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Results: 91 - 120 of 420
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I am in no way contradicting the data. In fact, the numbers I am citing come from table A2.2 from the fall economic statement. As I said, what that table shows is the reality, which is that 10-year and longer bonds make up 15% of the 2019-20 issuance. Our intention, our target, is that they should make up 29% of the 2020-21 issuance.
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Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, we were clear in the fall economic statement on our plan to push out along the curve, and that is a prudent plan. It's something that we have signalled clearly to markets, and that was an important objective of the fall economic statement.
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Lib. (ON)
I have been clear, Mr. Chair, about our government's intentions of moving to longer maturities.
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Lib. (ON)
Let me first just take issue, Mr. Chair, with the little slur there implicit in the “even the CBC” reports.
As a former journalist, let me just say that the CBC is a fantastic news organization. I think it contributes hugely to the national fabric and the public discourse in Canada, so I couldn't let that pass.
When it comes to the information members of Parliament feel is necessary for them to be comfortable supporting our government's measures, it's going to be up to each member to make—
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Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, our government absolutely understands and values the importance of transparency, and we seek to release all the information we can. I think people also understand that a tremendous job is being done by the CRA in supporting Canadians and Canadian businesses—
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Lib. (ON)
That's a long yes or no.
Just to be clear, Mr. Chair, the member is making some category confusions here. The WE Charity, after all, never did receive the government's support.
We published detailed breakdowns for every period of the wage subsidy. That's the right thing to do, and we'll continue to do that, Mr. Chair.
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Lib. (ON)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Let me start by saying one thing about the Canadian banking system. We have just been through and we are still in a deep economic crisis, our greatest crisis since the Great Depression. One of the things that our country has been relying on to get through the crisis is a sound and stable banking system. As a reporter based in New York during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, I was able to observe the strength and the stability of the Canadian banking system, which really shone compared with other banking systems, such as the U.S. and the British banking systems, to take two examples. That's actually a strength for our country.
Having said that, I do agree with the member from the NDP that it is really important, particularly given the uneven impact of this financial crisis—it has hit the most vulnerable the hardest—that everyone pay their fair share. That's why our government introduced concrete measures in the fall economic statement last week to limit the stock option deduction for people working at big companies. That's a significant and important step, and I'm glad that we were able to take it.
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Lib. (ON)
I think all of us could ask that question.
Let me first of all reassure all the Canadian businesses listening to us right now that the government has made clear that the wage subsidy and the rent support will be in place until next summer. We want businesses to have that certainty and to have that confidence.
Let me also remind people that in the fall economic statement, we committed to raising the wage subsidy back to 75%.
I do think it's important for us to appreciate that we are all working in an environment with a great deal of uncertainty. That's why, when we announced our intention to put in place a growth plan, we were very clear that we would be guided by fiscal guardrails, and those would be employment, unemployment and hours worked. We are committed as a government to doing our job until Canadians have their jobs back.
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Lib. (ON)
Thank you for the question. I think it's really, ultimately, the heart of everything we're talking about and everything our government needs to do.
I want to talk for one minute about scarring. As I mentioned earlier in my testimony, there was a G7 finance ministers meeting yesterday morning. One of the things that many of us reflected on was the experience of 2008-09. Economies experienced scarring, which made it harder for those economies to rebound after the immediate shock had passed. That historic experience is one of the reasons our government is so committed right now to supporting Canadian businesses and Canadian families. We know that if we do our job now effectively, Canada will be in a much stronger position to rebound once the vaccines have arrived and we're able to fully reopen the economy.
I very much agree with the direction of the question. I think what we need to focus on then, and begin doing our work on now—and I look forward to the committee doing this work—is to work on a growth plan that does two things. One, it immediately has projects and programs that help our country get back to work as quickly as possible and that help to close the output gap. We also need to be thinking about those projects and programs also contributing to our country's long-term growth. I think, and I am confident, that together we can do that.
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Lib. (ON)
As I said, we understand how important the aerospace sector is. It must be a part of our growth plan, and it will be. We also talked about the importance of the green shift, which extends to every sector of the economy, including the aerospace sector. That means it must be a part of the green shift, and it will be. I believe that answers your question.
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Lib. (ON)
I have the utmost respect for the member, who also asked me the question by email. I want to thank him for that. However, today is not the right time to announce the spring 2021 budget. We just presented the fall economic statement 2020, so we'll have to wait a bit before announcing the details of the next budget.
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Lib. (ON)
Thank you for your ideas.
You mentioned aluminum, another very important industry for Quebec and Canada. It can and must be a part of the plan. I think we should all highlight the fact that Canada produces the greenest aluminum in the world. We need to press home that advantage to promote our exports, especially products made with our green aluminum.
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Lib. (ON)
Okay. Well, a minute seems like a long time, but there were lots of ideas in there.
Let me first talk about the international Internet giants. As the member from the NDP pointed out, our government committed, in the fall economic statement—and this is something we will do—to implement the GST/HST on multinational digital companies. This is a big deal, and it's an important move by the government. It will raise money for the government, and that's important.
From my perspective, it will do something else equally important, which is level the playing field between Canadian and international companies that are providing those services. I'm very glad that we're going forward and doing this.
The member asked another really important question, which is about international companies, particularly the digital giants that do significant business in Canada and do not pay corporate tax on the business that they do here. This is really a pressing issue. Canada always prefers multilateral collaborative solutions. It is the best way to work with our partners around the world, and so we are working with our partners through the OECD to reach an agreement on a tax approach. That being said, we announced last Monday that failing an agreement on a multilateral approach on taxing the Internet giants, Canada will move ahead unilaterally in January 2022.
