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Results: 1 - 15 of 34
View Larry Bagnell Profile
Lib. (YT)
View Larry Bagnell Profile
2021-06-22 15:50 [p.8987]
Madam Speaker, I am happy to speak from the traditional territory of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation and the Ta'an Kwach'an Council. As tomorrow is the last day that Parliament will sit before the summer, I want to thank all Yukoners, again, for the great honour they have provided me to represent them. It is a very eclectic riding, which makes it an even bigger honour. With 14 unique first nations, we are dealing with over 50 countries in immigration. It has the largest icefields outside the polar caps; the highest mountains in Canada; the world's greatest gold rush; the greatest poet, Robert Service; and the great painter, Jim Robb. Most important, the people are very caring, which is why it is such a great honour to represent them.
I will not use all my time. The budget is so important and we need to get it done quickly, which I think members realize. I will talk quickly and try to limit what I have to say to some highlights.
First, the $3.8 billion toward 35,000 more affordable units is very important. I made a number of big announcements related to housing, even before the budget. It is very exciting for my riding.
Another big investment is the $3 billion to extend sickness benefits from 15 to 26 weeks. There are also flexible EI provisions to help people through the pandemic, which are being extended until the fall of 2022.
The Nutrition north Canada subsidy program is being expanded. It provides nutritious foods to those in the Arctic and remote communities as they cannot get food for a reasonable price. That is very exciting.
I could spend my whole speech just on climate change. I am sure no one objects to the money, $17 billion we have provided and the support to the resource sector for mining, forestry, etc. to transition to a clean economy. I am sure no one objects to the zero-emission technologies like hydrogen that we are supporting and renewable energies. There is a big tax cut to clean energy technology producers. Hopefully with that $17 billion we can also help get mines that are off the grid in the very remote areas like my area off diesel.
Another area I could spend my whole speech on are the $18 billion for indigenous people. People will remember the Kelowna accord and the historic $5 billion proposed by Paul Martin, one of the greatest prime ministers in history. This is $18 billion. I will just mention two items of the many. One is over $4 billion for indigenous infrastructure. Another area is community policing and safety.
I want to give a big-shout out to Chief Doris Bill of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation as well as Gina Nagano and the Selkirk First Nation. They have provided some great leadership, and innovative and very successful community policing.
I am very happy with the IRAP expansion. It is one of the most successful programs in Canada, and more than in any other government's history, and harnesses industrial research excellence. For NGOs and charities, where there are seldom things in budgets, there is a social financing fund of $200 million; a Canada community revitalization fund; $50 million for getting ready for the social financing fund, and even a social bond. Looking at those and the green bond of maybe $5 billion on the first issue, NGOs and charities will also be eligible for the small business financing fund.
I think everyone in rural Canada too is pretty excited about the recent announcement of the rural transportation fund. I am very happy that the declining debt-to-GDP ratio makes it possible for us to help so many people and businesses that are in need.
I want to move on to to the north. On top of everything else, there are things that are particularly exciting for us in the north. One is the new exciting community revitalization fund for main streets, farmers markets and other gathering spaces that underpin local economies. There are $500 million to help people in these rural communities. If someone is in a little village, a hamlet, a town or a small NGO, this is specifically for them. They should start getting those applications ready for this brand new community revitalization fund.
What is really exciting for the northern half of Canada, is the very large northern travel allowance deduction. Before this, only people whose employers gave them a travel allowance and put it on their T4 slip could access it, but now all northerners will be able to access to it, which is very exciting.
The biggest employer in my riding is tourism as a private sector employer. The historic, first-time ever $1 billion dedicated to tourism is very crucial and exciting. There are $200 million for small festivals, small cultural events, heritage celebrations, local museums and amateur sporting events, which is perfect for my riding. We have a lot of those. For the bigger cities, there is also another $200 million for all the same events but in bigger cities. The $500 million tourism relief fund will help tourism businesses adapt their products and service, and meet public health requirements.
Then specifically in my riding is mining, which is the biggest GDP since the gold rush. Its biggest ask was help for hydroelectricity. The finance minister came through with $40.4 million for hydroelectricity studies and for preparation in the north. Also, the Yukon government has one of the most effective climate change plans, and we are giving $25 million to that.
A lot of people probably do not know that all five species of Pacific salmon: chinook, sockeye, coho, chum and pink, come into the Yukon through the Alsek-Tatshenshini drainage, or the Yukon River, the longest salmon run in the world, 2,000 miles. Therefore, historic amount of $647 million for salmon is very exciting. In fact, I had a first nations organization contact me a couple weeks ago, happy that the consultations had already started with it.
The northern trade corridor fund is essential for infrastructure for the north, $1.9 billion in the budget for that of which the north get 15%. Considering we are less than half of 1% of the population, this is tremendous support for the north as are funds for the polar continental shelf for Arctic research.
The work to lower credit card interchange fees and to have those fees the same for small businesses as large businesses is music to our ears as is the $146 million for women entrepreneurs. We have a higher average in Yukon of women entrepreneurs.
The critical mineral strategy, which I do not have time to go into as much as I would like to right now, is very important, again, mining, which is so important to our economy in the north. Mines like Victoria Gold are a very big support.
There are small business financing changes, with working capital lines of credit now being allowed, and lending against intellectual property, which would be great for our large NorthLight Innovation Centre. The digital adoption program would bring us into the new economy, with many young helpers for businesses, potential zero-interest loans and grants to help transition.
To get into the new economy, we have a plan. I am glad the Conservatives are onside for a long-term prosperity growth budget, which is exactly what this is, with money for food security; indigenous and women entrepreneurs; an artificial intelligence strategy; the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research; a quantum strategy; the Photonics Fabrication Centre; business-led R and D through colleges; Mitacs for 85,000 placements; CanCode; the net-zero accelerator; the clean-growth hub; support for Measurement Canada; strategic innovation funds; Elevated IP; the strategic intellectual property program review; innovation superclusters; data in the digital world; Stats Canada data gaps; and support for the Standards Council of Canada.
I think most people in this place and the other place know how important it is to get this budget through, and that a number of major supports are going to expire in eight days, including the wage subsidy and the rent subsidy. There are 447,000 employers that have accessed the wage subsidy; five million people in Canada need it to put food on the table, and 192,000 organizations for rent subsidy. The Canada recovery benefit will be extended for 12 more weeks, and the Canada recovery hiring benefit would not be able to go ahead without it.
People realize the importance of getting this bill through. Those programs will expire in eight days if we do not get this through today or tomorrow. Even the Conservative member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes said yesterday that a number of our expenditures were great, like the County Road 43, recreation projects like the new arena in Prescott, the Vincent de Paul project in Brockville, with affordable housing for seniors. They will ask for many more government funds for Gananoque, Westport, Rideau Lakes and North Grenville.
For all these reasons and with these important investments, I hope all parties will support this bill that would help so many workers who are still in desperate need and so many businesses that need support to get through the last part of this pandemic, to ensure these programs do not expire and all the initiatives that can get help us into the new, modern digital economy to create even more jobs. Eighty per cent of jobs have already been brought back, but much more needs to be done.
