Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question for the government leader concerns the escalating cost of living for Canadians. Yesterday’s Consumer Price Index numbers clearly show that the price for food has risen at the fastest pace in the last four decades. Conservatives have spent the last 24 months warning the government about inflation and the consequences of out‑of‑control spending. Yet the Prime Minister continues to spend and costs continue to rise. Now Canadians face a 10.8% increase in the cost to feed their families. Leader, when will the government finally realize they were wrong all along and cap government spending?

Senator Martin: Leader, as I have raised with you before, this is a significant discrepancy between what your government says this program will cost versus the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s estimate. The PBO’s cost estimate was $5.94 billion: That is almost twice the amount the government put forward in 2019 of $3.16 billion. Yesterday’s program update from Minister Wilkinson used the figure $3.2 billion.

Leader, has your government revised its cost estimate for this program? If so, what is it?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, during the 2019 federal election campaign, the Trudeau Liberals made several different commitments to our small businesses that have not been fulfilled. As I have raised previously, it appears the Trudeau government is breaking its promise to cut the cost of federal incorporation by 75%. As well, the promise to end credit card swipe fees on GST and HST is being buried in endless consultations.

Leader, in 2019, your government also promised to eliminate fees for business advisory services such as mentorship and training from the Business Development Bank, Export Development Canada and Farm Credit Canada.

Leader, could you tell us if these fees have been eliminated and, if not, why not?

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question for the Leader of the Government in the Senate also regards Bill C-13. Last week, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, or PBO, released a report which looks into the financial cost of Bill C-13. This analysis was conducted at the request of the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages. The PBO report states that three departments — Canadian Heritage, Treasury Board and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — all wrongfully refused to disclose how they will allocate $16 million set aside in the Economic and Fiscal Update 2021 for the initial implementation costs of Bill C-13.

Leader, as Senator Plett just pointed out, the NDP-Liberal government is limiting debate on this bill in the House committee and you’re also refusing to disclose information on Bill C-13 to the PBO. Could you tell us why?

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?