Bill C-45 (Historical)

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012

A second Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 29, 2012 and other measures

Part 1 implements certain income tax measures and related measures proposed in the March 29, 2012 budget. Most notably, it
(a) amends the rules relating to Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSPs) by
(i) replacing the 10-year repayment rule applying to withdrawals with a proportional repayment rule,
(ii) allowing investment income earned in a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) to be transferred on a tax-free basis to the RESP beneficiary’s RDSP,
(iii) extending the period that RDSPs of beneficiaries who cease to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit may remain open in certain circumstances,
(iv) amending the rules relating to maximum and minimum withdrawals, and
(v) amending certain RDSP administrative rules;
(b) includes an employer’s contributions to a group sickness or accident insurance plan in an employee’s income in certain circumstances;
(c) amends the rules applicable to retirement compensation arrangements;
(d) amends the rules applicable to Employees Profit Sharing Plans;
(e) expands the eligibility for the accelerated capital cost allowance for clean energy generation equipment to include a broader range of bioenergy equipment;
(f) phases out the Corporate Mineral Exploration and Development Tax Credit;
(g) phases out the Atlantic Investment Tax Credit for activities related to the oil and gas and mining sectors;
(h) provides that qualified property for the purposes of the Atlantic Investment Tax Credit will include certain electricity generation equipment and clean energy generation equipment used primarily in an eligible activity;
(i) amends the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) investment tax credit by
(i) reducing the general SR&ED investment tax credit rate from 20% to 15%,
(ii) reducing the prescribed proxy amount, which taxpayers use to claim SR&ED overhead expenditures, from 65% to 55% of the salaries and wages of employees who are engaged in SR&ED activities,
(iii) removing the profit element from arm’s length third-party contracts for the purpose of the calculation of SR&ED tax credits, and
(iv) removing capital from the base of eligible expenditures for the purpose of the calculation of SR&ED tax incentives;
(j) introduces rules to prevent the avoidance of corporate income tax through the use of partnerships to convert income gains into capital gains;
(k) clarifies that transfer pricing secondary adjustments are treated as dividends for the purposes of withholding tax imposed under Part XIII of the Income Tax Act;
(l) amends the thin capitalization rules by
(i) reducing the debt-to-equity ratio from 2:1 to 1.5:1,
(ii) extending the scope of the thin capitalization rules to debts of partnerships of which a Canadian-resident corporation is a member,
(iii) treating disallowed interest expense under the thin capitalization rules as dividends for the purposes of withholding tax imposed under Part XIII of the Income Tax Act, and
(iv) preventing double taxation in certain circumstances when a Canadian resident corporation borrows money from its controlled foreign affiliate;
(m) imposes, in certain circumstances, withholding tax under Part XIII of the Income Tax Act when a foreign-based multinational corporation transfers a foreign affiliate to its Canadian subsidiary, while preserving the ability of the Canadian subsidiary to undertake expansion of its Canadian business; and
(n) phases out the Overseas Employment Tax Credit.
Part 1 also implements other selected income tax measures. Most notably, it introduces tax rules to accommodate Pooled Registered Pension Plans and provides that income received from a retirement compensation arrangement is eligible for pension income splitting in certain circumstances.
Part 2 amends the Excise Tax Act and the Jobs and Economic Growth Act to implement rules applicable to the financial services sector in respect of the goods and services tax and harmonized sales tax (GST/HST). They include rules that allow certain financial institutions to obtain pre-approval from the Minister of National Revenue of methods used to determine their liability in respect of the provincial component of the HST, that require certain financial institutions to have fiscal years that are calendar years, that require group registration of financial institutions in certain cases and that provide for changes to a rebate of the provincial component of the HST to certain financial institutions that render services to clients that are outside the HST provinces. This Part also confirms the authority under which certain GST/HST regulations relating to financial institutions are made.
Part 3 amends the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act to provide the legislative authority to share with provinces and territories taxes in respect of specified investment flow-through (SIFT) entities — trusts or partnerships — under section 122.1 and Part IX.1 of the Income Tax Act, consistent with the federal government’s proposal on the introduction of those taxes. It also provides the legislative authority to share with provinces and territories the tax on excess EPSP amounts imposed under Part XI.4 of the Income Tax Act, consistent with the measures proposed in the March 29, 2012 budget. It also allows the Minister of Finance to request from the Minister of National Revenue information that is necessary for the administration of the sharing of taxes with the provinces and territories.