View Paul Manly Profile
GP (BC)
View Paul Manly Profile
2021-06-18 1:01 [p.8752]
Madam Speaker, average Canadian workers and owners of small and medium-sized business have been hit hard by the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. I have heard from many business owners who are struggling to pay their bills and keep their businesses open, and I want them to know that I will not stop advocating on their behalf. In this Parliament we worked together to provide financial supports to individuals and businesses, but these supports have not been enough. Too many Canadians are falling through the cracks.
In March the Canadian Federation of Independent Business reported that one-sixth of small businesses in Canada are at risk of permanently closing. The average small business is now $170,000 in debt.
Not everyone in Canada has been suffering financially through the pandemic. A tiny minority of ultra-wealthy citizens and large corporations have greatly increased their fortunes while so many Canadians are suffering.
Banks and their CEOs have been some of the worst pandemic profiteers. Democracy Watch reports that four of Canada's six big banks are among the 50 most profitable banks in the world. While raking in profits, several of these big banks have raised their service fees during the past year or are planning to do so this summer. TD Bank reported second-quarter net income of $3.7 billion, 147% higher than last year. Its spokesperson was quoted as saying that fee increase decisions are never made lightly and only occur after careful consideration and review. Canadians would like to know exactly what careful consideration and review big banks go through before deciding to increase their fees during a global pandemic. Is being one of the top 50 most profitable banks in the world not enough? Do they need to be in the top 20?
Credit card companies charge an average annual rate of 20% on top of annual fees and cash withdrawal fees. Businesses are charged transaction fees, known as “interchange rates”, for every credit card swipe. In Canada, the average interchange rate is 1.4%. Retail giants like Walmart can negotiate very low interchange rates, while many small businesses pay between 2.5% to 3% per transaction.
In 2018, the government struck deals with Visa and Mastercard to lower their average interchange rates from 1.5% to 1.4%, but that was hardly worth celebrating. Even before the pandemic hit, the European Union had capped interchange rates at 0.3%. The sky did not fall and credit card companies still operate and make profits. The major difference is that the burden on small and medium-sized businesses has eased. Is agreeing to interchange rates nearly five times higher than the EU the best we can do?
Low-income Canadians are often forced to use payday lenders to cover financial shortfalls or unforeseen expenses. Short-term payday loans are regulated by the provinces, and their annualized interest rates could be as high as 400% to 500%. Some payday lenders offer long-term loans and lines of credit that are federally regulated. Annualized interest rates on these types of loans are as high as 50% and legally capped at 60%. There is no justification for capping rates at 60% when interest rates are at historic lows. This is predatory lending, and the government is facilitating it. This industry preys off people in need and locks them into a cycle of endless debt.
Canadians want to know when the government will step in and protect them from gouging by big banks, credit card companies and payday lenders.
View Sean Fraser Profile
Lib. (NS)
View Sean Fraser Profile
2021-06-18 1:05 [p.8752]
Madam Speaker, before I begin, I want to thank my hon. colleague for raising this important question around bank fees. More broadly, I will extend my sincere appreciation for his continued feedback from the very beginning of this pandemic, which in fact has helped shape my own thinking on a number of our emergency supports.
The past 15 months have not been easy for anyone. The COVID-19 pandemic and recession have affected every Canadian in some way, in particular low-income Canadians and small businesses. We are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel now, but we have to remain vigilant and not take half measures until we know this is behind us. That is why our government is continuing to offer support programs for individuals and businesses.
Turning to the issue of bank fees, we understand how essential it is for Canadians to rely on strong consumer protection standards in their dealings with their banks. The government takes the protection of financial consumers very seriously so that we can ensure all Canadians benefit from strong consumer protection.
As we well know, the pandemic has caused financial challenges and uncertainty for Canadians in every region of the country. We understand why so many people are concerned about higher bank fees. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada is currently conducting research to obtain a fuller picture of the impact of COVID-19 on financial consumers. In a recent survey, it found that 30% of Canadians were paying additional bank fees as a result of this pandemic.
The most common fees were overdraft fees, ATM fees, withdrawal fees, late payment fees and insufficient funds fees. Three of these examples either directly or indirectly relate to shortages of cash, which disproportionately impact lower-income people.
We have to be a little careful here. I am sure the hon. member will appreciate that financial institutions make decisions with respect to things such as the fees they charge their clients independent of the government. That does not mean there is no role for the government to play.
Over the past few years, we have introduced a number of measures aimed at improving the confidence of Canadians in their banks and in our financial consumer protection system. In budget 2018, the government introduced certain measures to strengthen consumers' rights and interests when dealing with the banks and to improve the ability of the FCAC to protect consumers.
In 2018, the government also helped to secure voluntary commitments from Visa, Mastercard and American Express that would lead to lower costs for businesses, resulting in annual savings for small and medium-sized enterprises estimated at about a quarter of a billion dollars a year.
In the most recent budget, the government committed to launching consultations on further lowering credit card transaction fees. This would help small businesses affected by interchange fees and would ensure consumers' existing reward points are protected.
We are also moving forward with a consultation to specifically lower the rate of interest in the Criminal Code of Canada applicable to, as the member suggested, payday loans offered by payday lenders. This, again, disproportionately impacts low-income folks.
As well, I will mention briefly that as a result of a recent meeting I learned of an incredible Canadian company. Borrowell will extend new choices to Canadians by providing new technology, giving them lots of choice and creating jobs here at home.
I look forward to the follow-up from my friend and colleague on the other side.
View Paul Manly Profile
GP (BC)
View Paul Manly Profile
2021-06-18 1:09 [p.8753]
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the parliamentary secretary for his words and for staying up late with me. I know it is quite a bit later on the other side of the country.
The big Canadian banks are some of the most profitable in the world, and they should not be raising fees during the pandemic when workers are having a tough time paying their bills and keeping roofs over their heads. Where is the regulation? Why is the government allowing this to happen when so many small and medium-sized Canadian businesses are facing bankruptcy?
Meyers Norris Penny reported in April that over half of Canadians were $200 away from not being able to cover their monthly expenses. That figure was 10% higher than it was in December 2020. To call this extremely alarming would be a huge understatement.
Canadians deserve better protection from excess profiteering. It is time for the government to tighten regulations on banking fees, credit card rates and interest rates charged by payday lenders. I am glad to hear that this is moving forward—
View Sean Fraser Profile
Lib. (NS)
View Sean Fraser Profile
2021-06-18 1:10 [p.8753]
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his well wishes. It is 2:10 a.m. on the east coast, but we are still going strong.
Since the very beginning of this crisis, our focus has been to do whatever it takes to help Canadian workers and businesses through these tough times. We understand that there needs to be faith that the economy is not just working, but working for everyone. We continue to have a focus on helping some of the most vulnerable and hardest-hit people and businesses in Canada.
As things reopen, we know that our support has to evolve to continue to support the recovery. The government has implemented different measures to better protect consumers, as I noted before. In the most recent budget, launching consultations on the reduction of credit card transaction fees and the reduction of the criminal rate of interest on payday loans, specifically, are important measures that speak directly to the issue that the member has raised.
We need to continue to focus not on empowering the wealthiest in Canada, but on developing supports that will allow us to recover in a way that allows the most vulnerable Canadians to see themselves in the recovery. At the end of the day, Canadians deserve to know that our government has their backs.
