Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question is also for the government leader.

Among the promises the Liberal government made to small businesses during the 2019 federal election campaign was a commitment to cut the cost of federal incorporation by 75%, from $200 to $50. This is a relatively small promise for a federal government to make, but it matters to entrepreneurs as every dollar counts when starting a new venture.

A recent answer to a written question on the Senate Order Paper states the government “continues to assess the impact of reducing the fee.”

Instead of saying when this fee will be cut, the answer notes that annual incorporations have increased by over 100% within the past five years.

Leader, this sounds very much as though the NDP-Liberal government has chosen to abandon this promise made by the Prime Minister to small businesses. Why?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Yes, it’s very important in every change that we make to help small businesses, even the smallest of fees will make a big difference for them.

On another matter of importance to many small businesses, is Conservative MP Larry Maguire’s Bill C-208, which reduces the taxes paid when transferring family farms or small businesses to family members. Although Bill C-208 passed last June, the Trudeau government never supported this bill and, in fact, even attempted not to implement it through a finance department press release.

In July, on the night before a committee of the other place intended to examine the government’s defiance of Parliament on this bill, Minister Freeland happened to release a statement acknowledging the law had come into force. The minister committed to bringing forward changes to Bill C-208 in November.

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Leader, here we are in April, nine months later, and we still don’t know what the NDP-Liberal government intends to do with this bill. What are your plans with respect to Bill C-208?