 2021 is a historic document. It is the first budget tabled by a female Minister of Finance. It is also a document that sets an ambitious path for this country for the years to come, while healing the economic wounds of the past year. We cannot go back and alter the destruction the pandemic has wrought on our lives and on our economies, but we can do our best to ensure a better future by laying down the foundations for a resilient and inclusive recovery. I would like to outline the measures that budget 2021 would enact to create jobs and particularly help low-wage workers.
The burden that COVID-19 has placed on low-wage workers cannot be overstated, and the past year has shown how much everyone relies on the important work that many of these workers do. It is a sad reality that the worst economic impacts of the pandemic have been suffered by those who could least afford it. Low-wage workers have been up to six times more likely to suffer layoffs than higher-income Canadians. Many of these workers are young people, new Canadians, visible minorities and women. Many Canadians are struggling to get by while supporting families through part-time, temporary and low-wage jobs.
To support low-wage workers in the federally regulated private sector, budget 2021 proposes to introduce legislation that will establish a federal minimum wage of $15 per hour, rising with inflation. This would directly benefit more than 26,000 workers. To support low-wage workers who have been most negatively affected by the pandemic and make our workforce stronger, budget 2021 proposes to expand the Canada workers benefit to support about one million additional Canadians in low-wage jobs, helping them return to work and increasing benefits for Canada's most vulnerable populations. This important measure would raise the income level at which the benefit starts being reduced for single individuals without children and for families.
As we all know, the Canada emergency wage subsidy was one measure that kept businesses afloat during the crisis and enabled them to keep paying their employees when revenues took a nosedive. The program has helped more than 5.3 million Canadians keep their jobs. It is set to expire in June 2021, but if we want to bridge Canadians through the rest of the crisis, continued support is needed.
To give workers and employers certainty and stability over the coming months, budget 2021 proposes to extend the wage subsidy until September 25, 2021. Extending this support means that millions of jobs will continue to be protected.
The budget also puts forward a new program, the Canada recovery hiring program, which would provide an alternative support for businesses affected by the pandemic to help them hire more workers as the economy reopens.
The government also plans to take action to help the workforce grow and meet demand by helping employers train and reskill workers.
To help Canadians gain skills for good jobs in growing sectors, budget 2021 proposes to invest $960 million over three years for a new sectoral workforce solutions program. This funding would help design and deliver training that is relevant to the needs of businesses, especially small and medium-sized businesses, and to their employees. This investment will help connect 90,000 Canadians with the training they need to access good jobs in sectors where employers are looking for skilled workers.
This measure will also help diversify sectors by ensuring that 40% of supported workers are from under-represented groups, including women, persons with disabilities and indigenous people.
Some 45% of Canadians lack the literacy, numeracy and digital skills that are increasingly necessary to succeed in jobs in the knowledge economy. Budget 2021 proposes to invest $298 million over three years in a new skills for success program that would help Canadians improve their skills. This program would enable approximately 90,000 Canadians to improve their literacy and essential skills to better prepare for, get and keep a job, and adapt and succeed at work.
When the economy reopens many people will return to their previous jobs, but for some, changes in the economy will mean they will need to find new jobs. To address this need and help Canadians find new jobs as quickly and easily as possible, workers need to be able to rapidly adapt and upgrade their transferable skills for newer industries. Budget 2021 proposes to provide $250 million over three years for an initiative to scale up proven industry-led third party delivered approaches to upskill and redeploy workers to meet the needs of growing industries. This initiative will help approximately 15,500 Canadians connect with new work opportunities.
Finally, I would like to add a thought about personal support workers. These individuals perform jobs that are mentally and physically exhausting, but they often do not enjoy the same job protections, compensation and benefits as many of their peers in the health care sector. To follow through on a commitment made in the fall economic statement 2020, budget 2021 proposes to provide funding of $27.6 million over three years for My65+, a group tax-free savings account offered by Service Employees International Union Healthcare. The funding for this portable savings tool will support incentives for worker participation.
The government's economic recovery plan must address the unique challenges of the pandemic recession and must include all Canadians. If we are to have a full and fair recovery, Canada needs all workers to rejoin the workforce and to make sure they earn a decent living so as to generate economic growth and raise the standard of living and quality of life for everyone.
Even before the pandemic, housing costs were rising and were a serious concern for a lot of young Canadians who wanted to buy their first home, including many from my riding.
In 2017, the federal government responded to these concerns by introducing Canada's first-ever national housing strategy to improve the affordability, availability and quality of housing in Canada. It is a vital first step. My constituents have continued to express concerns about the rising cost of housing. Now more than ever, they are counting on our government to do something.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the housing crisis, particularly affecting the most vulnerable Canadians. Unfortunately, this includes women living in dangerous conditions. Members may remember that the House recently held a take-note debate to discuss the disturbing trend of violence against women.