View Bruce Stanton Profile
CPC (ON)

Question No. 643--
Mr. Pierre Paul-Hus:
With regard to contracts signed by the government for gowns, ventilators and syringes in 2020 and 2021: (a) what are the details of each contract for gowns, including the (i) vendor, (ii) contract value, (iii) date the contract was signed, (iv) title of the official that signed the contract; (b) what are the details of each contract for ventilators, including the (i) vendor, (ii) contract value, (iii) date the contract was signed, (iv) title of the official that signed the contract; and (c) what are the details of each contract for syringes, including the (i) vendor, (ii) contract value, (iii) date the contract was signed, (iv) title of the official that signed the contract?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 644--
Mr. Robert Kitchen:
With regard to the government’s target of a 30 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by limiting nitrogen fertilizer and the concerns raised in an April 20, 2021, release from the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association that the government has never consulted industry or farmers if this is even achievable: (a) were any industries or farmers consulted in the viability of the target and, if so, what are the specific details, including the dates and list of participants in the consultations; and (b) has the government conducted any formal studies on whether or not this is viable for farmers and, if so, what are the details of the studies, including the website where the study’s findings can be found?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 645--
Mr. Todd Doherty:
With regard to the government’s Wellness Together portal: (a) what specific programs or services are offered through the self-guided tools offered by the providers identified on the Wellness Together webpage, including (i) Mindwell, (ii) Welltrack, (iii) Tao, (iv) Breaking Free Wellness, (v) BreathingRoom, (vi) Kids Help Phone, (vii) Homewood Health; (b) for each of the programs or services in (a), (i) how many Canadians have been enrolled, (ii) how many Canadians have fully completed the course of treatment, (iii) what has been the total cost of each of the programs and or services identified, (iv) what is the cost utilization, as reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada; (c) what programs or services are offered through the peer to peer support and coaching tools offered by the providers identified on the Wellness Together webpage, including (i) Togetherall provided by Togetherall, (ii) I CAN SFI provided by Strongest Families Institute, (iii) MindWell’s Studio Be provided by MindWell, (iv) All People All Pathways provided by CASPA, (v) Greif and Loss Coaching provided by Homewood Health; and (d) for each of the programs or services in (c), (i) how many Canadians have been enrolled, (ii) how many Canadians have fully completed the course of treatment, (iii) what has been the total cost of each of the programs or services identified, (iv) what is the cost utilization, as reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 647--
Mr. Tony Baldinelli:
With regard to government departments and agencies that accept credit card payments: what was the total amount paid to (i) Visa, (ii) Mastercard, (iii) American Express, (iv) each other credit card companies, in relation to credit card processing fees in 2020?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 648--
Mr. Kelly McCauley:
With regard to Official Languages Impact Analysis (OLIA), since January 1, 2016: (a) how many initiatives funded by the government had an OLIA conducted; (b) how many initiatives funded by the government did not have an OLIA conducted; and (c) what are the details of all initiatives funded by the government with total expenditures exceeding $1 million that were not subject to an OLIA, including the (i) date of the funding approval, (ii) title and description of the initiative, (iii) reason the initiative was not subject to an OLIA, (iv) total expenditures or projected total expenditures related to the initiative?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 649--
Mr. Tony Baldinelli:
With regard to the government's decision to require airline travellers arriving from outside of Canada to quarantine at a designated airport hotel: (a) how many travellers refused to stay in a government approved quarantine hotel; (b) how many fines or tickets were issued by the Public Health Agency of Canada related to the refusals in (a); and (c) what is the breakdown of (a) and (b) by airport of entry?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 651--
Mr. Kenny Chiu:
With regard to immigration removals and the 2020 Spring Report of the Auditor General of Canada: (a) what is the current national removal inventory; (b) how many removal orders have been confirmed removed in the past year; (c) what are the current working and wanted removal order inventories; (d) of the inventories in (c), how many are criminal cases; (e) which of the Auditor General’s recommendations are currently being acted upon; (f) what is the proposed timeline for fulfilling these recommendations; and (g) has COVID-19 adversely impacted the Canada Border Services Agency's ability to complete removal orders in any way, and, if so, what are the specific details?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 652--
Mr. Peter Kent:
With regard to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and individuals presenting COVID-19 test results at points of entry, since testing requirements were put into place in January 2021, broken down by type of crossing (land, air): (a) how many individuals did the CBSA intercept with a suspected fraudulent or false test result; (b) how many individuals did the CBSA intercept with a test result that was otherwise deemed unsatisfactory, such as the wrong type of test; (c) of the individuals in (a), how many were (i) admitted to Canada, (ii) denied entry; (d) of the individuals in (a), how many were (i) ticketed or fined by the CBSA, (ii) had their cases referred to the RCMP or other law enforcement agencies; and (e) of the cases in (b), how many were (i) admitted to Canada, (ii) denied entry?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 656--
Mr. Brad Vis:
With regard to the stated intent of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) “to commit all funds before March 31, 2021” of the Rapid Housing Initiative’s projects stream: (a) what was the (i) total number of approved projects, (ii) total number of approved housing units, (iii) total dollar value of federal funds committed; (b) what is the breakdown of each part of (a) by (i) municipality and province or territory, (ii) federal electoral constituency; (c) what is the breakdown of funds committed in (a) by (i) individual application, (ii) contributor source, (i.e. federal, provincial, territorial, municipal, Indigenous government, non-profit, other agency or organization), (iii) province or territory; and (d) what are the details of all applications in (a)(i), including the (i) location, (ii) project description, (iii) number of proposed units, (iv) date the application was submitted to the CMHC?
Response
(Return tabled)

Question No. 661--
Mr. Kerry Diotte:
With regard to the Development Finance Institute Canada (FinDev): (a) what are the details of all equity stakes in companies FinDev has acquired an equity stake in since January 1, 2018, including the (i) name of the company, (ii) location, (iii) description of work being done by company, (iv) date the government acquired an equity stake, (v) number of shares and percentage of company owned by FinDev, (vi) value or purchase price of equity stake at the time of purchase, (vii) current estimated value of equity stake; and (b) for each acquisition, if applicable, what is the timeline for when the government expects to sell or dispose of the equity stake?
Response
(Return tabled)
View Gord Johns Profile
NDP (BC)
View Gord Johns Profile
2021-06-10 16:24 [p.8240]
Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for talking about small businesses, because we know they have struggled throughout the pandemic and have had difficult times getting the support they need.
One thing we have heard the government make promises for is capping merchant fees. We pay five times the merchant fees that Europe does and have some of the highest interchange fees in the world. We have not heard how the Conservatives feel about capping merchant fees.
The government has made a commitment that it is going to do something to tackle merchant fees. However, we heard this commitment five years ago from the same government. We know how unfair it is that Canadian merchants and small businesses are paying these outrageous fees, and the banks are having record profits.
I would like to hear if the Conservatives will join the NDP in calling on the Liberals to take action on this, not just talking about it, but actually legislating a cap on merchant fees so that we are in line with the European Union.
View Tracy Gray Profile
CPC (BC)
View Tracy Gray Profile
2021-06-10 16:25 [p.8241]
Madam Speaker, we know that small business is the background of our economy in Canada. As a former small business owner, I am very aware of working in retail and where some of those fees are.