Part 4 enacts and amends several Acts in order to implement various measures.
Division 1 of Part 4 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act, the Bank Act, the Insurance Companies Act and the Jobs and Economic Growth Act as a result of amendments introduced in the Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act to allow certain public sector investment pools to directly invest in a federally regulated financial institution.
Division 2 of Part 4 amends the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 to permit the incorporation by reference into regulations of all Canadian modifications to an international convention or industry standard that are also incorporated by reference into the regulations, by means of a mechanism similar to that used by many other maritime nations. It also provides for third parties acting on the Minister of Transport’s behalf to set fees for certain services that they provide in accordance with an agreement with that Minister.
Division 3 of Part 4 amends the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act to, among other things, provide for a limited, automatic stay in respect of certain eligible financial contracts when a bridge institution is established. It also amends the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act to facilitate central clearing of standardized over-the-counter derivatives.
Division 4 of Part 4 amends the Fisheries Act to amend the prohibition against obstructing the passage of fish and to provide that certain amounts are to be paid into the Environmental Damages Fund. It also amends the Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act to amend the definition of Aboriginal fishery and another prohibition relating to the passage of fish. Finally, it provides transitional provisions relating to authorizations issued under the Fisheries Act before certain amendments to that Act come into force.
Division 5 of Part 4 enacts the Bridge To Strengthen Trade Act, which excludes the application of certain Acts to the construction of a bridge that spans the Detroit River and other works and to their initial operator. That Act also establishes ancillary measures. It also amends the International Bridges and Tunnels Act.
Division 6 of Part 4 amends Schedule I to the Bretton Woods and Related Agreements Act to reflect changes made to the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund as a result of the 2010 Quota and Governance Reforms. The amendments pertain to the rules and regulations of the Fund’s Executive Board and complete the updating of that Act to reflect those reforms.
Division 7 of Part 4 amends the Canada Pension Plan to implement the results of the 2010-12 triennial review, most notably, to clarify that contributions for certain benefits must be made during the contributory period, to clarify how certain deductions are to be determined for the purpose of calculating average monthly pensionable earnings, to determine the minimum qualifying period for certain late applicants for a disability pension and to enhance the authority of the Review Tribunal and the Pension Appeals Board. It also amends the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act to enhance the authority of the Social Security Tribunal.
Division 8 of Part 4 amends the Indian Act to modify the voting and approval procedures in relation to proposed land designations.
Division 9 of Part 4 amends the Judges Act to implement the Government of Canada’s response to the report of the fourth Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission regarding salary and benefits for federally appointed judges. It also amends that Act to shorten the period in which the Government of Canada must respond to a report of the Commission.
Division 10 of Part 4 amends the Canada Labour Code to
(a) simplify the calculation of holiday pay;
(b) set out the timelines for making certain complaints under Part III of that Act and the circumstances in which an inspector may suspend or reject such complaints;
(c) set limits on the period that may be covered by payment orders; and
(d) provide for a review mechanism for payment orders and notices of unfounded complaint.
Division 11 of Part 4 amends the Merchant Seamen Compensation Act to transfer the powers and duties of the Merchant Seamen Compensation Board to the Minister of Labour and to repeal provisions that are related to the Board. It also makes consequential amendments to other Acts.
Division 12 of Part 4 amends the Customs Act to strengthen and streamline procedures related to arrivals in Canada, to clarify the obligations of owners or operators of international transport installations to maintain port of entry facilities and to allow the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to require prescribed information about any person who is or is expected to be on board a conveyance.
Division 13 of Part 4 amends the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act to transfer the powers and functions of the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission to the Minister of Health and to repeal provisions of that Act that are related to the Commission. It also makes consequential amendments to other Acts.
Division 14 of Part 4 amends the Agreement on Internal Trade Implementation Act to reflect changes made to Chapter 17 of the Agreement on Internal Trade. It provides primarily for the enforceability of orders to pay tariff costs and monetary penalties made under Chapter 17. It also repeals subsection 28(3) of the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act.
