Bill C-14 (Historical)

Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020

An Act to implement certain provisions of the economic statement tabled in Parliament on November 30, 2020 and other measures

Part 1 amends the Income Tax Act to provide additional support to families with young children as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic progresses. It also amends the Children’s Special Allowances Act to provide a similar benefit in respect of young children under that Act. As part of the Government’s response to COVID-19, it amends the Income Tax Act to provide that an expense can qualify as a qualifying rent expense for the purposes of the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) when it becomes due rather than when it is paid, provided certain conditions are met.
Part 2 amends the Canada Student Loans Act to provide that, during the period that begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2022, no interest is payable by a borrower on a guaranteed student loan and no amount on account of interest is required to be paid by the borrower.
Part 3 amends the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act to provide that, during the period that begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2022, no interest is payable by a borrower on a student loan and no amount on account of interest is required to be paid by the borrower.
Part 4 amends the Apprentice Loans Act to provide that, during the period that begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2022, no interest is payable by a borrower on an apprentice loan and no amount on account of interest is required to be paid by a borrower.
Part 5 amends the Food and Drugs Act to authorize the Governor in Council to make regulations
(a) requiring persons to provide information to the Minister of Health; and
(b) preventing shortages of therapeutic products in Canada or alleviating those shortages or their effects, in order to protect human health.
It also amends that Act to provide that any prescribed provisions of regulations made under that Act apply to food, drugs, cosmetics and devices intended for export that would otherwise be exempt from the application of that Act.
Part 6 authorizes payments to be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund
(a) to the Government of Canada’s regional development agencies for the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund;
(b) in respect of specified initiatives related to health; and
(c) for the purpose of making income support payments under section 4 of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit Act.
Part 7 amends the Borrowing Authority Act to, among other things, increase the maximum amount of certain borrowings and include certain borrowings that were previously excluded in the calculation of that amount. It also makes a related amendment to the Financial Administration Act.

The House resumed from February 2 consideration of the motion that Bill C-14, An Act to implement certain provisions of the economic statement tabled in Parliament on November 30, 2020 and other measures, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020

[Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Elgin—Middlesex—London has five minutes.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to continue in this debate on Bill C-14.

Prior to the break, during which I was able to meet with constituents, I spoke in the chamber about some of the impacts I had seen within my own community. I spoke in great detail about the travel industry, specifically the travel agents and consultants who are losing their entire livelihoods. I shared the story of Marion Rose, who has been a travel agent for the last 32 years. At one time, she had seven people working with her, and now it is down to one. As we move forward, the government needs to recognize the impacts on these businesses and organizations and what the future is going to hold for them.

Bringing these stories to light so that we can talk about the challenges people are having is important, so I want to talk about another small business, Dark Matter Toys, which is owned by Craig Lawrence, who is an incredible community advocate and spirit. He is out there doing a great job, but he has not been in a normal situation, and I want to read the message he sent me over the weekend.

“Hey Karen, Craig here.”

I am just “Karen” here, and that is what I love about doing my job here in Elgin—Middlesex—London.

“It seems I do not qualify for CEBA due to a prerequisite to have made a certain amount in 2019. Unfortunately, in 2019, I lost 51% income due to the Ross Street construction. Then in 2020, 80% was lost as a direct result of COVID. My accountant and I are looking for help and any answers on how businesses that are forced to close can qualify for this and other compensation.”

I want to bring this up because through no fault on Craig's part, in 2019 there was construction in the city of St. Thomas and people could not get to Craig's store. My children love the kind of stuff at his store and I was able to go around the back and come in the side door, but a lot of people were not even willing to make the trip. Craig was able to move forward and build his business on Amazon, but he did not qualify for the government's COVID relief programs because he did not meet the income criteria. I have referred him most recently to our Elgin Business Resource Centre in the hope that it can help somehow through regional recovery funds.

I am very thankful to the government for making sure that we do have programs on the ground. Places like the Elgin Business Resource Centre sit down with businesses and consult on the challenges they are having, and it has small a pocket of money for them. I think within five weeks all of the money was spent from this organization and was on the ground helping over 28 businesses, and they are doing very well.