The government really does not understand small business, and we see that in a lot of its policies. We even see that in how it talks about legislation. It is small business owners who are putting themselves on the line every day. They are working seven days a week and taking risks, and the government really does not understand how small businesses operate and the needs of small business. There are a lot of different ways that we need to look at supporting small businesses.
View Gord Johns Profile
NDP (BC)
View Gord Johns Profile
2021-06-10 17:16 [p.8248]
Madam Speaker, it is a privilege and honour today to rise and speak to the bill.
As we know, we are dealing with four crises right now. We have a climate crisis, an opioid crisis, a homeless crisis and of course the COVID pandemic, which we have all been battling together for over a year. Many people have been living daily with the anxiety of losing their jobs. They are worried about their health and the health of their loved ones. In the meantime, the wealthiest Canadians have grown their wealth and Canada's largest corporations have benefited from this pandemic, and we have a Liberal government that has been resistant to having them pay their fair share and contribute to the cost of the pandemic. We know this is going to fall on the backs of everyday, middle-class Canadians and the most vulnerable, as services will be cut in future years because of the government's lack of courage to make those who should pay for the pandemic contribute more.
On the other side, the Conservatives are using delay tactics to get support to Canadians. In this budget there clearly are very important pandemic supports that small businesses need. As the federal NDP critic for small business and tourism, I know all too well from talking to entrepreneurs how important it is that they continue to get supports such as the wage subsidy and the emergency commercial rent assistance program. While we were glad to see the government extend those programs through the summer, the cuts to those programs as they are slowly and gradually phased out will impact those businesses, especially in the tourism industry.
Many businesses that rely on international tourism likely will not see international guests this season. Any tourists who planned on coming to Canada have cancelled their bookings, so these businesses have been asking for the wage subsidy and the rent program, which are lifelines for them. As members may recall, these are programs that the NDP fought to have increased. The wage subsidy was initially going to be 10%, and we pushed so the government would increase it to 75%. The commercial rent program is a program for which the government took our idea, but of course it rolled out a flawed program that was landlord-driven and forgot about the tenants.
We kicked and screamed to get these programs fixed. We got the wage subsidy up to 75% and the rent program to be tenant-driven. These benefits are absolutely essential to those tourism businesses and small businesses that are going to have to go through fall and into next spring. We heard from the Tourism Industry Association of Canada at committee, and other tourism industry organizations such as the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, that said they needed those programs to go to the spring.
While I am mentioning it, the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada has seen a cut of 83% to its core budget. At the time when we needed it most, ITAC delivered over $15 million in loans to indigenous-led businesses, because it has that intimate relationship with its member businesses. It saved over 1,900 indigenous businesses with over 40,000 employees. These are going to be the most vulnerable businesses as we come out of the pandemic.
I am encouraging the government to come back and try to save these businesses. Time is running out. They need help.
In terms of the Canada emergency business account loan, we were glad to see the government finally fix the last increase of the CEBA loan during the second wave, but businesses are saying it is not enough. They have gone through a third wave. They need more funds. They need help and liquidity to get through the summer and beyond. The repayable timeline of next fiscal year is absolutely impossible for almost any small businesses to meet, in order for them to get the rebate of one third of that CEBA loan. We are asking the government to extend the terms of that repayment at least to the end of 2025, so that these businesses have a fighting chance to get back on their feet.
The government also keeps talking about credit card merchant fees. We know that the government is in bed with the big banks, but the reality is that small businesses are being constantly ground down by the banks. We just saw the banks increase their fees for consumers and small businesses again, during a time when they are having record profits. This is completely unacceptable to Canadians. In Europe, when it comes to merchant fees and interchange fees, they are paying 0.3%. Right now in Canada, 1.4% is the voluntary rate that credit card companies say they are paying.
I have met with Visa and Mastercard. They say that it is actually not their issue and that it is the big banks that are setting the rates on the interchange fees. We have seen the big banks having record profits. Why are they not stepping up to the plate and providing some relief to small businesses and consumers? We know that merchant fees are often put on the backs of small businesses.
As members know, I can speak for a long time about small business. The other piece is start-ups. The Liberals have completely abandoned start-ups, and those who started a business after March. They may have signed leases months and months, or even years, before. They have paid their employees and their rent through the pandemic. They have a record of receipts they have paid.
There are many different tools the government could use and industry standards it could look at. They have had leases and made these payable expenses. Liberals should set some criteria to save these businesses, or we are going to lose a generation of businesses. Throughout every riding in our country, we are hearing from people who have been abandoned by the government.
As members know, the other file I carry as the federal critic for the NDP is for fisheries, oceans and Coast Guard. We were happy to see the government finally listen to our call. Members heard me kicking and screaming in the House of Commons, calling on the minister to declare a wild salmon emergency and to make this a wild salmon recovery budget.
We are happy to see the Liberals put a significant allocation to wild salmon recovery, but we still have not seen the fine details. We have heard the broad framework of what they want to use to guide them in terms of delivering that funding, but we have not had the details of how they are going to spend that money, and time is of the essence.
Also, we have not had a commitment to reconciliation with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and we need a wild salmon secretariat that is government to government with the province, with indigenous leadership and communities, the nations on the coast and the federal government working together in co-management. We know what Liberals mean by “consultation”. They check a box, then they leave and abandon communities without listening and implementing what they have been told by those communities.
The other pieces we have not seen are the transition funding supports for those that were in the salmon farm industry. The government is hopefully following through with its commitment to move away from open-net salmon farming and to support those workers, their families and the communities in which those fish farms are in. The government made the right decision on Discovery Islands, but it did not come back with a plan to support the workers. This is something the NDP has been calling for. I have been calling for it. I tabled a bill about moving away from open-net salmon farming to closed containment, and the government abandoned it. I want to see the government do something significant around that.
Friday was the one-year anniversary of the death of Chantel Moore, a Tla-o-qui-aht member from my riding who was shot by a New Brunswick police officer. She was a Tla-o-qui-aht member, and she was killed on a wellness check. I think all of us can join together in offering the family of Chantel Moore our condolences, along with the nation and the Tla-o-qui-aht tribal council, especially as they seek justice. We need to work together to ensure that no one else suffers the same fate Chantel did during a wellness check. Canada needs comprehensive police reform.
In this budget, the Liberals put forward $100 million for mental health. That is not even close to enough. They put forward $108 million for first nations policing, which is not even close to what is needed. Police are supposed to be there to serve and protect people from our communities, but instead, the federal government has not acted to address the disproportionate amount of violence indigenous people are facing at the hands of police.
I will continue, and the NDP will continue, to advocate in Parliament for indigenous participation in investigations into police violence, ongoing mental health assessments of police officers, enhanced vetting of new recruits and cross-cultural training for police forces in all levels of Canadian society. There needs to be reforms to the police act.
I can speak in great detail about many other things. There is the opioid crisis, as I touched on earlier. There is the government's blue economy. The fact is that it is completely tainted and tilted toward industry, instead of doing the right thing, which is protecting our oceans. Our oceans are critical right now, especially as we are seeing a warming planet and a warming ocean.
View Paul Manly Profile
GP (BC)
View Paul Manly Profile
2021-05-31 15:07 [p.7628]
Mr. Speaker, Canadians have been struggling to make ends meet through the pandemic. At the same time, four of Canada’s big banks have raised service charges.
