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House Hansard - 164

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 6, 2023 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 164 - Mar/6/23
Mr. Terry Beech (Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.)
  • Mar/6/23 6:47:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take part in this debate this evening. I want to thank my colleague from Victoria, a place where I grew up as well, for asking these questions. I have prepared a response that actually takes on all the questions that were raised in her original question, which include inflation, affordability, tax fairness, climate change and fossil fuel subsidies. We understand, as a government, that many Canadians are struggling to make ends meet during a period of high global inflation. Canadians are feeling the pain when they go to the grocery store, when they fill up their tanks and when they pay their rents. Although inflation in Canada is lower that it is in the United States or in Europe, it is our responsibility to make life more affordable while building an economy that works for everyone. This is why we have provided $12.1 billion in new inflation-relief support with many measures continuing in 2023 to help make life more affordable for millions of Canadians. This includes measures like the GST rebate, dental care, child care and supports for seniors. Students no longer need to pay interest on student loans, and new parents are able to more easily return to the workforce. At the same time, our government has been, and remains, committed to making sure everyone pays their fair share of taxes. For example, budget 2022 announced a permanent increase of the corporate income tax by 1.5 percentage points on the largest and most profitable banks and insurance companies in Canada. It also announced the Canada recovery dividend, a one-time 15% tax on Canada's most profitable banks and insurance companies to help pay for the cost of fighting COVID. We have also reduced taxes for the middle class and for small businesses on four separate occasions, while increasing taxes on the top 1%. Our government is also committed to phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that give fossil fuels an unfair advantage over cleaner energy solutions. In our previous election platform, we committed to phasing out these fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, but like the member opposite said in her speech, we felt the matter was so urgent that we actually accelerated the timeline of this commitment to the end of this year, a full two years early. In fact, the majority of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies have already been eliminated. In budget 2022, for example, the government committed to eliminating the flow-through share regime for fossil fuel activities. This will be done by no longer allowing expenditures related to oil, gas and coal exploration and development to benefit investors after March 31, the end of this month. This coincides with our world-leading climate plan, which is working to lower Canada's greenhouse gas emissions while creating high-paying, sustainable jobs that will benefit Canadians for generations to come. The government is also taking meaningful actions to improve competition in this country and ensure that consumers pay fair prices for goods and services. We provided an additional $96 million in funding over five years to the Competition Bureau in budget 2021 and made targeted improvements to the Competition Act in June 2022. This will strengthen the Competition Bureau's powers, better protect consumers and ensure that workers and small businesses are protected from anti-competitive or deceptive practices. These amendments brought the Act more in line with international best practices, including higher maximum fines and a broader scope of anti-competitive behaviour that the Competition Bureau can now review. On top of that, last fall we launched a consultation on the future of competition policy in Canada to seek input on what further we can do. In conclusion, our government is fighting climate change, making life more affordable, ensuring the Canadian economy is competitive and, at the same time, making sure everyone pays their fair share of tax. Given that Canada enjoys the lowest deficit and lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, we can expect that Canada, and Canadians, are well positioned to outperform in the years ahead.
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Context: House Hansard - 164 - Mar/6/23
Ms. Laurel Collins
  • Mar/6/23 6:51:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I hope the member was not serious when he said that most inefficient fossil fuel subsidies have been eliminated, because that would mean that whatever the government is counting as inefficient fossil fuel subsidies is not taking into account the billions of dollars we are still handing out to oil and gas companies. I am baffled by Liberal MPs who claim to care about our climate and to understand the urgency of the crisis we are in, but then support massive handouts to oil and gas and refuse to make these companies pay what they owe. Oil and gas companies have profited for decades from fuelling the climate crisis. These rich CEOs and lobbyists have successfully lobbied for tax breaks and handouts. I will remind my colleagues that oil and gas companies last year made more money than they have ever made before, while Canadians are struggling to pay for groceries. It is time for Canada to stand up to big oil and stop making Canadians and the environment pay the price.
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