When I look at Dark Matter Toys, I know that it is not just this one business but that this same situation is being replicated across the country. There are people who continue to fall through the gaps. We can talk about needing more money on the ground, but I am not always asking for more money; I am asking for money to be spent wisely. Unfortunately, I have not seen that with this government, and I would say since 2015 we have not seen that.

Under this pandemic spending, we know that we have an incredible debt load that the next generations are going to be taking on. This government needs to be concerned with looking at the Prime Minister's leadership and not continuing to stumble, as we have seen with the vaccine rollout. The government needs to make the economy stronger coming out of this. I am hoping that we can come up with a competent and cohesive plan that will work for all Canadians.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Madam Speaker, I have heard a number of times while discussing this particular piece of legislation that the Conservatives are not looking for more money but at where the money was spent. What we do know is that the Conservatives were there every step of the way, as were all parties, in passing the legislation unanimously to get support for Canadians during this pandemic.

Could the member tell us about some of the programs that she would have preferred not to have seen put in place, such as CERB or whatever it might be, so that it would not have cost Canadians as much?

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Madam Speaker, that almost feels like a lob from my friend from Kingston and the Islands. Honestly, do we want to talk about WE? Do we want to talk about all of the awful things that happened in 2020? I am surprised the member actually gave me the platform for that.

We saw the government come out with programs like WE, like Baylis, all of the different things that Conservatives could have done better. I am saying there are opportunities for us to work with partners and make sure our dollars are being spent wisely. Spending money wisely is exactly what we should be teaching ourselves and the next generation. It is really simple: How do we spread out a dollar? I just wish the government could get a grasp on this concept.

If the member is talking about programs I would not want to see, I would not want to see almost $1 billion of government money that was going to be wasted, money that at the end of the day did not help anybody. I would like to have seen the government put something out that actually did help students, instead of getting us into the fiasco we have been in for the last year.

[Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to take a few moments to explain what I did last week.

I took the bull by the horns and spent my week in my riding's three regional county municipalities, namely, Antoine-Labelle, Laurentides and Pays-d'en-Haut. I met virtually with 150 business people and community workers, as well as elected officials. I asked them how they were doing right now and what their concerns were for the future.

Three points kept coming back all week long. People in Antoine-Labelle want a 35% increase in health transfer payments immediately, with no conditions. The most vulnerable seniors all agree on an immediate 110% increase in the old age security pension. Finally, everybody wants high-speed Internet and cellular coverage.

I would like to hear what my colleague has to say about that. Is this what she sees in her riding too?

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Madam Speaker, some of those same concerns are being heard in Elgin—Middlesex—London. Of the key things that I am hearing, having spoken to agricultural producers, the chamber of commerce and the youth council, vaccines are the number one issue right now. People are asking when they are going to get their vaccines. The Ontario government has put out a program showing what the criteria are and how it will be done, but vaccines cannot be put in people's arms unless we have the vials of vaccine. As my husband says, once the tires get over the curb, we will know. We know the vaccines will be here when they arrive in Canada. That is the number one issue in my riding.

Line 5 is a huge issue, and I think it is because we are agricultural in southwestern Ontario. We have heard what will possibly happen with the governor of Michigan closing off Line 5 and the impact that it is going to have on our agricultural producers.

There is also high-speed Internet. I think everybody has heard about high-speed Internet, regardless of where we live in this country. Even people living in downtown Toronto could have issues. We have seen that on many of these Zoom calls.

We have seen many issues across the country that we know the government, as well as Conservatives, need to work on, not only to get through this pandemic but to make sure we meet the needs of Canadians in the future.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors]

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today to take part in this important discussion on Bill C-14, the economic statement implementation act, 2020.

I would like to begin by acknowledging that the lands on which we are gathered are part of the unceded traditional territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin people.

Bill C-14 is very important to me in my capacity as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Seniors and the member for Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation.

Over the past year, and especially during the second wave of the pandemic, seniors from across the country have shared their concerns and worries with me. That is why our government has taken extraordinary measures to improve the health and safety and quality of life of seniors. The pandemic has had a profound impact on all of us, but especially on seniors.

In my riding, we reached out to our seniors. We felt the distress and isolation that many of them were experiencing. This was often the only phone call they received all week long, so we took the time to listen to and speak with them. The situation is even worse for seniors who live alone. Take Paulette for instance, who lives alone and has been isolated for 11 months. She finds this very difficult.