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Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, as I said earlier, I am a very strong believer in the importance that the independence of the Bank of Canada plays in our economy and in our financial system. I would urge members to ask questions pertaining to the Bank of Canada of the Bank of Canada.
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Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I want to be very clear with all members of this committee of the importance of an independent central bank in the functioning of the Canadian economy. I also want to be clear that it is an undermining of our economy to be raising questions in the minds of Canadians—
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Lib. (ON)
—about the independence of the Bank of Canada.
Yes, that is not responsible behaviour.
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Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, the Bank of Canada is ably and independently run, and perhaps members of this committee would like to invite representatives of the bank to come and speak to the committee and answer your questions.
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Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I cannot emphasize too emphatically the importance that our government attaches and that I attach to the independence of the Bank of Canada and—
Hon. Pierre Poilievre: Mr. Chair—
Hon. Chrystia Freeland: —I will always speak out against efforts to undermine that or cast doubt on the independence of this critical Canadian institution. Canadians trust the bank, and they're right to do so.
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Lib. (ON)
I thought the chair had turned the floor over to me, and I would simply like to endorse our chairman's comments that the independence of the bank is important.
I would urge members who wish to ask questions of the Bank of Canada to invite the very able leadership and representatives of the bank to this committee.
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Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, as all Canadians know, the Bank of Canada is a Canadian government institution. It is, however, an independent institution, and its independence was a very important innovation at the time. It is something that I as finance minister prize and respect, and I think that all MPs should do likewise.
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Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I didn't “admit” that the Bank of Canada was accountable to the people of Canada; I proudly stated it. I really cannot emphasize too strongly the importance of a respected and independent central bank to the functioning of our economy.
As a journalist, I had the privilege of quite often interviewing finance minister Jim Flaherty. I can tell you from personal experience that he respected the independence of the Bank of Canada. I would hope that today's Conservative Party would do the same.
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Lib. (ON)
Okay.
Well, Mr. Chair, as I had to point out yet again that in question period, the member opposite and some of his colleagues seem to be making a habit of misconstruing my words.
In no way does the government seek to conceal or keep secret the activities of the Bank of Canada. The Bank of Canada is a highly transparent, highly responsible institution, and I have a question for the Conservative members. Do they respect the independence of the Bank of Canada as previous Conservative finance ministers like the late Jim Flaherty did? I hope they do. The Canadian economy depends on it.
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Lib. (ON)
The time's up. I'm sorry. It's called a rhetorical question.
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Lib. (ON)
That's a great idea.
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Lib. (ON)
This is an issue very dear to my heart, and I really believe it's an issue whose time has come.
Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the tabling of the report of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada. That report, among other things, called on the federal government to urgently begin negotiations with the provinces and territories on building a universal national child care system. That was 50 years ago. It has remained something that Canadian women, Canadian mothers and, I would say, Canadian parents have been hoping for and pushing for over those 50 years.
I think there are two things that make now a moment when we really can have a breakthrough.
The first is the coronavirus and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The spring particularly, when so many schools and day cares were closed down, was when I think many business leaders became more aware than they had been of the necessity of child care to keep women in the workforce.
We're seeing now that women's labour force participation has really taken a hit because of this pandemic. One of the things I am so struck by right now is that it's not just the usual suspects—early learning child care advocates and feminists—who are talking about child care; it is also corporate leaders. People are talking about child care as what it is, which is a driver of economic growth.
Early learning and child care can help parents participate in the labour force, and it can also create a better labour force when those well-educated little children grow up. I think we need to see it, of course, as a feminist issue, but we also need to see it as a real growth driver. I think our country is starting to look at it that way.
The second really important thing, Julie, is that we now have the example of Quebec, so talking about early learning and child care is no longer a theoretical exercise. It's no longer like some of the debates that we have in the House of Commons or at committee where everyone has their pre-baked, entrenched, ideological positions. When it comes to early learning and child care, we can look at Quebec and say that it works.
Labour force participation in Quebec, particularly of mothers of children three and under, is off the charts. It's one of the highest in the world. This has been a major contributor to economic growth in Quebec. It's worked in Quebec. It's time for us to learn from la belle province and to find ways to make it work across the rest of the country.
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View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Of course. We put in some measures on climate change in the fall economic statement as a down payment on the growth plan we were discussing earlier today. They include grants for home retrofits, grants of up to $5,000 to help people make their homes more energy-efficient. That's sort of a double win, because it will put people to work retrofitting your home and at the same time help our whole country to become more energy-efficient. Maybe it's even a triple win, because it will lower your electricity bills.
We also announced investment in the infrastructure for zero-emission vehicles across the country. Again, it's a double win there, because we'll create jobs in building that infrastructure and will make it easier for people to shift to zero-emission vehicles.
There are significant investments in nature-based solutions to climate change. Again, building those nature-based solutions is also a job creation program.
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Lib. (ON)
Wayne, can I just offer one final final thought?
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Lib. (ON)
It's something I meant to say, which is that we have some of Canada's hard-working public servants from the Department of Finance here with us. They have been working just like Stakhanovites to prepare the fall economic statement, and they were working really hard before that to support Canadian businesses, Canadian families and the Canadian economy through this crisis. I think this is a good opportunity. Maybe all of us will agree on one thing and only one thing—all members of this committee—that Canada is very lucky to have such fine, smart, hard-working and dedicated public servants.
Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.
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View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, I thank the hon. member for his question.
I agree with him that Canada and Canadians are doing an excellent and difficult job in the fight against coronavirus. As for the economy, our government is there for Canadians, for workers and for businesses, and it will continue to be.
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Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, Canadians know that the government is there to support them. Eight—
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Results: 91 - 120 of 420 | Page: 4 of 14

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