Bill C-30 (Historical)

Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1

An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 19, 2021 and other measures

Part 1 implements certain income tax measures by
(a) providing relieving measures in connection with COVID-19 in respect of the use by an employee of an employer-provided automobile for the 2020 and 2021 taxation years;
(b) limiting the benefit of the employee stock option deduction for employees of certain employers;
(c) providing an adjustment for payments or repayments of government assistance in determining capital cost allowance for certain zero-emission vehicles;
(d) expanding the scope of the foreign affiliate dumping rules to further their objectives;
(e) providing change in use rules for multi-unit residential properties;
(f) establishing rules for advanced life deferred annuities;
(g) providing for an option to deduct repaid emergency benefit amounts in the year of benefit receipt and clarifying the tax treatment of non-resident beneficiaries;
(h) removing the time limitation for a registered disability savings plan to remain registered after the cessation of a beneficiary’s eligibility for the disability tax credit and modifying grant and bond repayment obligations;
(i) increasing the basic personal amount for certain taxpayers;
(j) providing a temporary special reading of certain rules relating to the child care expense deduction and the disability supports deduction for the 2020 and 2021 taxation years;
(k) providing flow-through share issuers with temporary additional time to incur eligible expenses to be renounced to investors under their flow-through share agreements;
(l) applying the short taxation year rule to the accelerated investment incentive for resource expenditures;
(m) introducing the Canada Recovery Hiring Program refundable tax credit to support the post-pandemic recovery;
(n) amending the employee life and health trust rules to allow for the conversion of health and welfare trusts to employee life and health trusts;
(o) expanding access to the Canada Workers Benefit by revising the applicable eligibility thresholds for the 2021 and subsequent taxation years;
(p) amending the income tax measures providing support for Canadian journalism;
(q) clarifying the definition of shared-custody parent for the purposes of the Canada Child Benefit;
(r) revising the eligibility criteria, as well as the level of subsidization, under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), extending the CEWS and the CERS until September 25, 2021, providing authority to enable the extension of these subsidies until November 30, 2021, and ensuring that the level of CEWS benefits for furloughed employees continues to align with the benefits provided through the Employment Insurance Act until August 28, 2021;
(s) preventing the use by mutual fund trusts of a method of allocating capital gains or income to their redeeming unitholders where the use of that method inappropriately defers tax or converts ordinary income into capital gains;
(t) extending the income tax deferral available for certain patronage dividends paid in shares by an agricultural cooperative corporation to payments made before 2026;
(u) limiting transfers of pensionable service into individual pension plans;
(v) establishing rules for variable payment life annuities;
(w) preventing listed terrorist entities under the Criminal Code from qualifying as registered charities and providing for the suspension or revocation of a charity’s registration where it makes false statements for the purpose of maintaining registration;
(x) ensuring the appropriate interaction of transfer pricing rules and other rules in the Income Tax Act;
(y) preventing non-resident taxpayers from avoiding Canadian dividend withholding tax on compensation payments made under cross-border securities lending arrangements with respect to Canadian shares;
(z) allowing for the electronic delivery of requirements for information to banks and credit unions;
(aa) improving existing rules meant to prevent taxpayers from using derivative transactions to convert ordinary income into capital gains;
(bb) extending to a wider array of eligible automotive equipment and vehicles the 100% capital cost allowance write-off for business investments in certain zero-emission vehicles;
(cc) ensuring that the accelerated investment incentive for depreciable property applies properly in particular circumstances; and
(dd) providing rules for contributions to a specified multi-employer plan for older members.
It also makes related and consequential amendments to the Excise Tax Act, the Air Travellers Security Charge Act, the Excise Act, 2001, the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, the Income Tax Regulations and the Canada Disability Savings Regulations.