Small businesses that are struggling to stay afloat are being fleeced by excessive transaction fees. Despite low lending rates, the interest rates on credit cards remain high. Payday loan companies prey on the hardships of low-income Canadians.
All of these financial service providers continue to post record profits. Will the government rein in these exploitative corporations to protect Canadians and small businesses?
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite for his hard work and commitment. We agree that now, more than ever, everyone needs to pay their fair share and do their part. That is why, in the budget, we commit to taking action to reducing credit card interchange fees.
We know that small businesses have been among the hardest hit by this pandemic. We know those credit card fees hurt them. That is why we are committed to working to support them.
View Kody Blois Profile
Lib. (NS)
View Kody Blois Profile
2021-05-06 17:02 [p.6821]
Madam Speaker, it is great to see some of my colleagues having a good laugh, some good discourse and a level of levity, despite the challenging circumstances.
I am very pleased to have the chance to speak to Bill C-30, which is the budget implementation act. I had the chance a couple weeks ago to speak to the budget writ large, and I am going to use my time here today to highlight some investments that may not be the headlines, but which I think are extremely important to what the budget represents in terms of major proposed programs.
I will start with the continuation of the emergency measures. Nova Scotia was not under lockdown two weeks ago. We had not suffered from the third wave that other jurisdictions in the country had. Right now we have over 1,000 cases in the province, which seems relatively small, but per capita it is quite significant.
These measures really matter. The government, by continuing the emergency wage subsidy, the rent subsidy and the Canada response benefit, the suite of programs, until September, with the ability to extend it under the legislation, illustrates that this is extremely important. I think I would be remiss if I did not start from that basis. Our government is committed to getting Canadians, individuals and businesses through the pandemic, and that is extremely important.
I want to talk about biomanufacturing investments. The budget would allocate $2.2 billion toward these types of initiatives. We know that coming into the pandemic. I think all parliamentarians, and indeed all Canadians and countries around the world, on the other side of the pandemic, are going to be asking themselves what the key industries we will need to make sure we have domestic capacity. Whether it is for an event like COVID or some other type of event, the country needs to have that capacity.
For me, one industry would be agriculture, but of course, biomanufacturing is important. Our government has made investments throughout the pandemic. We are committing to making sure this does not happen again.
I look at companies in my own riding. For example, in Windsor, Nova Scotia, there is BioVectra, which has its base in Prince Edward Island, but which also has a presence in my riding of Kings—Hants. I think of BioMedica. These are the companies we can build, and we can continue to nurture that local expertise to make sure we have the capacity in our country in the days ahead.
Long-term health care was something I heard a lot about during the height of the pandemic, particularly when the reports from the Canadian Armed Forces were presented on the conditions in Quebec and Ontario. We need to be able to create national standards. We need to do better in this domain.
Yes, it is the domain and the jurisdiction of the provinces, but the federal government has shown leadership on health care initiatives, and it is really important that there is $3 billion in the budget to help support those standards. This is on top of the fall economic statement, which had a billion dollars allocated directly to the provinces. Of course, my colleagues and others have talked at great length about the programs that have been put in place, such as the safe restart program, to help support provinces. I wanted to highlight that for Canadians who might be watching here today and, indeed, my own constituents.
We know that the cost of the pandemic has been significant, and our government, from day one, has said we will be there with individuals and small businesses. The deficit is about $355 billion this year alone because of that support, which we determined as a government was a better path than the economic scarring that would come of not intervening in a positive way.
It is important that this budget helps create and drive economic growth to make the spending we have taken on during the pandemic sustainable over time, so I want to take an opportunity, and hopefully my colleagues will listen with intent, to talk about some of the important measures in the budget that I think need to be highlighted.
I wrote in September 2020 about regulatory modernization and regulatory reform. This is an important element for small business and businesses across the board. I tip my cap to my predecessor, Scott Brison, who was president of the Treasury Board during the last Parliament. He served with great honour and respect in Kings—Hants for 22 years, and I consider him a mentor and a friend.
He took a great leadership role in the last Parliament on regulatory reform, and we are committing to build on that success in this budget with $6.1 million dollars allocated to continue efforts on that front at the federal level. I think that is extremely important.
Regarding interprovincial barriers to trade, estimates suggest that we could be losing somewhere between $50 billion and $130 billion to our economy every year because of internal barriers to trade. We would be allocating $21 million over the next three years toward trying to reduce those barriers and have co-operation between provinces and territories on harmonization of standards. We have a lot to gain in efficiencies and economic outcomes by working within Canada, and of course this is building on the success our government has already had in the last Parliament.
I talk about this a lot, but it bears repeating. We have an emerging wine sector in Kings—Hants. We have world-class wines. We know that the excise exemption that was created under the late Jim Flaherty in 2007 when he was the finance minister has been important to the success of our 100% Canadian wine industry. I am very pleased to see our government has committed $101 million over the next two years to help support the industry.
Of course, that is on the heels of the existing excise exemption being deemed not trade compliant. I look forward to working with the Minister of Agriculture and my colleagues to help keep driving those initiatives to support the sector in the days ahead. The ability to create interprovincial trade would allow small businesses in my riding of Kings—Hants to take advantage of that.
It is very difficult for consumers in Ontario or Quebec to enjoy some of our wines. I would encourage my colleagues to look at some of the many vineyards we have in the area. I am happy to provide recommendations. We need to be able to break down those barriers. I am proud our federal government got rid of any type of barriers at the federal level. I hope my provincial or territorial colleagues who might be watching can also take some leadership in easing and facilitating trade across provincial and territorial boundaries.
I do not think the Canada Small Business Financing Act has warranted a lot of conversation in this House, but I want to highlight some of the elements that are there. We know, particularly in rural communities, the importance of small businesses and what they mean with respect to providing jobs and opportunities for people in our communities. We are committing to expanding the loan eligibility under the Small Business Financing Act and increasing the maximum loan amount to $500,000 for non-real property loans.
We are also opening up opportunities for non-profits and charities. I have spoken at great length about the important role our volunteer sector plays, particularly in rural Canada. I am very pleased to see it will have access to financing under this mechanism as well, and a new line of credit option.
We will help reduce credit card merchant fees. How many of us are paying cash right now? Not a whole lot of people. I am the type who still likes to have a bit of cash in my wallet, but more and more people are using credit or debit cards. Our government is committed to help reduce the merchant fees associated with online or credit card transactions. I see this as a very positive step. I know there are restaurants and many different retail businesses that will welcome this type of thinking.
I also want to talk about the $1.9 billion for what is the national trade corridors fund. I sit on the agriculture committee, and I consider myself an advocate in this House for agriculture-related issues. This national corridors trade fund is crucial to helping make sure we have important links to get our many wonderful Canadian agriculture products to export markets. I am very pleased to see this.
Also, there is additional money, over $500 million, for the borders to improve trade and travel. I think about the chicken producers who talk about spent fowl at the border. This money could go to support those types of mechanisms to protect our supply-managed industry, which I know is so important to so many members in this House and, indeed, to many Canadians.
I will finish with three quick points.
