- Member of Parliament
- Caucus Chair
- NDP
- Cowichan—Malahat—Langford
- British Columbia
- Voting Attendance: 66%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $140,733.69
- Government Page
- Dec/14/23 4:10:44 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to ask where the member has been. We have seen all the evidence of corporations making record profits while workers suffer.
Of course inflation is hurting workers. It is hurting workers in my riding. It is hurting workers from coast to coast to coast. However, we know it is corporate profits driving inflation. Oil and gas profits are up by over 1,000% over the last three years, with crickets from Conservatives. Grocery CEOs are making bonuses and driving their companies to record profits, with crickets from the Conservatives.
I will stand in this place and talk about the cost of living, but unlike my Conservative colleagues, I am going to name the Conservatives who are driving inflation and show the workers in my riding who their actual friend is, not just their perceived friend.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague from Elmwood—Transcona for his speech and also for his interventions with other members of this House. We have been studying this issue in depth at the agriculture committee and I have had the chance to question multiple CEOs; notably Galen Weston of Loblaw.
The problem is that we can see the data and everyone talks about small margins in the grocery sector. The fact of the matter is that the margins have actually doubled since the pandemic and the grocery chains are making record profits and they do have gross amounts of executive pay. Mr. Weston's compensation is 431 times the average salary of his employees. We know from unions representing grocery workers that in many cases those workers cannot afford to shop where they work. None of the CEOs could tell me how many of their employees are using food banks to get by.
I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on the fact that through both Liberals and Conservatives we have a policy, over the last 40 years, of too much corporate deference in this country and not enough hard analysis of how we are letting corporations get away with this. Canadians are being asked to shoulder the blame while corporations are continuing to make a lot of money off their backs.
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Madam Speaker, very much related to Bill C-56 is the degree to which corporations are making record profits these days while everyone else seems to be suffering.
We recently had Galen Weston, chairman of Loblaw, appear before the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. His profits continue to rise while everyone else, all Canadian families, especially in my riding, are having to struggle and make do without. We see the same thing in the oil and gas sector. Over the last three years, its profits have gone up by over 1,000%. Mr. Weston thought that his executive compensation, which is 431 times the average salary of one of his workers, is a reasonable amount, and he could not tell the committee how many of his full-time workers have had to access a food bank to get by.
Conservatives do not want to talk about gross corporate profits these days, but I would like to hear from my hon. colleague what the Liberals are going to do to tackle this corporate culture in which corporations are continuing to make profits while everyone else suffers. We have had 40 years of too much corporate deference in this country. What are they going to do to start turning that around to make sure that the pendulum swings back in favour of Canadian families?
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- Nov/2/23 4:06:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Kingston and the Islands for showing some of the hypocritical stances that people who used to sit in legislatures and now sit in the House of Commons have.
One thing I have noticed over the last number of years during this 44th Parliament is that Conservatives love to talk about carbon pricing and its supposed role with respect to inflation, but they will say almost next to nothing about the oversized corporate profits in the oil and gas sector. Last year alone, it was $38 billion. This year it is another record.
Through you, Madam Speaker, given the Conservatives' love for oil and gas corporations, does the member think that it is time for them to register as official lobbyists for that industry?
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Madam Speaker, if the member for Winnipeg North wants to see the bill proceed faster, maybe the government should not schedule it for Friday sittings. That is just my opinion.
There is an offence and punishment section in Bill C-42. It lists that corporations found guilty of an offence can be liable for a fine not exceeding $5,000. The punishment for individuals can be as high as $200,000. Of course, the whole purpose of this bill is to uncover individuals who may be using corporate entities to hide themselves.
That being said, does the hon. member think $5,000 is a sufficient deterrent to prevent corporations from doing this, or would he see value in maybe increasing it to make it commensurate with the offence of the transgression?
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- Apr/28/23 10:27:51 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague very clearly outlined the problems and what more needs to be done, especially by Canada and the international community, about the sheer amount of wealth we lose out on every year to tax evasion and dirty money funnelling through the system.
One of the parts in the bill to ensure compliance is a $5,000 penalty for corporations and up to $200,000 for individuals. I respect the fact that the legislation is trying to uncover the identity of the individual, but what does the member think about the paltry $5,000 fine for corporations? We know there are lots of avenues open to people to hide their wealth in corporate structures. Does he think that this particular financial penalty may need to be looked at and perhaps stiffened to ensure better compliance with the legislation?
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Madam Speaker, I was listening to my colleague's speech, and throughout it she talked about inflation. There was no mention of the fact that corporations in Canada avoided paying $31 billion in tax last year. There was no mention of the obscene profits that the oil and gas companies, Loblaws or the big grocers are making. When it comes to talking about inflation, the Conservatives will never, ever, with all their might, talk about obscene corporate profits. It is like their kryptonite.
In the United Kingdom the Conservative government not only has a windfall profit tax on oil and gas companies but also raised it to 35%. It realized those companies were making too much money and it was time to level the playing field for the British people. Through you, Madam Speaker, why is it that the United Kingdom Conservatives have the courage that Canada's Conservatives are so obviously lacking?
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Madam Speaker, I did appreciate how the member for Montcalm made mention about corporate profits, especially in oil and gas. If we are going to talk about inflationary costs related to fuel and completely ignore the windfall profits that oil and gas companies are making off the backs of working families right now, we are doing a very real disservice.
Today, a report came out from Canadians for Tax Fairness. It reported that Canadian corporations paid $30 billion less than would be expected under the current corporate tax rates, so there is a very real problem here.
I wonder if the member for Montcalm can inform the House as to why both the official opposition and the governing Liberals seem to avoid talking about this serious issue in any real and meaningful way.
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- Sep/29/22 1:35:11 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, last November, the member's riding was devastated by an atmospheric river, which resulted in billions of dollars of damage right across B.C. I am just wondering when Conservatives will start talking about the inflationary effects of climate change.
Secondly, if the member is going to talk about the rising cost of food and fuel, but completely neglect the profiteering of large corporations and the profits they are making off the backs of working families, then that is some extreme cognitive dissonance. Will that member stand up for his constituents and join with the NDP to call out corporate profiteering to make sure that we are actually helping families?
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