Part 2 implements certain Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) measures by
(a) temporarily relieving supplies of certain face masks and face shields from the GST/HST;
(b) ensuring that non-resident vendors supplying digital products or services (including traditional services) to consumers in Canada be required to register for the GST/HST and to collect and remit the tax on their taxable supplies to consumers in Canada;
(c) requiring distribution platform operators and non-resident vendors to register under the normal GST/HST rules and to collect and remit the GST/HST in respect of certain supplies of goods shipped from a fulfillment warehouse or another place in Canada;
(d) applying the GST/HST on all supplies of short-term accommodation in Canada facilitated through a digital platform;
(e) expanding the eligibility for the GST rebate for new housing;
(f) expanding the definition of freight transportation service for the purposes of the GST/HST;
(g) extending the application of the drop-shipment rules for the purposes of the GST/HST;
(h) treating virtual currency as a financial instrument for the purposes of the GST/HST; and
(i) clarifying the GST/HST holding corporation rules and expanding those rules to holding partnerships and trusts.
It also makes related and consequential amendments to the New Harmonized Value-added Tax System Regulations, No. 2.
Part 3 implements certain excise measures by increasing excise duty rates on tobacco products by $4.‍00 per carton of 200 cigarettes along with corresponding increases to the excise duty rates on other tobacco products.
Part 4 enacts an Act and amends several Acts in order to implement various measures.
Division 1 of Part 4 amends the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act to, among other things,
(a) specify the steps that an assessor must follow when they review a determination of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation with respect to the payment of compensation to certain persons;
(b) clarify that the determination of whether or not persons are entitled to compensation is to be made in accordance with the regulations;
(c) prevent a person from taking certain actions in relation to certain agreements between the person and a federal member institution by reason only of a monetary default by that institution in the performance of obligations under those agreements if the default occurs in the period between the making of an order directing the conversion of that institution’s shares or liabilities and the occurrence of the conversion;
(d) require certain federal member institutions to ensure that certain provisions of that Act — or provisions that have substantially the same effect as those provisions — apply to certain eligible financial contracts, including those contracts that are subject to the laws of a foreign state;
(e) exempt eligible financial contracts between a federal member institution and certain entities, including Her Majesty in right of Canada, from a provision of that Act that prevents certain actions from being taken in relation to those contracts; and
(f) extend periods applicable to certain restructuring transactions for financial institutions.
It also amends the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act to
(a) specify the steps that an assessor must follow when they review a determination of the Bank of Canada with respect to the payment of compensation to certain persons or entities; and
(b) clarify that systems or arrangements for the exchange of payment messages for the purpose of clearing or settlement of payment obligations may be overseen by the Bank of Canada as clearing and settlement systems.
Finally, it amends not-in-force provisions of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act, enacted by the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, so that, under certain circumstances, an error or omission that results in a failure to meet a requirement of the schedule to the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act will not prevent a deposit from being considered a separate deposit.
Division 2 of Part 4 amends the Bank of Canada Act to authorize the Bank of Canada to publish certain information about unclaimed amounts.
It also amends the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 with respect to the transfer of pension plan assets relating to the pension benefit credit of any person who cannot be located to, among other things,
(a) limit the circumstances in which such assets may be transferred and specify conditions for the transfer; and
(b) specify the effects of a transfer on any claims that may be made in respect of those assets.
Finally, it amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act and the Bank Act to
(a) include amounts that are not in Canadian currency in the unclaimed amounts regime; and
(b) impose additional requirements on financial institutions in connection with their transfers of unclaimed amounts to the Bank of Canada and communications with the owners of those amounts.
Division 3 of Part 4 amends the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2 to exclude certain businesses from the application of a provision of the Bank Act that it enacts, which allows certain agreements that have been entered into with banks to be cancelled.
Division 4 of Part 4 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act, the Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act to extend the period during which federal financial institutions governed by those Acts may carry on business to June 30, 2025.
Division 5 of Part 4 amends the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law) to
(a) provide that the entities referred to in that Act are no longer required to disclose to the principal agency or body that supervises or regulates them the fact that they do not have in their possession or control any property of a foreign national who is the subject of an order or regulation made under that Act; and
(b) change the frequency with which those entities are required to disclose to the principal agency or body that supervises or regulates them the fact that they have such property in their possession or control from once a month to once every three months.