We reacted quickly when the crisis hit. In April, more than four million low-income and middle-income seniors received a special one-time payment through the GST credit. This represented on average $375 for seniors living alone and $510 for couples. In July, we gave a one-time non-taxable payment of $300 to seniors receiving the old age security pension, and $200 to seniors receiving the guaranteed income supplement. Thanks to these payments, we helped 6.7 million seniors cover the extra costs generated by COVID-19.

More specifically, because of these two measures, low-income senior couples received over $1,500 in non-taxable direct assistance. To make sure that the most vulnerable seniors continue to receive the benefits they rely on, we temporarily extended payment of the guaranteed income supplement and the Canada seniors benefit for seniors who, for all sorts of reasons, could not provide their income information before the deadline.

Independently of their pension benefit, seniors who lost their jobs because of COVID-19 were also eligible for the CERB. Many seniors still work or are still active in the labour market. They received the same amount as those who applied for the CERB, specifically $2,000 a month.

To help seniors and others obtain essential goods and services, such as grocery and pharmacy delivery, we invested half a billion dollars through partners such as Centraide United Way Canada, food banks and charitable organizations. The organizations that help and support the community and seniors made a huge difference in my riding.

As part of the new horizons for seniors program, we launched more than 2,000 community projects to reduce isolation, improve seniors’ quality of life and help them maintain a social support system during the pandemic.

We did not stop there. On November 30, the government unveiled its fall economic statement 2020, Canada’s plan to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, support Canadians, and invest in a recovery that is inclusive and sustainable and creates good jobs for Canadians. It is another major step forward for the middle class and for those working hard to join it, and especially for the health and safety of our seniors, who built this country.

Along with other measures, our government worked in collaboration with the provinces and territories and implemented progressive policies to ensure that seniors can live safely.

I would now like to highlight a few elements from the fall economic statement that are of interest to seniors. Although long-term care is under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, our government has announced numerous measures to protect residents and staff.

Our government set up a new billion-dollar fund to make long-term care safe and to help the provinces and territories protect their seniors receiving long-term care. This will help prevent infection, improve ventilation systems and hire staff.

In addition, our government will provide support for training up to 4,000 personal care workers to provide care at home and in care homes, as well as essential workers to care for seniors. This will involve an accelerated online program and a four-month internship in order to help make up for the severe labour shortages in the sector. Our government will provide new funding for the Canadian Red Cross, which will improve our ability to protect seniors in long-term care homes. Funding will also be made available to extend the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement's LTC+ program. This program allows participating long-term care and retirement homes in the provinces to strengthen their pandemic preparedness. They must be prepared. They can also become eligible for mentoring and funding to cover their shortfalls.

We eliminated the GST and HST on masks and face shields to make them more affordable. In addition to these measures, our government committed to providing $150 million to improve ventilation in public buildings and make them safer for workers and businesses and to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

We cannot allow physical distancing to become social distancing. That is why our government committed to providing $43 million in funding for Wellness Together Canada, an online portal that gives free mental health advice. Thousands of seniors have used it to ask for advice from their home.

In conclusion, our government's bold and progressive measures are making a real difference in seniors' lives. Although there is still much left to do, Canada's seniors can always rely on our government to listen to them, understand their needs, and work hard to meet them. It is important to point out that, since the beginning of the pandemic, $9 out of every $10 spent by our government have been dedicated to the fight against COVID-19. Our country is facing colossal risks and challenges. There is no time to lose. We are eager to continue working with our provincial and territorial colleagues, as well as with other partners across the country, to meet the greatest challenge of our times. Seniors have earned our respect and our admiration, and they deserve the best quality of life possible. Our government is aware of the tragedies experienced by seniors during the pandemic. That is why we will continue to improve their lives and to adopt progressive policies that make a real difference for seniors.

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Madam Speaker, based on my colleague's speech, you would think that seniors are living on another planet. Seniors plead with us at my riding office not to forget them. Seniors have been the most financially vulnerable before and during the pandemic. We cannot forget seniors, which means that we need to provide long-term, ongoing financial assistance. There was nothing in the November economic statement about permanent assistance through old age security and increasing old age pensions for our seniors.