Division 15 of Part 4 amends the Employment Insurance Act to provide a temporary measure to refund a portion of employer premiums for small businesses. An employer whose premiums were $10,000 or less in 2011 will be refunded the increase in 2012 premiums over those paid in 2011, to a maximum of $1,000.
Division 16 of Part 4 amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to provide for an electronic travel authorization and to provide that the User Fees Act does not apply to a fee for the provision of services in relation to an application for an electronic travel authorization.
Division 17 of Part 4 amends the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Act to remove the age limit for persons from outside the federal public administration being appointed or continuing as President or as a director of the Corporation.
Division 18 of Part 4 amends the Navigable Waters Protection Act to limit that Act’s application to works in certain navigable waters that are set out in its schedule. It also amends that Act so that it can be deemed to apply to certain works in other navigable waters, with the approval of the Minister of Transport. In particular, it amends that Act to provide for an assessment process for certain works and to provide that works that are assessed as likely to substantially interfere with navigation require the Minister’s approval. It also amends that Act to provide for administrative monetary penalties and additional offences. Finally, it makes consequential and related amendments to other Acts.
Division 19 of Part 4 amends the Canada Grain Act to
(a) combine terminal elevators and transfer elevators into a single class of elevators called terminal elevators;
(b) replace the requirement that the operator of a licensed terminal elevator receiving grain cause that grain to be officially weighed and officially inspected by a requirement that the operator either weigh and inspect that grain or cause that grain to be weighed and inspected by a third party;
(c) provide for recourse if an operator does not weigh or inspect the grain, or cause it to be weighed or inspected;
(d) repeal the grain appeal tribunals;
(e) repeal the requirement for weigh-overs; and
(f) provide the Canadian Grain Commission with the power to make regulations or orders with respect to weighing and inspecting grain and the security that is to be obtained and maintained by licensees.
It also amends An Act to amend the Canada Grain Act and the Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Act and to Repeal the Grain Futures Act as well as other Acts, and includes transitional provisions.
Division 20 of Part 4 amends the International Interests in Mobile Equipment (aircraft equipment) Act and other Acts to modify the manner in which certain international obligations are implemented.
Division 21 of Part 4 makes technical amendments to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 and amends one of its transitional provisions to make that Act applicable to designated projects, as defined in that Act, for which an environmental assessment would have been required under the former Act.
Division 22 of Part 4 provides for the temporary suspension of the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board Act and the dissolution of the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board. Consequently, it enacts an interim Employment Insurance premium rate-setting regime under the Employment Insurance Act and makes amendments to the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board Act, the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act, the Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act and Schedule III to the Financial Administration Act.
Division 23 of Part 4 amends the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, the Public Service Superannuation Act and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act and makes consequential amendments to other Acts.
The Canadian Forces Superannuation Act is amended to change the limitations that apply in respect of the contribution rates at which contributors are required to pay as a result of amendments to the Public Service Superannuation Act.
The Public Service Superannuation Act is amended to provide that contributors pay no more than 50% of the current service cost of the pension plan. In addition, the pensionable age is raised from 60 to 65 in relation to persons who become contributors on or after January 1, 2013.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act is amended to change the limitations that apply in respect of the contribution rates at which contributors are required to pay as a result of amendments to the Public Service Superannuation Act.
Division 24 of Part 4 amends the Canada Revenue Agency Act to make section 112 of the Public Service Labour Relations Act applicable to the Canada Revenue Agency. That section makes entering into a collective agreement subject to the Governor in Council’s approval. The Division also amends the Canada Revenue Agency Act to require that the Agency have its negotiating mandate approved by the President of the Treasury Board and to require that it consult the President of the Treasury Board before determining certain other terms and conditions of employment for its employees.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege today to rise and speak to Bill C-45, a second act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 29, 2012 and other measures. I want to start by talking about process, roles and responsibilities.

