- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Niagara Falls
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 69%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $102,468.80
- Government Page
- Mar/22/23 8:13:53 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is going to have a tremendous impact. I probably have the largest number of wineries and grape growers in the country, as well as the largest manufacturing plant in the country, with Arterra. Now I am just bragging, but I have a lot to brag about. I would like to thank—
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- Mar/22/23 8:12:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague and I may disagree on other politics, but the one thing we can agree is that 100% Canadian-made wines are to the benefit of everyone throughout this country.
When the Conservatives were in power in 2006, they implemented an excise exemption for 100% Canadian-made wines. The sector grew from 300 wineries to over 700, employing 9,000 people. This new escalator tax puts those jobs at risk. The margins in the wine sector, as the member will know, are very slim. Why is the government putting those jobs at risk?
There is a replacement program. The government is going to be generating $390 million because of this new excise tax being applied to Canadian wines, and the government cannot assure the industry that those funds are for it. What are they going to do? Where is that $390 million going? That is what we want to know.
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- Mar/22/23 2:09:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of a Liberal government, groceries, gas and home heating are getting more and more expensive. If that were not bad enough, on April 1 taxes on gasoline are going up 14¢ a litre, while the escalator tax on wine, beer and spirits is also set to rise by 6.3%. That is no cruel April Fool's joke. In Niagara and across the country, these taxes will punish wineries, craft breweries, distilleries and anyone who enjoys consuming these wonderful Canadian-made products.
There are serious consequences to the government spending the cupboards bare while leaving Canadians with the expensive bills to pay. What will happen to the much-vaunted federal tourism growth strategy, and what of the wine sector support program? Our tourism operators, grape growers and wineries deserve so much better from the government.
It is time for the tired Liberals to step aside so a Conservative government can lead and create the changes needed such that Canadians can finally get ahead.
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Madam Speaker, we can debate whose wine is better. One concern I mentioned in my remarks just now was the excise tax. In April it will be going up almost 7%. That will be hitting our wineries and our producers and hurting them tremendously.
Another thing happening at the end of March is that the two-year replacement program for the ending of the excise exemption will end. That was $166 million provided over two years for our wineries, and there is no certainty on what is there to replace it.
The government has to work and come forward with suggestions and ideas on how it is going to support our growers in the future.
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- Apr/4/22 3:05:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on July 1, wineries in my riding producing 100% Canadian-grown wines will now be hit with the excise tax. This is the result of the government's failure to protect the sector and the 2006 excise exemption the Conservatives provided to allow the industry to flourish. To help mitigate uncertainty, the wine industry is asking the federal government to confirm it will not apply the excise tax to wine products bottled before July 1.
Will the NDP-Liberals commit to not taxing 100% Canadian-made wine products produced before July 1?
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