One is around significant investments in the aerospace industry. In Kings—Hants, Halifax Stanfield International Airport is just outside my riding boundary, but we have thousands of jobs in my riding that are tied to the aviation industry writ large. I am very pleased to see those types of investments in the budget.
I often talk about my riding in the context of agriculture, but in the same sense we are a coastal community. We are home to the highest tides in the world. The $300 million over the next two years for small craft harbours is extremely important.
Finally, there are historic investments for indigenous communities. I have three indigenous communities in my riding I am proud to represent. I am also proud that our government is continuing on its legacy and good work around reconciliation.
View Patrick Weiler Profile
Lib. (BC)
Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Scarborough—Rouge Park.
I am proud to join the debate today to speak in support of this historic budget, the first ever tabled by a female Minister of Finance and the most important budget in my lifetime. Budget 2021 will help Canadians recover from COVID-19, and it lays the foundation for a stronger, more resilient and more equitable future.
As the MP for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, I can say that this budget responds directly to the priorities my constituents shared with me in pre-budget consultations. We are providing support for affordable housing through expansions of the national housing strategy. We are making life more affordable for seniors through the increase in OAS for seniors over age 74. We are making historic investments in improving the lives of indigenous peoples. We are extending relief for businesses, extending stimulus and much more.
As the chair of the Liberal caucus in B.C., I can also attest that this budget addresses many of the most pressing issues in my province, and includes measures to seize the incredible opportunities that are here for the taking. In my limited time, I will focus on a selection of measures that are particularly important locally.
The first is child care. We cannot discuss this budget without reference to its historic investment of up to $30 billion over five years, with an ongoing $8 billion per year, to ensure high-quality, affordable and accessible early learning and child care across Canada. Now more than ever, the pandemic has highlighted the burden that child care scarcity places on our labour force. It is also a gender issue, as 12 times as many mothers as fathers had to leave their jobs to take care of children during the pandemic, driving women’s participation in the labour force to its lowest level in over two decades.
For years, many in my riding have been under strain from a lack of affordable and accessible child care. For example, there are over 5,100 children in the Sea to Sky region under 12 years old who are in need of child care and only 1,100 childcare spaces. Wait-lists for these child care spaces are running over two years in length, while the cost of child care ranges between $85 and $100 a day. As a result, many families in my riding are forced to pay $1,800 a month for child care or have to balance dual workdays caring for their children while trying to earn a living, a burden that negatively impacts not only the economy and parents, but children as well.
That is why our government has committed to ensuring that families in Canada are no longer burdened by high child care costs. Budget 2021 will allow for a 50% reduction in average fees for regulated early learning and child care by the end of 2022, with the ultimate goal of bringing fees for regulated child care down to $10 a day on average within the next five years. We will continue our efforts to grow quality affordable child care spaces across the country, building on the approximately 40,000 new spaces already created through previous federal investments since 2015. We will work with the provinces and territories to support primarily not-for-profit sector child care providers to grow quality spaces across the country, while ensuring that families in all licensed spaces benefit from more affordable child care.
In addition to improving the quality of life for families, our modelling has shown that this will help the economy grow by as much as 1.2%. Just about all leading economists agree that there is no measure that would increase our GDP more than this. This is a fitting flagship program for the first federal budget by Canada’s first female Minister of Finance.
Women are not the only hard-hit segment of our country. Given that we are navigating the third wave and that public health restrictions have ravaged small business, we need to first ensure the viability of our existing industry to lay the foundation for a robust recovery. Budget 2021 responds by extending the wage subsidy, rent subsidy and lockdown supports for businesses and non-profits until September 25. The wage subsidy alone has supported over 621,000 jobs in B.C. and has represented a lifeline for business.
I know how important this is because tourism is the biggest sector in my riding. It has been throttled by public health orders, and many places have been forced to close. Extending relief programs has therefore been the number one request of businesses in my riding. They look forward to again welcoming Canadians and the world.
These measures and the new Canada recovery hiring program, which will provide $595 million to make it easier for businesses to hire or rehire workers, were all announced in budget 2021, with enough time to start planning for a better summer and a better future. The measures, as well as new investments totalling $1 billion for tourism, arts and culture, will help businesses get through to the other side. Working toward reducing credit card fees will only help to further stimulate growth in the future.
This budget contains other historic measures that will make a massive impact in B.C. To date, B.C. has been lumped together with the prairie provinces and served by Western Economic Diversification. Given the distinct and diverse economy in B.C., it has been a long-standing priority to establish a separate regional development agency for our province.
Budget 2021 delivers on this by following through on the vision expressed in the fall economic statement and funding a new B.C. RDA to the tune of $553 million over the next five years. This will allow the RDA to expand from a singular office in our province to serve all regional and local priorities in the province, and to enable enterprises to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves in rural and urban areas.
Some of the biggest opportunities in Canada and B.C.’s future lie in the digital, bio and clean tech sectors. Part of our challenge in Canada is that while we have leading research being done at our educational institutions, and promising start-ups spinning off from them, we struggle to commercialize and scale. Promising businesses are getting gobbled up by bigger foreign counterparts and moving abroad, resulting in a brain drain.
This budget addresses these challenges with targeted investments. Over $2.2 billion is going towards growing the life sciences sector, which will also help ensure we are more resilient to future health crises. As part of this $2.2 billion, $92 million will go to B.C.-based adMare to ensure that we are not only discovering the delivery mechanisms for world-leading vaccines, as we did for the Pfizer vaccine, but also that Canadian companies can scale, manufacture and create more value-adding jobs.
Budget 2021 will also provide $360 million to launch a national quantum strategy to amplify Canada’s significant strength in quantum research and leading companies already in existence, such as D-Wave. One of the four main quantum hubs will be located in B.C., where we already have significant expertise.
An investment of $35 million, which will be matched by the Province of B.C., will help establish a B.C. centre for innovation and clean energy to advance the scale-up and commercialization of clean technologies in B.C. and across Canada.
We are going to need cleaner technologies not only to grow the economy, but also to reduce emissions. The $8 billion net zero accelerator fund, from investments in both this budget and the fall economic statement, will be able to fund promising measures to mitigate emissions from our large point sources and help wide-scale adoption of cleaner technologies across the country.
Our government’s past support helped Squamish-based Carbon Engineering to become the top clean-tech company in North America just last year. On top of this, we are going to add an additional $1 billion in funding to ensure companies can leverage additional private sector funding to become future leaders like Carbon Engineering.
Budget 2021’s commitment to lowering corporate taxes by half on companies that manufacture net zero technologies will allow these companies to not only start, but also grow and stay in Canada, continuing to provide the good jobs of the future.
Today at the Earth Summit, Canada announced a new 2030 GHG target that is 40% to 45% below 2005 levels. Decarbonizing our economy through these measures, the newly announced $40,000 no-interest loan for home energy retrofits, and other measures in budget 2021 will be key to realizing these lofty targets and meeting the aims of the Paris climate accord.
Given that today is Earth Day, it also bears mentioning that budget 2021 will invest over $4 billion towards ensuring we can protect 25% of our lands and waters by 2025. This process will create thousands of jobs in conservation, which can particularly help groups that are currently underrepresented in our economy, including first nations and youth.