When I was elected as a member of Parliament to represent my constituents in these hallowed halls of our parliamentary democracy, I came here with the understanding that I had a key role to play in budgetary oversight, holding the government accountable for the decisions it makes in spending the hard-earned money of Canadians, and paying a great deal of attention and due diligence when it comes to fiduciary matters. However, last spring, I was prevented from doing that by the Trojan horse omnibus bill, a bill so thick and dense it is bigger than many telephone directories across this beautiful country.

During this process, the feedback from Canadians was that this was not parliamentary democracy and not acceptable. I heard from hundreds of my constituents and other Canadians who were a little shocked by a government burying so much and making such drastic changes in an omnibus bill, though when it was a government in waiting, it was always talking about transparency and accountability.

One would have thought that after having buried the deletion of immigration files, the gutting of environmental protections and many other areas that were in the previous bill, including changing the age for old age security, the Conservatives would have learned a lesson and decided to do things differently. However, it was a case of oh, no, when we came back this fall to face Bill C-45, the second budget implementation act, still the size of a phone book.

Once again, as an elected parliamentarian representing the beautiful riding of Newton—North Delta, a riding that is struggling with many issues that need to be addressed right now, I am faced with a piece of legislation that purports to be a budget implementation bill, but actually includes many new items.

I was in the House when the Minister of Finance told my colleagues to go and do their homework, that we had the budget and there was nothing new in it. However, it only took until the next morning for the media to pick up on all the new stuff that was in the budget. What became evident was that the minister himself had not done his homework and was not aware of what was in his own budget or was trying to fool Canadians by burying things in the budget and pretending they were not there.

One of those is the changes to our environmental protections such as the Navigable Waters Protection Act. People keep saying that it is not about water. However, as I keep asking: What do boats and ships travel on if not water? What are we thinking about navigating? It is not roads but waterways. Therefore, I do not see why there is that separation. Once again, here we are as parliamentarians being denied the right to exercise our fundamental responsibility and scrutinize and debate a budget.

I have heard colleague after colleague stand in the House to urge the government and the members across the aisle to just give us unanimous consent so that we can take portions of this budget to the appropriate committees—and there are not 45 of them—where these can be given due diligence and we can examine and amend these portions of the bill and engage Canadians in some of the discussions.

Once again, unanimous consent has not been given. My colleague from Halifax tried again today, and I was quite moved by her plea for the other side to be reasonable. However, the Conservatives were not reasonable.

One of the key points I keep hearing of this budget is that it is about job creation. However, the independent Parliamentary Budget Officer says that this budget implementation bill would actually cost over 43,000 Canadian jobs. Here we have an independent Parliamentary Budget Officer saying that, yet I hear colleague after colleague across the aisle keep talking about how this is going to be such a great boon to job growth. We know that is not so.

I am getting a little tired of all the breaks in this budget for small businesses. In my own background my family has been engaged in running small businesses and in my community the engine of our economy is our small family-owned businesses.

What great measure do we have built into this budget? What I am saying is that it does not go far enough. We need to support our small- and medium-size businesses by giving them the breaks, not the wealthy corporations that take the jobs and money out of the country. However, once again the government fails small- and medium-size businesses in this budget. All it has done in this budget is to provide them with a maximum of $1,000 in credits on new EI employer payments. That is it. To add insult to injury, that is only available to employers in the 2012 tax year.

By the time Bill C-45 passes through all stages, this tax credit will actually have expired. I say this even though the government has moved a time allocation motion so that the bill will pass through all of the stages at lightning speed, because the government has majority that it is determined to abuse.

The small- and medium-size businesses I talk to my riding need a lot more attention than this. They are very worried about where the government is taking us.

I am not going to spend too much time talking about environmental issues, because my colleague does such an excellent job on that at committee. She has raised those concerns ad nauseam.

Like other MPs, I get amazing emails from my riding. My colleague from Halifax read some of those into the record today. This morning I was responding to emails from my riding opposing the Enbridge pipeline and the gutting of environmental protections, and also about the lack of support for our young people to go out and get jobs.

I am getting so frustrated and tired of the constantly put idea that we are growing jobs, when I know it is the temporary foreign worker category that has increased by 200%. I want to see a real job-growth strategy by the government, instead of words, words and more useless words.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, in last summer's omnibus bill the government actually deleted the applications of workers who had been waiting in a backlog for many years. In this particular bill, there is another change with respect to immigration, wherein people wanting to visit Canada will have to go through a different process. It is an attempt to establish some source of revenue or something of that nature within this particular bill.

I wonder if the member might comment on these two issues in the two separate budget bills that should ultimately have been brought forward in another form to enable us to deal with them in the immigration committee and possibly here on the floor of the House, as opposed to their being bundled and pushed through in a budget bill. I say this because these are fact very important issues in their own right and should have extra consideration.

Does she not agree?

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of serving with my colleague from Winnipeg North on the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, where we have shared our frustrations.

The member may not know this, but yesterday I sought the unanimous consent of the House to take the portion of this budget dealing with immigration and send it to the committee, where we could give it proper oversight and ensure that we not make our immigration policy on the back of a napkin.

It seems to me that we are sending the following message to people around the world that when one plays by the rules and is waiting in line to get into our country, we can arbitrarily pick a date and delete all of the applicants' files. That is not a message that I and the many Canadians I talk to want to send.

I am also saying that we have to look at the huge increase in temporary foreign workers and ensure that we do not go down the same path that led to the mistakes we made in the past. Let us hope that this does not lead to other apologies that we may have to make in the future.

