Finance committee  —when so many people lost their jobs—

Finance committee  —and many people maybe even lost their small business.

Finance committee  For the government to raise the carbon tax—

Finance committee  The government should not have raised carbon taxes and payroll taxes. If all that drives you to drink, the government is also taking more money from you every time you go get that bottle of Pinot to enjoy with your—

Finance committee  What I'm so concerned about are so many Canadians who, in the private sector, just took it on the chin for two-plus years while the people who are supposed to be their representatives gave themselves pay raise after pay raise after pay raise, and not just that; they raised the carbon tax, raised payroll taxes and raised alcohol taxes.

Finance committee  I'm glad you brought up—

Finance committee  We represent 235,000 Canadian taxpayers who support our mission to fight for lower taxes, less waste and more government accountability.

Finance committee  In a recent poll, 72% of Canadians said that they pay too much tax. If we want to encourage work, we need to stop punishing work. What we have seen is that, at the worst possible time, the government raised payroll taxes. If you're making $65,000 this year, then the government is taking nearly $4,500 directly from you through your CPP and EI tax.

Finance committee  You’re going to hear from hundreds of individuals and groups asking for more money. My name is Franco Terrazzano. I’m with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, and I'm here on behalf of 235,000 Canadian taxpayers asking you to spend less. I'm here today to say no more spending $8,800 on a sex toy show in Germany.

Finance committee  I think it's very important. We have to remember that even before the pandemic, in 2018 and 2019, the federal government was spending at all-time highs—and that's accounting for inflation and population growth. We're seeing a ton of wasteful spending. We saw the federal government blow $8,800 on a sex toy show in Germany and hundreds of millions of dollars for the Ford motor company.

Finance committee  The Parliamentary Budget Officer has done a partial analysis, and it could cost $756 million, but that's just a partial cost. That's only to reimburse gun owners. We have seen an analysis done by a professor at Simon Fraser University who says that the biggest cost hasn't even been factored in, and that's administration and staffing, which could add billions of dollars to the price tag.

Finance committee  That's correct. We have a plan to phase out equalization over 20 years. Next year, some provinces would still get $19 billion. One of the key concerns.... I'm from Calgary. That's where I have lived over the last few years. It's just so unfair. I mean, really, how many more Albertans need to lose their jobs before Ottawa understands that a $650 bill per person for Albertans is just too much through equalization?

Finance committee  I have not seen that specific proposal, but we do hear from a many farmers and businesses that the additional taxes—carbon taxes, fuel taxes—are really a pain. We've put out an analysis that shows, depending on the province, that between 31% to 42% of the pump price comes through taxes.

Finance committee  You know, I've heard that thrown around sometimes, but it's really magic math to think that the government is going to hammer us with a tax and then somehow make people better off. The truth of the matter is that the carbon tax is causing a ton of pain, and so are booze taxes and payroll taxes which continue to go up.

Finance committee  Absolutely. We have to remember—and this is what I also noted in the full budget submission—that you could balance the federal budget in 2023-24 simply by going back to prepandemic spending of a few years ago, which was already at an all-time high. In 2018-19, you had the federal government spending more than it ever has—with no Canada-wide recession— than it did during any single year during World War II.