44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 6, 2022 10:00AM
Madam Speaker, it is nice to see all of my wonderful colleagues today as we debate the opposition motion from the New Democratic Party. I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Hamilton Mountain.
After reading the opposition day motion, it struck me that there were many things in it that related to what is called corporate concentration. As most of my colleagues know, I grew up in small-town Canada. I am the son of immigrant parents who worked hard, saved and provided a great future for their family and children. I went to university and then worked on Bay Street and Wall Street for over 20 years of my life. I am a big supporter of capitalism and free markets, which have lifted the tides and literally billions of people out of poverty across the world. However, I will also call out crony capitalism, excess corporate concentration and practices that are deemed uncompetitive and detrimental to consumers and individuals here in Canada and across the world.
When I worked in New York City, there was a point in time when there was an announcement that Canadian banks would merge and go from the five big banks, as they were referred to then, to three. At the time, there were arguments put forward that the banks needed to compete with the U.S. banks in size, and they were too small and needed efficiencies. The Liberal government, under then prime minister Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin subsequently, said no. When I think back to that decision, I think of how important it was for today. There are some members in the House currently who were members of Parliament during that time. Consider how anti-competitive that would have been for the Canadian marketplace.
When we think about corporate concentration today, it is why the Retail Council of Canada is working on a retail code of conduct for retailers. In other jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, this is much easier to do because it can be done at the federal level of government and that is that. However, here in Canada, we have a fiscal federation and the federal government must do it in unison with all the provinces, as our Minister of Agriculture is doing. She is working prudently and expeditiously with the provinces so that we have a retail code of conduct to deal with a lot of the issues relating to corporate concentration in the Canadian marketplace when it comes to retail.
In a prior budget, we also introduced, under the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, the hon. member from Shawinigan and my dear friend, changes to the Competition Act. These changes are related to wage-fixing, drip pricing, private right of access for abuse of dominance allegations and expanded information-gathering powers. For these changes, as I have argued for a very long time, we need to give the Competition Bureau more teeth and more resources to ensure that we have a competitive marketplace in a number of our industries. It is very important that we as a government undertake these policies, because corporate concentration is an issue.
The Biden administration actually set up a White House Competition Council, led by Janet Yellen, to deal with these issues, and I would say that we are treating it as seriously as the Biden administration. It is very important. It showed up in relation to our budget with changes to the Competition Bureau. If members go to the August 8, 2022, release from the Competition Bureau, they will find a wonderful summary of the changes that are being recommended to ensure that we have competitive practices.
Members can look at the continuum of our agri-food industry. When I first joined Parliament, we had the Barton reports, which were developed by our government to identify industries of growth for our economy. The agri-food industry was one of them. As many know, the agri-food industry is a continuum. There are farmers, processors, retailers and distributors, and we need a competitive place for farming. We need our farmers to be rewarded for the product they produce, and we need our processors to have the resources they need in terms of workers and so forth. Again, we need a competitive marketplace. However, we also need a competitive retail marketplace for our agri-food industry to sell in, and we have seen issues with that. The motion identifies the issue of the price-fixing on bread that occurred a few years ago, so we need to ensure a competitive marketplace.
Now I will move on to inflation.
I am grateful to have the opportunity to elaborate on the concrete measures taken by the government.
Our government is well aware that we are going through a period of high inflation worldwide. Canadian families feel the effects when they fill their tanks with gas and go to the grocery store.
For all Canadians families this is a tough period of time.
The fact remains that Canada is faring better than other countries.
With regard to the inflation rate, we are actually doing better. Still, we need to help Canadians, and that is what our government is doing. I am glad to see the opposition join and assist us in passing Bill C-30 and, hopefully, Bill C-31 with regard to GST.
I also want to point out to the House that inflation is a global phenomenon that can be attributed in large part to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and China's zero-COVID policy.
While our problems may have originated outside our borders, there are certainly things we can do here right now to help Canadians. That is why we are bringing in measures totalling $12.1 billion to make life more affordable for millions of Canadians in order to help them make ends meet and provide for their families.