[Pierre-Luc Dusseault, NDP, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question for my colleague is along the same lines as what was said earlier.

Several elements of this bill have nothing to do with the budget, nor are they necessarily connected in any way. I will go back to what one of my colleagues said. The chair of the Standing Committee on Finance asked a Liberal member if he agreed with a specific measure. Since we agree with some parts and disagree with others, should the bill not be split? We should have an opportunity to vote on specific elements of the bill instead of voting on a huge bill that lumps together many different parts. Omnibus bills prevent MPs from doing their job.

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, recently, we have heard a lot from the other side of the House about our voting against this and that and the other thing. However, the Conservatives open up the prospect of such voting because they put so many things in a budget bill that are unpalatable to Canadians, and then insist on holding only one vote.

Here we are again. They wanted us to vote on raising the OAS recipients' age from 65 to 67. They put that into the same budget bill in which they put immigration changes and the gutting of the environmental act.

Let us have transparency. Let us see where each of the parliamentarians stands. Let us split up this budget and vote on these items separately so we can truly hold all MPs accountable.

[Daryl Kramp, Conservative, Prince Edward—Hastings, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am tremendously pleased to stand today and speak to Bill C-45, the second budget implementation bill, the jobs and growth act of 2012. I have heard the opposition say on many occasions that Bill C-45 is a large bill. Yes, it is, and necessarily so. One might ask why. It is because it is the comprehensive bill required for these economic times. It is comprised of hundreds of pages of technical amendments, as well as concrete policy that reflects, considers and demands our immediate attention.

Through extensive consultations with stakeholders, sector leaders, academics and everyday Canadians, we see a better way to keep our country economically robust, going forward. Bill C-45 is representative of broad-based opinion across this country. As such, our Conservative government was given a strong mandate in the last election to stay focused on what matters: creating jobs and growing the economy.

A strong economy is not just something that affects a few. It ultimately means more money in Canadians' pockets for their groceries, rent and child care expenses. It means a difference to many families that have been able to tuck away a few bucks in a savings account at the end of the month instead of living paycheque to paycheque or, sadly, in many cases, no paycheque at all. It could also mean a young couple can turn a dream of owning a house into a reality. It means that a small business owner can hire an extra couple of employees or more this year, or a farmer can continue to do what his father and grandfather have done on their land for generations.

What this bill does not do is what the socialist opposition on the other side believes the panacea for all circumstances is: raise taxes. Of the many tax increases the opposition has proposed, and we have heard it many times in the House and it bears repeating, the $21 billion carbon tax would decimate industry, transportation, commerce and negatively affect every citizen in the country. We vehemently disagree with that approach. Raising taxes is not the answer. Raising taxes would be like killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Raising taxes raises costs, decreases productivity, decreases competitiveness and, of course, kills jobs. Raising taxes crushes entrepreneurship and affects both small and large businesses. No one is exempt. It would result in no jobs and no money for groceries, housing, child care or any of the social necessities.

Bill C-45, in contrast, has initiatives that would build a strong economy, support Canadian families and communities, and create jobs. Importantly, it would respect taxpayers' dollars because we know how hard everyone works for every dollar earned. Let me take a moment to go over some of the initiatives that would create jobs and maintain and grow our strong economy.

First, let us talk business. Speaking from personal experience, I can assure everyone that as a small business owner for over 38 years who has employed hundreds of people, both I and our Conservative government understand and recognize that small business plays a tremendous and pivotal role in the economy and in the creation of jobs. Last year, 534,000 employers benefited from the hiring credit for small business. In Bill C-45 that credit of up to $1,000 will be extended for another year, which will encourage more hiring of employees and lower total business payroll taxes by $205 million. We will extend the capital cost allowance, creating an environment for more investment and more jobs.

The opposition criticizes this by saying we are giving money to large and small businesses. That is categorically wrong. Businesses must invest in capital assets, building or equipment, in order to receive that taxable credit. Let me use the example of a company in my riding, one of many. Proctor & Gamble is a large company and has invested significantly in new production lines by expanding facilities and purchasing equipment.

This investment and job creation results, of course, in more profitability for the company, but subsequently more taxes are then received by the various levels of government: federal, provincial and even municipal from the property tax point of view. More personal tax is also received from either added employees and/or the continuation of the good jobs they are paying taxes on now.

