- Member of Parliament
- Minister of Justice
Attorney General of Canada
- Liberal
- Parkdale—High Park
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 64%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $120,537.19
- Government Page
- Jun/9/23 11:54:54 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from the Bloc Québécois member because it underscores the importance of small businesses here in Canada.
We have always been there to help and support SMEs. We lowered taxes from 11% to 9%. The opposition voted against that measure.
We were there to provide support during the pandemic with the loans the member across the way mentioned.
What we just did with the budget is lower credit card transaction fees for SMEs. Again, the opposition voted against that.
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- Jun/8/23 3:02:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what I appreciated about the question from the member opposite is that he is concerned about the welfare of Canadians. On that, we share commonality.
However, we would link the welfare of Canadians to the small businesses that really run our economy. Each time we on this side of the House have put forward policies, proposals or directives that would assist those small businesses, the party opposite has voted against them, whether it was lowering taxes for small businesses or whether it is CEBA supports and rent subsidies that we put in place to assist our small businesses.
Now, before this very chamber, we have support in place that would reduce credit card fees for small businesses from 27% to much lower than what they are right now, and that is being opposed by the party opposite.
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- Mar/27/23 2:47:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that question allows us to outline the important initiatives we have taken over these last seven and a half years. We have put in place measures that help alleviate the burdens that are on small business owners in this country. On two occasions, we have lowered taxes for small businesses, the same entities that member is advocating for, and on both of those occasions he and every member of his party voted against those measures.
What we also did at the height of the COVID pandemic was implement a series of measures targeted at wage supports and loan supports for those very same small businesses. Surely, that is something we could have all gotten behind, yet again, the voting record of the party opposite speaks for itself.
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- Dec/9/22 11:30:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her genuine advocacy on behalf of small businesses.
One thing that people learned in her part of the country and right around the country is that ensuring businesses adapt to online commerce is critical to not just their survival but their success going forward. That is why we launched a $4-billion Canada digital adoption program. That is why we are investing in ensuring that small and medium-sized businesses can do commerce online. That is a way of securing their future. That is what we will continue to invest in on this side of the House, ensuring the monies reach those businesses.
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- Nov/16/22 7:09:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, let me outline some of the measures that we are taking to address supports for restaurants and the tourism industry and in terms of addressing the inflation that is affecting all Canadians, including people outside Canada. It is, indeed, a global phenomenon.
We know that Canadians and Canadian businesses, along with those in countries around the world, are dealing with inflationary pressures and increasing interest rates. Things like high oil prices and global supply chain disruptions are leading to a scarcity of goods and to rising prices. Those are a serious concern for the member who raised this question, and they are a serious concern for the government.
We also understand the important role that restaurants play in communities from coast to coast to coast. In fact, we were there to support them through the pandemic and provided direct support to the hospitality and tourism industry. During the past two and a half years, our government introduced financial support for employees' wages, subsidies for rent, and loans to provide liquidity relief to ensure businesses' survival through the recovery period.
We took those actions because small businesses are indeed the heart of Canadian communities and the engine of Canada's economy. This was highlighted by the member for Spadina—Fort York. Small businesses contribute 55% of Canada's GDP and employ 10.8 million Canadians across the country. That is an astounding number, and that is why they deserve our support.
What budget 2022 outlined was a range of incentives to help small businesses remain strong through the economic uncertainty that was highlighted by the member who raised this question. We have cut the small business tax rate from 11% to 9%, which is essential to support businesses coming out of the pandemic. We are working to deliver lower credit card fees to reduce this burden on small businesses. We have stated quite clearly in the fall economic statement that if a negotiated solution is not reached, we will table legislation to regulate that sector and regulate those fees. We have also enhanced the small business financing program by increasing annual financing to small businesses by an estimated annual $560 million, helping businesses and their owners access liquidity for start-up costs and intangible assets.
Tourism is very vibrant in the riding of Spadina—Fort York. I know this quite well as the member for the riding just adjacent to Spadina—Fort York. We know that virtually all tourism businesses are small businesses themselves, and those tourism businesses employ two million people across this country. Hospitality and tourism is an inclusive industry that provides jobs and opportunities to newcomers, women, youth and indigenous people. These are specific groups that have experienced some of the worst impacts of the global pandemic.
We have been supporting these businesses in their efforts to strive for even greater inclusivity, with things like the women entrepreneurship program, the Black entrepreneurship program, and targeted supports for indigenous businesses. Returning to budget 2022, we outlined a proposal for $20 million over two years to support a new indigenous tourism fund to help indigenous tourism recover from the pandemic and position itself for long-term sustainable growth.