What commitments can the member make?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question.

I have also spoken with seniors in my riding, on top of being in contact with seniors and organizations from across Canada. I hear a different story, though. I am hearing that we have helped seniors quite a bit but that we need to help them even more.

In the economic statement, our Prime Minister committed to increasing old age security by 10%, but we were hit by a pandemic that no one saw coming. We did everything we could to help seniors in long-term care homes by providing subsidies for PPE and for long-term care across Canada.

We will continue to support our seniors.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Madam Speaker, I would like to comment on what the hon. member said.

I know that in my riding, seniors are telling me that it is not enough to use buzzwords. These buzzwords, written by the government's research bureau it seems, seek to convey that all is well since we have spent nearly $400 billion and we have achieved some significant results.

In my riding, I am told that it is not enough to spend money and that the important thing is the way it is spent. What results have we achieved from this spending and what was its purpose? According to the analysis of the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the financial perspectives found on page 6 of Bill C-14, economic statement implementation act, 2020, indicate that in the new detailed measures, new spending of $86.8 billion is planned with no information on the previous results obtained for seniors in the old budget.

I have a comment for the hon. member. The people in my riding are asking where are the results and why are we trailing all G20 and G7 countries, last among every western country when it comes to vaccine distribution for our seniors?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

For the entire $400 billion in pandemic spending, everything was done in collaboration with all members of Parliament. Everyone proposed ideas, and we all worked together to meet Canadians' needs and help as many people as possible.

I am sure there are many seniors in the member's riding who received all the benefits we provided, such as the $300. The first measure we introduced at the beginning was the GST credit, and many seniors in my colleague's riding got that. The same thing is happening now with vaccine distribution. We have sent doses all over Canada—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

I am sorry, but I have to interrupt the hon. member because it is time for statements by members.

The House resumed from February 16 consideration of the motion that Bill C-14, An Act to implement certain provisions of the economic statement tabled in Parliament on November 30, 2020, and other measures, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, our country faces an immense crisis. It is a health crisis and a financial crisis, the likes of which we have never seen before. Therefore, my remarks are for the millions of Canadians who worry about their future and worry about the country their children and grandchildren will inherit.

Yes, I am a grandfather, and I thank the CBC for recognizing that. In fact, I am an opa 11 times over. I love my grandkids and it is their future I am worried about. They are the ones stuck with the $1-trillion bill created by this pandemic. It is our response to this crisis that will determine whether we leave them with a bright future or leave them shackled to crippling taxes, languishing economic growth and declining socio-economic outcomes.

The government faces an enormous challenge, that is clear, but our job as members of the opposition is twofold. We perform a challenge function. We hold the government to account for its actions and policies and provide parliamentary oversight. I know this is something the finance minister does not really welcome. She has demanded that we abandon those functions and simply rubber stamp hundreds of billions of dollars of borrowing and spending. That is downright reckless and we will not do it.

We have also proposed constructive solutions, like fixing the CERB and the wage subsidy programs, so I would like to propose a few more.

The government's fall economic statement, Bill C-14, should give us pause to consider whether the federal government has a robust plan for the future. I have concluded that it does not. It is true that the statement delivers badly needed additional support to Canadians in their time of need, such as a top-up to the Canada child benefit and interest relief on student loans. We support all those benefits. In fact, we called for them. However, thousands of Canadians still feel abandoned because of poorly designed and confusing programs and the Prime Minister's unwillingness to recognize the scope of the crisis in certain regions of the country.

Bill C-14 would do something else. It would dramatically increase the amount that the government can borrow by $700 billion and would set aside $100 billion of discretionary spending. With hundreds of billions of dollars at his disposal, one would expect that the Prime Minister would present Canadians with a cogent and defensible plan that both supports Canadians in their time of need and tackles the immense fiscal challenges ahead. He has not done so.

The Prime Minister boldly stated, “...Canadians are in for a hard winter. But we know that spring will surely follow. That is because we have a plan... plentiful vaccines are around the corner.” He even audaciously claimed that things were in good shape. My message for the Prime Minister is this: Things are not in good shape. I have not met one constituent who believes that things are in good shape in our country.

