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 is also for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

During the 2019 federal election campaign, the Prime Minister promised to eliminate the swipe fee on HST and GST for credit card transactions claiming this would save small businesses nearly $500 million annually. Following the NDP-Liberal budget last month, Dan Kelly of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business stated:

Despite an election promise in 2019 and a budget commitment in 2021, no progress has been made in reducing credit card fees for small business other than yet another round of consultation.

So, leader, why didn’t the NDP-Liberal government keep this promise to our local businesses? Why are you choosing more consultations instead of honouring the commitment you made to eliminate their credit card fees?