This investment is so important to arrest the biodiversity crisis in Canada. This crisis has manifested in the most notable way in B.C. through the plight of wild Pacific salmon. Since the early 1990s, Pacific salmon stocks have declined by up to 93%. There is no issue that brings British Columbians of all walks of life together like this iconic species, which is critical to our blue economy.
To help prevent their potential extinction and the cascading impact that would have throughout our marine ecosystem, including on the similarly endangered killer whales that rely on them as a food source, budget 2021 provides a generational investment of $647 million over five years to stabilize and conserve wild salmon populations.
This historic investment will go towards new hatchery facilities, habitat restoration and research, as well as the creation of a Pacific salmon secretariat and restoration centre of expertise that will improve management of commercial and recreational fisheries.
As I see my time is running short, I would just like to say that this budget makes critical investments to ensure we have the backs of Canadians to get through this crisis, while making targeted investments in sectors that will drive job growth in the future. It does this by reducing inequities in our society while ensuring that we have both a green and a blue recovery. These measures are being taken in a manner that ensures our debt-to-GDP ratio will decline over time as we reap the rewards of these important investments in our economy and in the well-being of our communities.
View William Amos Profile
Lib. (QC)
View William Amos Profile
2021-04-20 16:30 [p.5884]
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak to budget 2021, which was presented to the House on Monday by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. I will be sharing my time this afternoon with my friend, the hon. member for Kings—Hants.
Budget 2021 addresses two fundamental challenges and includes measures that will benefit my constituents in Pontiac, middle-class Canadians, as well as science, research and innovation in Canada.
The first challenge is definitely to finish the fight against COVID-19. That means buying vaccines and supporting provincial health care systems, among other critical health priorities.
The second challenge will take longer. It is to emerge from the COVID-19 recession. That means healing the economic wounds left by the pandemic and ensuring that lost jobs are recovered as swiftly as possible, so that the hardest-hit businesses can rebound and flourish. It means providing support where COVID-19 has struck hardest, to women, young people and low-wage workers, and to small and medium-sized businesses, especially in sectors like hospitality and tourism.
Our federal support measures, which represent $8 out of every $10 spent by all governments combined on COVID, have protected jobs and helped limit the number of permanent business closures. We will continue to honour this covenant with Canadians until COVID-19 is fully behind us with new measures to support Canadian businesses, workers and families. For example, through budget 2020-21, we will extend both the wage subsidy and the rent subsidy and they will be extended until September 25, 2021, with the possibility of a further extension to November, depending on the economic and public health situation.
We are also introducing the Canada recovery hiring program. This $595-million investment will help businesses pivot to recovery, with incentives to hire back, grow hours or increase wages. We announced a historic $4-billion investment into a digital adoption program to help Canadian small businesses become more competitive, go digital, take advantage of e-commerce and become more competitive in Canada and around the world.
Finally, we are committed to lowering credit card fees by engaging with stakeholders to lower the average overall cost of interchange fees for our small businesses.
We have to revitalize tourism. The impact of COVID-19 on workers and businesses in tourism, arts and culture has been severe. That is especially true in the Outaouais region, where many rural communities depend on tourism and vacationers, especially in the summer.
I am thinking about the Vallée-de-la-Gatineau, Pontiac and Collines-de-l'Outaouais RCMs. I am thinking about businesses such as Le Rabaska in Maniwaki, L'Orée du Bois in Chelsea, the Spruceholme Inn in Fort-Coulonge and the Laspézia restaurant in the Plateau sector of Gatineau.
With the rollout of vaccines under way and going quite well in Quebec, businesses in the tourism sector are getting ready to welcome Canadians back to experience the great places and activities that we have to offer. Canadians are eager to discover or rediscover their country. This is a great opportunity for the Outaouais.
We have to ensure that regions like ours succeed in this context of local, regional and national tourism. That is why, to support this sector, the government is proposing a new package of supports totalling $1 billion over three years thanks to budget 2021. That amount includes $500 million in funding over two years for regional development agencies, to help our hard-hit tourism businesses adapt their products and services and invest in growth.
To attract visitors to our small festivals and local events, Canadian Heritage will also receive $200 million. This will ensure that our events and festivals can continue to celebrate our artistic excellence and unique character. We will be ready for the tourism economy's recovery.
On the issue of science, it has been a privilege to serve Canadians as the parliamentary secretary for science throughout this pandemic. I am so pleased to point out that budget 2021 delivers massive investments in Canadian science, health innovation, research and development, and innovation. We recognize the critical role that science and research will play, both in addressing the current health crisis and in rebuilding our economy and creating good jobs for Canadians. We are investing heavily to grow our life sciences ecosystem and create the biomanufacturing capacity necessary to ensure that we are more resilient in the face of future pandemics.
This includes over $1 billion for biomedical research, clinical trials and the necessary infrastructure at universities and research hospitals to undertake this work. This includes a nearly $60-million investment in the University of Saskatchewan's VIDO-InterVac to support its ongoing COVID vaccine research and expand its facility in Saskatoon.
We are also making targeted investments in critically important health care research, including areas such as women's health, diabetes, pediatric cancer, regenerative medicine, antimicrobial resistance, and in the creation of a national genomics strategy worth $400 million to build on Canada's expertise.
If members and the Canadians listening to these incredible investments proposed in budget 2021 in science, health innovation and research are dizzied by the sheer size and scale of these investments, then I would not blame them. We are going to be unrelenting in our focus on science and evidence as the driver of policy decisions and strategic investments. I was pleased to note yesterday that the non-profit advocacy group, Evidence for Democracy Canada, commented that in budget 2021, “science underpins targeted investments to drive equitable recovery and long-term prosperity”, and that Evidence for Democracy was “pleased to see strategic investments across the Canadian science ecosystem, including targeted research funding”.
There is so much more, and I know members will appreciate our focus on protecting Canadians as we invest in innovative research and development. Budget 2021 promises strategic investments in emerging technologies to capitalize on areas of Canadian strength.
This includes $360 million over seven years to launch a national quantum strategy, working with great Canadian universities like Université de Sherbrooke, UBC, University of Waterloo and others.
There is $444 million over 10 years to support the next phase of the pan-Canadian artificial intelligence strategy for commercialization, talent retention, research and training, computing capacity and artificial intelligence standards.
It promises $10 million over two years to the Canadian Space Agency to plan for the next generation of earth observation satellites and $80 million over 11 years to replace and expand the aging but critically important ground-based infrastructure to receive satellite data.
There is $90 million over five years to the National Research Council to retool and modernize the Canadian photonics fabrication centre in Ottawa.
This budget builds on the historic investments in fundamental research from budget 2018 and our government's innovation and skills strategy. It sets us up for growth and success, both today and for the future. It focuses on the pandemic today, but also addresses looming threats that require better science, better data and better governance.
My time is running short, so I will not dive deep into our climate innovation, climate research, climate action and low-carbon job-creation investments. We are talking billions of dollars in transformative investments to get us to the net-zero economy, which dovetail wonderfully with our carbon-pricing mechanism that the Supreme Court has, after so many unnecessary years of Conservative knuckle dragging and climate denial, confirmed as being within federal jurisdiction. Yes, we will be establishing and applying a climate lens that ensures climate considerations are integrated throughout federal government decision-making. We are talking about Arctic research and a census of the environment statistical trend-monitoring effort.