In December, 53,000 Canadians became unemployed. Last month, over 200,000 more lost their jobs.

The government is heading in the wrong direction and the mounting deficits and debt are staggering. The Prime Minister is spending billions, yet millions of Canadians are being left behind.

The fall economic statement fails to put forward a serious plan for the future. There is no successful plan to roll out vaccines. There is no plan for job creation or for small businesses. There is no plan to secure our long-term future and no road map to manage the massive financial liability our country is incurring to support Canadians in their time of need right now.

The Prime Minister's number one responsibility is to give Canadians hope. They want their lives back, they want their jobs back, they want their small businesses back. They want their health, their schools, their places of worship and their communities back. However, the Prime Minister has provided no confidence that things might soon return to normal. All we have is a trail of broken promises on things like vaccines and rapid testing on containing the virus. The reality is that there is no plan, and a vague promise to spend billions more is not leadership.

What would Conservatives do differently and why do we believe we could do better? Let me answer both questions by providing, as I promised, some constructive advice to the government.

First, no recovery is possible until the majority of Canadians have been vaccinated. To date, the Prime Minister has failed to deliver vaccines as and when he promised. He should do what was promised: deliver the six million doses by the end of March and then keep his word and make vaccines available to all Canadians by the end of September. More than 52 countries around the world are now doing it better than the Prime Minister. While he is at it, he should remove the shroud of secrecy around the vaccines. Let Canadians see exactly what has been negotiated with Moderna, Pfizer and others.

Second, he should address the declining competitiveness of our economy. In recent years, Canada has lost a historic amount of domestic and foreign investment due to a loss of investor confidence. We lag far behind our fiercest competitors. The government must address the lack of access to capital and talent and the significant regulatory, commercialization and interprovincial barriers that discourage investors from creating economic growth here at home.

Third, there should be no more taxes. Canadians are already taxed to the max. The financial burden on Canadian families has only worsened, with carbon taxes, new taxes on Airbnb rentals and cross-border digital commerce, increased CPP contributions and a clean fuel standard. Stop. People are exhausted. There is nothing left to give.

Fourth, with close to a million Canadians out of work, the reality is that many of these jobs will not come back. Therefore, does the government have an effective plan for retraining unemployed Canadians for the jobs of tomorrow? I have not seen it.

Fifth, economists point out that our aging population is putting a tremendous squeeze on our labour force, undermining our competitiveness when we can least afford it. How do we replace the baby boomers as they retire and exit the economy? Where is the strategy to find talent and train the best and brightest to rebuild our country?

Sixth, small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and employ over eight million people. Without targeted support, some 240,000 of these businesses will have to be shuttered forever. It is a tragedy in the making. Therefore, what is the government doing about it? Here is a suggestion: Small businesses, unlike the big corporations, need enhanced liquidity as they close up shop and wonder what is next. They need immediate emergency support and longer term financial tools to reorganize, reopen safely and adapt to a transformed business landscape. Will the government make improved support available?

Seventh, I note the Prime Minister has promoted ambitious investments in critical infrastructure, but most are still stuck in Ottawa. This is not the time for him to treat billions of dollars as his personal piggy bank to win the next election. I call for him to champion nation-building investments that make our economy more competitive. That should include things like gateway infrastructure, ports, railways, bridges and it should include energy infrastructure. I ask him to please get these investments out the door. So far it has been all talk and no action.

Last, and perhaps most important, our country faces a massive fiscal challenge. I am asking the government to exercise discipline and put in place the fiscal anchors, targets and rules that will stabilize our nation's finances so our children and grandchildren can actually see some light at the end of the tunnel. What is the government's debt target? How will it be achieved? What budgetary constraints is the government considering? Where did billions in spending go? Are taxes going up? Are we still committed to a declining debt-to-GDP ratio? Canadians have a right to know.

Canadians also have a right to ask us, the opposition, what makes us think we could do any better? I refer them to the great global recession of 2008-2009 when the country, like so many others, took a hit. It was a Conservative government that skilfully managed spending and investment so Canada was the last G7 country to enter that recession and the very first to emerge. Then we carefully set the fiscal anchors, stabilizing our nation's finances and securing our country's future. Can we do it again? I believe we can, because our kids and grandkids are counting on us.