Our government has introduced an assistance plan to make life more affordable for Canadians across the country. We introduced two pieces of legislation last month, specifically Bill C-30 and Bill C-31, to implement important measures to help Canadians.
Bill C-30 doubles the goods and services tax credit for six months. The credit for low and modest-income individuals and families is paid in quarterly payments in January, April, July and October, with the benefit year beginning in July. The GST credit is indexed to inflation annually, based on consumer price index data published by Statistics Canada.
Doubling this credit would provide an additional $2.5 billion in support to Canadians who need it most. Single Canadians without children will receive up to $234 more while a couple with two children will receive up to $467 more this year. The proposed extra GST credits would be paid to all current recipients through the existing GST credit system as a one-time, lump-sum payment.
I encourage all Canadians to please file their taxes to receive this GST payment. We know that about 10% to 12% of Canadians do not file their taxes. I encourage them to please file their taxes. That is how they receive so many of the credits and benefits that our government provides, which help them and their families. Again, it is $2.5 billion, and 11 million Canadians would be assisted.
Our government continues to help Canadians. We will deliver $27 billion over five years for a transformative early learning and child care system for Canadians. I know it is going to help my family in approximately a month and a half when our little daughter enters child care. It is something great. It is high-quality child care.
The first province that signed on was British Columbia, in July 2021. The federal government's plan for affordable and high-quality child care was signed by the Government of B.C. It came into effect for people to receive reductions in their child care costs. Again, it is benefiting families in British Columbia, which is my home province and where I grew up. These are after-tax dollars that families are saving, which is a big help to those families. In addition, we are aiming to create 250,000 new child care spaces across Canada with these agreements with the provinces and territories.
As always, I look forward to questions and comments.
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- Oct/6/22 1:48:38 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, Skeena—Bulkley Valley is the riding or area that my parents and family immigrated to 50-odd years ago and that I grew up in. It is a beautiful part of Canada.
There is a measure called the Gini coefficient, which measures inequality in our country and throughout the world. It is a standard measure used by economists. Our Gini coefficient has actually improved in Canada. We have seen less inequality by a number of measures, and we have, on a very tangible basis, lifted hundreds of thousands of children and families out of poverty since we came into power in 2015, through the Canada child benefit, the OAS increase, the GIS increase and two middle-class tax cuts. Our goal is to drive inclusive economic growth and that is exactly what our government is doing.
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- Oct/6/22 1:50:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is great to see the hon. member today.
I am a big supporter of the agri-food industry and the whole continuum of the agri-food industry in Canada. We must always put in place policies that support our farmers, whether they are grain farmers, chicken farmers, beef farmers or dairy farmers. We have been there. I visited many of these farms in the area that the hon. member has identified, and we need to be there to continue to listen, consult and work with Canadian farmers from coast to coast to coast.
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- Oct/6/22 1:52:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, during COVID-19, when all restaurants were closed, Canadians shifted their spending habits. I think the real factor we look at for how corporations are doing, as I did in the days I worked on this, for 20-plus years, is what we call their EBITDA margins, operating profit margins or cash flow metrics. We do this to see if a large bump in revenues from Canadians shifting their spending habits is translating into higher profits and if their margin is staying the same.
As I said in my remarks, the changes to the Competition Act with the Competition Bureau are very important. Crony capitalism has no place in my world. It has no place in our society. It is detrimental to consumers. We always need to tackle that and have better enforcement measures for the Competition Bureau.
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- Oct/6/22 2:08:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in 1847, the first running of the Woodbridge Fair was organized by John Gamble, the first mayor of Vaughan township and a parliamentary spokesperson for Ontario farmers, millers and merchants who believed that the agricultural sector and its workers were at the heart of a community’s success. True to these values, for 175 years the fair has been a place to come together and celebrate the joy of autumn, community agriculture and our local history.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Woodbridge Agricultural Society’s volunteers, this year’s fair promises to be the most entertaining one yet. Through you, Mr. Speaker, I would like to invite my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Woodbridge fall fair and everyone celebrating this community mainstay on its 175th anniversary. This Thanksgiving weekend, they should come and visit the fair with us. I will be there, and I look forward to seeing many of the residents of the city of Vaughan and beyond.
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