In addition, there are all kinds of side benefits from having a strong business community. This company, as an example, and its employees, are generous contributors to local fundraising, whether it is to the United Way or health care initiatives. The spinoff to our communities is absolutely tremendous. That is the genesis of job creation.

Jobs will also be created with many measures that we have introduced to promote interprovincial trade, to improve the legislative framework governing Canada's financial institutions and to facilitate cross-border travelling where the least delay is critical. At the border, time is money. Time spent on delay costs the Canadian economy and it costs us jobs.

We also need to remove bureaucratic obstacles and reduce fees for Canadian grain farmers, and we are doing that with the Canada Grain Act.

We are supporting Canada's commercial aviation sector, where we are leaders in the world. As an example, CAE simulators, a company out of Montreal, just had a new investment at CFB Trenton and other areas. It is taking advantage of our capital acquisition cost of new aircraft. Their training facilities are a huge boon for many areas and certainly for jobs in Canada.

Very important is our government's commitment to helping Canadian families and seniors. Bill C-45 contains measures to improve the registered disability savings plan and implement the tax framework for pooled registered retirement plans.

Initiatives in Bill C-45 also promote clean energy and promote the neutrality of the tax system by expanding tax relief for investment in clean energy generation equipment. This helps to keep Canadian dollars at home, which creates jobs and stimulates local economies.

We respect the Canadian taxpayer. We are moving to ensure that the pension plans of MPs, senators and federal public sector employees are not only sustainable, but financially responsible, fair and consistent with pension plans in the private sector.

We are proud that Canada has achieved the strongest economic performance of the G7, as verified by literally all international bodies, from the World Bank to the International Monetary Fund, and the list goes on.

Over 820,000 net new jobs have been created since 2009. These are numbers that the entire House can and should be proud of, but we know it is not enough as long as there are still too many Canadians looking for work.

On top of that, we have challenges. The global economy remains in a delicate condition, particularly in Europe and in the U.S., where they are encouraging and actually accumulating debts in excess of $1 trillion a year. That is definitely troublesome. Because of issues beyond our control, we must continue to focus on getting Canadians working and providing an economic climate where entrepreneurs and businesses are able to flourish and continue creating jobs.

The bill addresses, recognizes and builds upon our commitment to return to a balanced budget. We must pay down our debt. Debt is our mortgage on the future of our children. Canadians should be able to look ahead and see a bright future for themselves and their children. Our government is committed to working hard to make that a reality.

I would encourage members on all sides of the House. We have our challenges when we have different opinions, viewpoints or perspectives on an issue, but we can all commit to a passion for improving the lives of our citizens and our country. I certainly welcome comments from my colleagues on the other side of the House and I hope we can try to find a way to continue to work together to better society for Canadian citizens.

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest and a measure of incredulity at my colleague's speech. He talked about a strong mandate. I would like to remind my friend across the way that the government is governing with less than 40% of voters. Voters for the government were less than 20% of the eligible voting population. This is not some kind of strong mandate that members have on the other side.

Yet the Conservatives have driven up the deficit in this country to where it is a record level in Canadian history, and here they are talking about debt reduction as though they were some kind of fiscally responsible government, instead of the cowboy capitalists that they are on that side of the House. Let us be honest about it.

I have a number of questions, but page 32 of the 2008 Conservative election platform clearly states that the government intended on a cap and trade program. You should read your program and your platform. My question—

[The Acting Speaker, Barry Devolin]

Order, please.

I would remind the hon. member to direct all of his comments to the Chair and not to his colleagues on the other side of the House. Could he get to the question, please?

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my apologies. I will focus my attention toward you and only you today.

My question to my hon. colleague across the way is this. How can the government table this budget implementation bill when the Parliamentary Budget Officer says it is going to actually reduce jobs in the country, not increase them?

[Daryl Kramp, Conservative, Prince Edward—Hastings, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is very unfortunate that the member opposite does not seem to understand the reality of the electoral system in Canada. I can give him a bit of history on it. How many times in the history of our country has a government achieved a majority with over 50%? It is very seldom. We do not have a two-party system. We have a multi-party system. I was fortunate in my riding, I had over 50%. I had earned the support of enough people in our riding and I was very pleased to do that.