We also announced a commitment to develop a new federal tourism growth strategy focused on recovery and civility and growth in the long term. To further spur the recovery, jobs and growth of small businesses, we have launched the Canada digital adoption program. CDAP is a $4-billion program that will help restaurants grow their online presence and boost online ordering. These are targeted supports to help the small businesses that the member for Spadina—Fort York is outlining.
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- Nov/16/22 2:41:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what we are hearing about over and over again from small and medium-sized businesses is the issue of supply chains, which the member opposite mentioned. The Minister of Finance announced how we plan to address that in the fall economic statement. As she said, we will support our small and medium-sized businesses.
We will, for example, use an investment tax credit for clean technologies. We will also ensure that there are new sustainable jobs under the union training and innovation program.
The last part is critical to enterprises. What we are doing, by getting tough on share buybacks, is ensuring that people are supporting their employees and not their board of directors.
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- Nov/16/22 2:40:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question. What we have heard from business groups in Canada, including the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, is that we have to support our small and medium-sized businesses.
In the fall economic statement, we announced plans to work on the credit card system to support small and medium-sized businesses by lowering credit card transaction fees charged by big institutions and big banks.
If we cannot negotiate a solution to this situation, we will introduce legislation. That is how we are supporting small and medium-sized businesses here in Canada.
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- Oct/18/22 3:02:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I welcome that question from the member opposite.
First of all, in terms of making Canadian businesses competitive, we are aggressively pursuing trade agreements around the planet to diversify our supply chains. Second, what we are doing with respect to small businesses is empowering inclusive trade, which means supporting women entrepreneurs with a $6-billion program. It means empowering Black entrepreneurs with a $200-million program. It means supporting indigenous people on this land so they can reach their economic potential. We will continue that work because we know that what is best for inclusive businesses is best for Canada.
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- Oct/7/22 11:36:28 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, that question is critically important because we know small businesses are drivers of the economy. What we have been doing consistently on this side of the House for the past three years is proposing measures that support our small business entrepreneurs, help keep their employees well paid and remunerated, and help them keep the lights on.
In particular, what we have done most recently is the Canada digital adoption program. We know that the entrepreneurs of the future are moving more and more consistently online. That is why we are providing a $4-billion program to help them do it.
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- Oct/6/22 2:37:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for this important question about the small business entrepreneurs that are at the heart of the Canadian economy. What we have been doing in the past three years is supporting small business entrepreneurs through the pandemic, with targeted support for wage subsidies and access to finance to support them and their employees.
What we are doing since the pandemic is targeting entrepreneurs that will promote inclusive recovery. That means women entrepreneurs. That means Black entrepreneurs. That means indigenous entrepreneurs. What we are doing is understanding that small businesses will carry us through and out of this pandemic, and that is where our priority lies.
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- Oct/3/22 2:46:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her persistence on this issue about supporting small businesses.
We share that persistent prioritization. What we have been doing for the past two and a half years is supporting small businesses through the pandemic with targeted wage supports and supports for rent. What we have been doing since the pandemic is launching a women's entrepreneurship strategy and a Black entrepreneurship strategy, and we are empowering indigenous businesses. We know the power of small businesses will be unleashed through inclusive growth, and that is what we are prioritizing.
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- Sep/20/22 3:07:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me outline what we have done for small businesses during the past two and a half years. We have supported small businesses throughout a pandemic. What we have also done, a matter that I am sure the member opposite is very concerned about, is support small businesses in their inclusivity with the women's entrepreneurship program. We have launched a Black entrepreneurship program. We are supporting indigenous businesses.
The Conservative record on supporting small businesses leaves a little to be desired. When we have proposed rebates for small businesses, the Conservatives have opposed them in their voting record. When small businesses in the city were under siege by an illegal blockade, the man who is now the Leader of the Opposition supported that blockade and the impediments it caused to small businesses. That is the Conservative record.
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- Jun/13/22 2:57:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for the question. I would just point out to her that what we are doing and what we have done throughout the pandemic, and afterward as we exit this pandemic, is supporting Canadian small businesses.
We have recovered over 115% of the jobs lost prior to the pandemic, which is point number one. Point number two is that budget 2022, which I am sure the member opposite has perused carefully, actually shows significant supports for small businesses, such as the phase-out of the small business tax rate, $15 billion invested in the Canada growth fund to scale up and $97 million to secure Canadian IP.
We will continue to work hard for Canadian small businesses because we know that they are the backbone of our economy.
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