Because of the threat of COVID-19, many people are unable to get into shelters, which further increases the problems faced by homeless Canadians. Budget 2021 aims to continue tackling the housing crisis by investing in new and existing projects.
Can the minister explain how important funding for housing projects is to Canadians and why it is so essential that the federal government take marginalized communities into consideration in its plans?
View Julie Dzerowicz Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Julie Dzerowicz Profile
2021-05-26 22:54 [p.7446]
Madam Chair, it is an absolute pleasure for me to participate in this committee of the whole debate and speak this evening to budget 2021. I will be focusing most of my remarks on how our budget has a number of measures to help small businesses and, in turn, how this is good for our recovery and economic growth moving forward. Among many things in budget 2021, there is a plan to make investments in Canada's businesses so they can hire and train workers, who will, as a result, have more money to spend, spurring our recovery and growing an economy with more opportunities for everyone.
Let us start at the beginning. An essential part of Canada's fight against COVID-19 has been the unprecedented federal support for Canadians and Canadian businesses. This support has helped millions of families in the depths of this crisis. One in four Canadians was receiving federal COVID income support. The Canada emergency wage subsidy, currently set to expire in June 2021, has helped more than 5.3 million Canadians keep their jobs and has provided more than $79 billion in support to the Canadian economy.
To continue to support Canadians through the rest of this crisis, and to give workers and employers certainty and stability over the coming months, Bill C-30, the budget implementation act that is currently before the House, proposes to extent the wage subsidy until September 25, 2021. It also proposes to gradually decrease the subsidy rate, beginning on July 4, 2021, to ensure an orderly phase-out of the program as vaccinations are received and as the economy reopens. Extending the support will mean that millions of jobs will continue to be protected.
The wage subsidy has been an absolute lifeline for so many businesses in my riding of Davenport, from many of the artistic and cultural organizations, such as the House of Anansi, an iconic Canadian publishing house, to businesses such as Teixeira Accounting Firm, one of the many small businesses that serve the local community.
Another key support for our small businesses has been the Canada emergency rent subsidy and the lockdown top-up support that has helped more than 180,000 organizations pay their rent, mortgage interest and other expenses. The rent subsidy provides eligible organizations with direct and easy-to-access rental support. An important aspect of this support is that it is accessible directly to tenants and landlords. This program is also scheduled to end in June 2021, but to help Canadians weather the remainder of this crisis until the recovery, they need continued support. As in the case of the wage subsidy, budget 2021 proposes to extend the subsidy for the rent and the lockdown supports until September 25, 2021. It also proposes to gradually reduce the rate of the subsidy for the rent to ensure the program's orderly phase-out as vaccines continue to be rolled out and the economy reopens.
Again, these emergency supports have been tremendous lifelines to many businesses in my riding of Davenport, from hair salons to small theatres to many of the restaurants across my riding, among many other types of organizations and businesses. There is no way they could have survived without these supports. I know they are so grateful for this ongoing support, although I will say they are so excited at the prospect of opening up sometime soon.
Let us move on to speak to supports contained in Bill C-30 that would assist small businesses succeed moving forward. They are some of the new programs we are proposing.
To provide further support to our small businesses, Bill C-30 proposes the new Canada recovery hiring program for eligible employers who continue to experience qualifying declines in revenues, relative to before the pandemic, and who need help with restarting. This proposed program would provide an alternate support for businesses affected by the pandemic to help them hire more workers as the economy reopens. The proposed program is designed so that the rates for both the wage subsidy and the hiring program will slowly decrease over time, creating a strong incentive for employers to begin hiring as soon as possible to maximize their benefit.
For businesses that have been hardest hit by the pandemic, hiring the workers they need to grow is a cost they may worry about taking on. The government wants these businesses to recover and grow by hiring more people, so that workers are at the forefront of our recovery. The proposed Canada recovery hiring benefit would offset a portion of the extra costs employers take on as they reopen, either by increasing wages or hours worked or by hiring more staff. This support would only be available for active employees and would be offered from June 6 to November 20, 2021. The aim is to make it as easy as possible for businesses to hire new workers as the economy reopens.
It is obvious that Canadian businesses must adopt new technologies and go digital to meet the needs of their customers and remain competitive. The pandemic has precipitated the digital transformation of the economy as businesses, workers and consumers increasingly do business online. To spur recovery, jobs and growth, the federal government is launching Canada's digital adoption program, which will create thousands of jobs for young Canadians in addition to helping up to 160,000 small and medium-sized businesses adopt new digital technologies.