I can also recall that I was with the party at one point when we were reduced to two seats, yet we had 26% of the vote. There is always an imbalance and what is perceived to be an unfairness. However, the reality is that it is the number of seats in the House of Commons and if a party has 50% plus 1%, it has a majority. We have substantially more than that and thank goodness, because we are not held in a situation of complete stagnation and deadlock, in gridlock, as they are in the States. We can actually get something done here.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the member talked about improving the lives of all Canadians and I respect his comments. We have consistently tried to do that here in terms of policy ideas coming from the Liberal Party. The best example I can give of that is the old age supplement. The government is cutting back and now suggesting that people would retire at age 67. At the end of the day, that would put more Canadian citizens into poverty.

When we look at the facts and the facts are very clear, independent sources say there is no crisis and Canada can afford to keep it at age 65.

I wonder if the member could provide his personal take on why or how the government can justify increasing the retirement age from 65 to 67, when the facts speak differently and we could improve the lives of Canadian seniors by allowing them to continue to retire at age 65?

[Daryl Kramp, Conservative, Prince Edward—Hastings, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I can speak from first-hand experience, being a senior.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Daryl Kramp, Conservative, Prince Edward—Hastings, ON]

I know it does not seem possible. I only appear to be 35 years old.

One of the problems we have is that the hon. member across said there is no crisis. That was also mentioned by the leader of the official opposition. A government has a responsibility to prevent a crisis, not to act when there is a crisis. We are thinking ahead. That is what a prudent government does. It plans for the future.

One does not have to be an international economist to recognize that there is a very simple equation here. We have people growing older. We have a growing segment of seniors who will be eligible for pensions. People are living longer who are going to be receiving pensions for a significant amount of time, and there are fewer and fewer people paying into the capacity. It was 10:1 or 12:1, and very shortly, in the near future, 15 to 20 years down the road, it is going to be 4:1. That is not sustainable.

A prudent government thinks ahead, plans ahead and delivers results, not just for now but for later. Would it be a challenge to move to it immediately? Absolutely. I agree with my hon. colleague there. That is why we have given a significant amount of time to be able to work and provide the acclimatization that is necessary.

[Patrick Brown, Conservative, Barrie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to show my support for Bill C-45, Jobs and Growth Act, 2012 and I am pleased to see our government continue to focus so squarely on the economic challenges facing our citizens, our communities and our country. Bill C-45 would implement key measures from the economic action plan 2012, to help grow Canada's economy, fuel job creation and secure Canada's long-term prosperity.

Throughout the year, I had the pleasure of hosting budget consultations in Barrie with a variety of stakeholders. The one common theme throughout has always been a focus on job creation and economic growth as being something fundamentally important to people from all different sectors in my community.

Each stakeholder has provided insightful contributions from the different aspects of our city, but they all shared the same concerns, as do most Canadians: ensuring good jobs are available, keeping taxes low and continuing the sensible investments being made to achieve our common goals of long-term growth and prosperity.

Through the steady leadership of our Prime Minister and our Minister of Finance, we have seen Canada's economy expand in 11 of the last 12 quarters, since mid-2009. We have seen Canada create more than 820,000 net new jobs over the same period, and Canada has had by far the best rate of job creation in the entire G7 since 2006. We have seen Canada maintain its triple A credit rating through the period of economic downturn and uncertainty, and we continue to see Canada with the lowest net debt to GDP ratio and the lowest overall tax rate on new business investment in the G7.

Both the independent International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development forecast that Canada will be at the head of the pack for economic growth in the G7 in the years ahead. I am particularly proud to share with the House what the head of the International Monetary Fund thinks of our government's handling of the economy since the global economic crisis hit in 2008. These comments came out just this week.

The IMF's Christine Lagarde declares that Canada's economy should be a model for the countries trying to fix their own financial systems. Just last week she said that Canada has been a leader in creating policies intended to rein in the buildup of household debt. She went on to say that Canada is identified around the globe by our values of coordination and consensus building, which have given our country what she called “influence beyond its years”.

Ms. Lagarde also applauded the decision of our finance minister to boost down payments on new mortgages for home buyers, as an example of household debt restraint that others should follow. She said:

All of these new reforms comprise the tools so far that will help us shape the future financial system. We must shape the system so it cannot again hold us ransom to the consequences of its failings.

A well-capitalized financial sector and a sound regulatory and supervisory system meant that financial institutions in Canada were better able to weather the 2008 global financial crisis than those in other countries. Indeed, the World Economic Forum has ranked Canada's banking system as the soundest in the world for five straight years. Our government is committed to maintaining this Canadian advantage.

Canada has made significant progress in implementing the G20 financial sector reform agenda and will continue to play a leadership role in promoting sound financial sector regulation internationally. Our government appreciates the IMF recognizing these important achievements.