I will not delve into our investments in gender-based violence research and knowledge mobilization, with funding for community research—
View Gord Johns Profile
NDP (BC)
View Gord Johns Profile
2021-04-12 13:34 [p.5399]
Madam Speaker, it is a huge honour to rise on behalf of the people of Courtenay—Alberni and as the critic for the federal NDP on small business, tourism, fisheries and oceans, and economic development.
As we know, the third wave is among us, especially here in British Columbia. I would not be surprised if further measures are announced by the provincial government today, but right now we know that restaurants are closed for the better part, unless they are serving on a patio outside. Many small businesses are restricted in what they can offer right now. It is having a huge impact on everyone in all of our communities, on their mental health and well-being, and on economic opportunities. People are scared. People are wondering how they are going to survive the pandemic, especially those in the hospitality and tourism sector. We know that small business owners have done the right thing. They have closed their doors or they have adhered to public health measures to protect public health. They are truly the unsung heroes, I believe, of this pandemic.
In my riding, tourism alone is almost 10,000 jobs, so it is having a huge impact on people in our communities. Right now we still are not seeing any supports for start-ups, for example. There is a brand new bakery called Wildflower Bakery. It really is a wildflower. It is a fabulous and great eatery that has just opened up. The bakery is employing people, creating economic development and prosperity in our community, offering diversity of cuisine. It is a new start-up and it has not been able to access the wage subsidy, rent program or the CEBA loans program, yet it is still paying rent. There are common-sense provisions that the government could provide so that it could qualify for the wage subsidy and the rent program, but the government has chosen to leave them out. It has been abandoned by the government.
We know that there is a group that started savestartups.ca that is building momentum. This is a generation of businesses that we could lose if the government does not amend the programs and create more flexibility. We are hearing from a lot of people who have fallen through the cracks who cannot access these programs, whether it be the HASCAP or many other programs that are being offered. They might be off a basis point or two, or somehow fall through the cracks in terms of the timing of when they started or whatnot. The government needs to create more flexibility to support these businesses or we are going to lose them. The cost to the Canadian economy is much greater than saving them right now.
We are calling on the government to come up with a program. I asked the Minister of Finance about this very concern. She said that the government understands that this is a problem and that it is looking into it. The government has been looking into it for months. Meanwhile, people are losing sleep or losing their businesses and wondering how they are going to survive it, if they can.
The other thing that we are hearing from businesses is that they want certainty. Whether it be the wage subsidy program or the rent program, we know that there is a commitment from the government until June. We need the government to commit that it is going to be there, in place, until the end of the pandemic. We just met with the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, which is deeply concerned. We know that this summer, for example, regardless of how quick the vaccine rollout is, it is very unlikely that we are going to have international tourists coming to our region. If one's business relies on international tourism, it is going to lose a second summer. We need the government to commit that it is going to be there right until the end, instead of actually doing segments like we are doing. This uncertainty is killing business. Also, it is very difficult for business owners to go out to seek financing and get the leverage needed to continue to get through these difficult times.
The other thing is with regard to the CEBA loan program. The expected repayment date is the end of next year. It will be nearly impossible for small businesses, given that there is a third wave coming with such force and with the new variants spreading so quickly. We need the government to extend those repayment periods. In fact, I know when I had a loan with a community futures development corporation in my riding that it was a 10-year loan for $40,000, so to expect that repayment date to be the end of next year is completely unreasonable. Businesses need to be certain that they are not going to be gouged with a high interest rate should they have to repay it. As well, the government needs to increase the loan. I know the government just extended it to $60,000, but it needs to increase it to $80,000.
Given that it is the third wave, it is the third round of impact that these small businesses are going through, and it is just impossible for many of them to survive without better support. In increasing that $20,000 that they do not have to repay if they repay the loan in a certain period of time, the government could help absorb some of the costs that they are incurring.
Also, the government is talking a lot about a child care plan. Here in British Columbia, we have a provincial government that is investing in child care, and it needs a federal partner to create accessible, affordable, universal child care for everyone. The chambers of commerce in my riding are calling for that, and were calling for it before the pandemic. In fact, the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce cited that as its number one priority before the pandemic. We know that it is needed now more than ever before, given that women have been disproportionally impacted by the pandemic, and many of them are struggling with how they are going to get back to work and how they are going to get the support they need.
As well, the government continues to not want to tackle the merchant fees. We are paying some of the highest merchant fees in the world. There is a voluntary rate of 1.4% based on the big players, whether it be Walmarts or large multinational corporations paying an even lower rate, which means that the smaller businesses are paying a higher rate. However, in Europe, they are paying 0.3%.
We know that this is not a priority of the government. In fact, in the last government, Linda Lapointe, a former member of Parliament from Quebec, made commitments to the Quebec Convenience Stores Association and other groups in Quebec to take on this issue. She moved debate on her bill 16 times. Clearly, the government did not want this bill to be debated, and it does not want to tackle merchant fees. I was appreciative of the spirit of her efforts, but it got shut down, and the government needs to take this on. The Conservatives do not believe this is an issue that they should intervene on either. We heard from their finance critic that they do not want to see government intervene. However, government does have a role and a time to intervene, especially when small businesses and merchants are being gouged by large corporations.
I have met with Visa and MasterCard and they say that it is not their issue but the big banks' issue. The big banks are getting record profits right now, which is public information, and they are not paying their fair share in this pandemic. We are calling on the government to hold them to task and make sure that they pay their fair share.
Members have also heard me speak about the wild salmon emergency and how critical it is that the government invest in wild salmon in this upcoming budget. However, there is nothing in Bill C-14 for that, despite the fact that we had the lowest return in the Fraser last year and the year before.
One thing that is really close to me and the people in my riding is the lack of investment in affordable housing. With the rapid housing initiative, the government committed $1 billion. Out of the hundreds of billions of dollars in COVID support, there are people who are most marginalized, there are people who are falling through the cracks more now than ever. They are being isolated are dying on our streets.
We have an opioid crisis. I was talking to Julia Mewhort from Qualicum Beach, who has now joined up with Moms Stop the Harm. She lost her son, Stephen, to a preventable opioid overdose that resulted from fentanyl poisoning, a drug source that was tainted, which has killed over 16,000 Canadians, yet the government still has not declared a public health emergency. We know that it requires a national public health emergency declaration from the federal government under the Emergencies Act so that we can manage and resource this issue to reduce and eliminate deaths that are preventable. She is calling for action so that more sons like hers do not die due to tainted drugs.
The current war on drugs has clearly been grossly ineffective and has resulted in widespread stigma for addiction and those who use illicit drugs. We know that the government's new bill still carries with it the stigma and is not solving this issue. Criminalization of particular substances has resulted in the establishment of a drug trade that now trafficks dangerous and lethal products such fentanyl.
We need new law reform, and the Liberals are not doing enough to end the stigma. We need to decriminalize and regulate to ensure safe sources and proper measures and supports that will reduce the number of deaths that are happening in our communities. We did not see anything in Bill C-14, but I am hoping that in the next budget the government is going to make it a priority, declare a national public health emergency and invest a lot more than $1 billion in rapid housing. We are watching the sons and daughters of our communities die on the streets, and it is all preventable.
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