This program will offer two components of support to businesses. Eligible shopping street businesses will receive micro grants to help offset the costs of the digital switchover and gain digital trainer support from a network of 20,000 well-trained young Canadians. Some companies will need more comprehensive support to adopt these new technologies. A second component will therefore be offered to businesses located outside the shopping streets, such as small food manufacturing and processing businesses. Support provided to these companies will focus on expert technology planning consultants and the financial options required to implement these technologies. These measures will match more businesses with customers seeking what they have to offer and ensure their continued success.
One of the inspirations for this new program is the digital main street, a program providing grants and services to Ontario businesses to help them digitize. Our federal government helped fund an expansion of this program in June of last year, which helped countless businesses in my riding adapt to the pandemic by going online.
The chair of Little Portugal on Dundas BIA went before the finance committee last week. In the chair's opening remarks to the committee, she let us know that the BIA had been at the forefront of adoption of the digital main street program and it was helped, in large part, by having a Portuguese speaker on its digital service squad. They have indicated the importance of making our new digital adoption program accessible to main street businesses, some of whom may be slow to adopt new technologies, including language barriers, but they have stressed how vital this program is in helping businesses recover from the pandemic and adapt for the future, improving their chances of long-term sustainable success.
Finally, I want to speak in the final minutes of my remarks this evening on budget 2021 about investments in immigration. As we know, Canada is the destination of global talent. With our declining birth rate and increasing retirement rate, Canada's future economic success depends on good immigration policy moving forward and a modern, efficient immigration system to meet the needs of incoming applicants and new Canadians.
As part of budget 2021, the government is proposing $428 million to develop and deliver an enterprise-wide digital platform that will replace the current legacy case management system. What this means is that Canada's immigration system will see an improved application process and support for applicants. We understand that this type of investment is needed to ensure immigration levels in Canada remain well supported.
When Stephen Poloz, former governor of the Bank of Canada, testified recently before the finance committee, he made a very important point. He said that immigration was Canada's most important economic growth engine, just as it was in the 1950s and 1960s. Therefore, anything we can do to make that process more efficient will be a good investment in Canada's future growth. It is important we recognize that the money we put into our immigration system is an investment, not a cost. It will pay huge dividends in economic growth for the future.
Budget 2021 invests in a more prosperous future for us all as we move past and come out of this pandemic. We are meeting this challenge head on and we are laser-focused on growth and the economy.
A sustainable recovery program must focus on the challenges and opportunities ahead in the coming years and decades. It must be guided by a growth strategy based on the unique competitive advantages of the Canadian economy and ensure that Canada is positioned to address the needs of the century to come.
View Jenny Kwan Profile
NDP (BC)
View Jenny Kwan Profile
2021-05-26 23:44 [p.7454]
Mr. Chair, PNE, the 110-year-old institution in Vancouver East, employs more than 4,000 part-time and seasonal workers at its peak. Its local economic impact is over $200 million each year. Unlike other large fairs, it is unable to receive the wage subsidy. I already brought this up to the minister's attention last year, but nothing has been done to date.
Will the minister fix this so the PNE can access the wage subsidy? Will the federal government give the PNE a special grant, perhaps similar to that of the one that was given to Granville Island $16.7 million, so it can survive the pandemic?
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I will remind the member of the specific support that is being directed to the tourism sector. There is $1 billion, including $400 million for major and local festivals and a $500-million tourism relief fund.
I also urge the member to be in touch with the RDA. B.C. has now its own RDA, and in some special circumstances, the RDAs are the best places to go for support.
View Heather McPherson Profile
NDP (AB)
View Heather McPherson Profile
2021-05-25 11:55 [p.7294]
Madam Speaker, I would like to compliment my colleague on his very attractive tie.
I appreciate that his speech had a lot to do with fiscal responsibility, making sure that those dollars that are being spent are being spent wisely, and I agree with him on that.
One of the concerns I have is that some of the programs we have spent money for have had huge gaps in them. In my riding, we have an example where an employer is actually using the wage subsidy to pay for scab labour instead of negotiating in good faith with Boilermakers Lodge 146.
Could the member talk about whether he feels that it is reasonable for the wage subsidy to be used for employers who are not negotiating in good faith with their workers?
View Martin Shields Profile
CPC (AB)
View Martin Shields Profile
2021-05-25 11:56 [p.7294]
Madam Speaker, of course, we have to have accountability, and one of the things we have lacked through the spending programs, through these programs that have been running out, is accountability. We need accountability for those tax dollars spent, and that has been lacking.
In the Liberal budget, going forward, when they talk about $100 billion unaccounted for and what they might spend it on, that is the lack of accountability we have with the current government.
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