However, in all this good news, the global economy remains fragile. Canada is not immune to the renewed weakness in the global economy, especially in Europe. In particular, Canada has been affected by the lower commodity prices that are dampening government revenue growth. We need to focus even more on jobs and promoting economic growth and realizing savings within government operations to ensure Canada's economic advantage remains strong into the long term.

At the same time, it is just as important that we continue making key investments in innovation and education to help make sure Canada continues to create good jobs and that Canadians are ready to fill them. We are supporting Canadian universities and researchers with a strengthened emphasis on projects that have a commercial potential.

Economic action plan 2012 took significant steps to encourage entrepreneurship, innovation and world-class research, with over $1.1 billion in significant investments for research and development, $500 million for venture capital, support for increased public and private research collaboration and much more.

Just last month, I was proud to see this have an effect in my own riding of Barrie, Ontario. I was proud to be on hand officially to open the IBM data and research centre in the south end of Barrie. This new data centre is part of a much larger project.

The federal government's $20 million investment was a catalyst for IBM's $213 million initiative to create a southern Ontario smart computing and innovation platform. Our government's investment targeted the creation of 145 full-time positions, high-skilled, high-paying, in three different cities in southern Ontario, including 45 positions at the Barrie site. These are not job transfers; they are new hires.

Our government's investment is also creating a research and development centre within the IBM site that is going to do research on clean energy, environmental systems and neural mapping. It is state-of-the-art research and it is exciting to see what a private and public partnership can do to create jobs in southern Ontario.

I would like to tell the House of another example of this focus on innovation by our government, which I have seen work first-hand in my riding. This summer, in August, I was on hand to see a company transfer its manufacturing from China back to Barrie. This company had outsourced its production of 18 jobs to China and decided to bring them back. This summer it opened up its manufacturing in Barrie again and with a $900,000 repayable loan from FedDev Ontario it was able to repatriate those jobs. This is an important sector. Southmedic is in the medical device sector, and right now this sector is valued at $6.4 billion in Canada. That is just the tip of the iceberg of what Canada is capable of, to see this sector grow.

These are two great examples of the types of partnerships that government is forging. These are the kinds of partnerships that will create a better future for all Canadians and, most important, new jobs.

Another great partnership that the economic action plan pledged to carry on was that of the continued cleanup of Lake Simcoe. In 2008, members may remember that this government made an unprecedented $30 million investment into the cleanup of Lake Simcoe. It was an extremely welcome initiative because Lake Simcoe and Kempenfelt Bay are certainly jewels that we treasure in Simcoe County. Phosphorous levels were at an all-time high, and we needed action to help reverse that trend because high phosphorous levels mean excessive weed growth. In Lake Simcoe it meant reduced marine habitat. We could not have this happen to what really was a jewel in our community.

The health of our lake is paramount to the future of the city of Barrie and all of Simcoe County and the surrounding areas. Tourism is vital to our local economy, and Lake Simcoe is certainly at the heart of the tourism market. I am happy to report that, since that investment of $30 million, phosphorous levels have gone down every year. We are making tremendous strides on the cleanup of Lake Simcoe, to make sure that future generations in Barrie and Simcoe County will have the same pristine lake that we have been able to enjoy over so many decades.

Economic action plan 2012 continues the commitment to cleanup Lake Simcoe. The five-year cleanup fund had expired, but the budget expressed a commitment to renew this fund and to continue the cleanup of Lake Simcoe. That is tremendously appreciated in our community, and I am so glad that our Minister of Finance had the wisdom to recognize that this was a fund and a partnership that was working. The federal dollars, leveraged with funds from the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority and all the municipalities in Simcoe County, have made a profound impact on our local environment.

I am also pleased to see that Bill C-45 would extend the hiring credit for small businesses for another year. The credit of up to $1,000 against EI premiums is a great help to encourage more small businesses. Small businesses are the engine for job creation in Canada and are indispensable in their role as job creators. I see that every day in Barrie. Small businesses are at the heart of our community and it is great to see a budget that would help small businesses.

I realize I am limited in time. I want to commend my colleague, the Minister of Finance, on the jobs and growth act, 2012. The bill builds on terrific work laid out in the economic action plan and it meets the economic challenges facing our country head-on. On behalf of my constituents and the various stakeholders in Barrie, I want to sincerely thank the minister and his team for their hard work on what will be an excellent investment and understanding of the Canadian economy.