Division 6 of Part 4 amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to
(a) extend the application of Part 1 of that Act to include persons and entities engaged in the business of transporting currency or certain other financial instruments;
(b) provide that the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre make assessments to be paid by persons or entities to which Part 1 applies, based on the amount of certain expenses incurred by the Centre, and to authorize the Governor in Council to make regulations respecting those assessments;
(c) amend the definitions of designated information to include certain information associated with virtual currency transactions and widely held or publicly traded trusts that the Centre can disclose to law enforcement or other governmental bodies;
(d) change the maximum penalties for summary conviction offences;
(e) expand the list of persons or entities that are not eligible for registration with the Centre; and
(f) make other technical amendments.
Division 7 of Part 4 enacts the Retail Payment Activities Act, which establishes an oversight framework for retail payment activities. Among other things, that Act requires certain payment service providers to identify and mitigate operational risks, safeguard end-user funds and register with the Bank of Canada. That Act also provides the Minister of Finance with powers to address risks related to national security that could be posed by payment service providers. This Division also makes related amendments to the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act, the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act and the Payment Card Networks Act.
Division 8 of Part 4 amends the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 to establish new requirements and grant new regulation-making powers to the Governor in Council with respect to negotiated contribution plans.
Division 9 of Part 4 amends the First Nations Fiscal Management Act to allow First Nations that are borrowing members of the First Nations Finance Authority to assign their rights to certain revenues payable by Her Majesty in right of Canada, for the purpose of securing financing for that Authority’s borrowing members.
Division 10 of Part 4 amends the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act to, among other things, increase the maximum amount of a fiscal stabilization payment that may be made to a province and to make technical changes to the calculation of fiscal stabilization payments.
Division 11 of Part 4 amends the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act to authorize additional payments to the provinces and territories.
Division 12 of Part 4 authorizes payments to be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in relation to Canada’s COVID-19 immunization plan.
Division 13 of Part 4 authorizes payments to be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in relation to infrastructure and amends the heading of Part 9 of the Keeping Canada’s Economy and Jobs Growing Act.
Division 14 of Part 4 authorizes amounts to be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, to a maximum total amount of $3,056,491,000, for annual payments to Newfoundland and Labrador in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Hibernia Dividend Backed Annuity Agreement.
Division 15 of Part 4 amends the Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador Additional Fiscal Equalization Offset Payments Act to authorize the Minister of Finance to make an additional fiscal equalization offset payment to Nova Scotia for the 2020–2021 fiscal year and to extend that Minister’s authority to make additional fiscal equalization offset payments to Nova Scotia until March 31, 2023.
Division 16 of Part 4 amends the Telecommunications Act to provide that decisions made by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on whether or not to allocate funding to expand access to telecommunications services in underserved areas are not subject to review under section 12 or 62 of that Act but are subject to review by the Commission on its own initiative. It also amends that Act to provide for the exchange of information within the federal government and with provincial governments for the purpose of coordinating financial support for access to telecommunications services in underserved areas.
Division 17 of Part 4 amends the Canada Small Business Financing Act to, among other things,
(a) specify that lines of credit are loans;
(b) set a limit on the liability of the Minister of Small Business and Tourism in respect of each lender for lines of credit;
(c) remove the restriction excluding not-for-profit businesses, charitable businesses and businesses having as their principal object the furtherance of a religious purpose as eligible borrowers;
(d) increase the maximum amount of all loans that may be made in relation to a borrower under that Act; and
(e) provide that lesser maximum loan amounts may be prescribed by regulation for loans other than lines of credit, lines of credit and prescribed classes of loans.
Division 18 of Part 4 amends the Customs Act to change certain rules respecting the correction of declarations made under section 32.‍2 of that Act, the payment of interest due to Her Majesty and securities required under that Act, and to define the expression “sold for export to Canada” for the purposes of Part III of that Act.
Division 19 of Part 4 amends the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement Implementation Act to require the concurrence of the Minister of Finance when the Minister designated for the purposes of section 16 of that Act appoints panellists and committee members and proposes the names of individuals for rosters under Chapter 10 of the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement.
Division 20 of Part 4 amends Part 5 of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act to make certain reforms to the Social Security Tribunal, including
(a) changing the criteria for granting leave to appeal and introducing a de novo model for appeals of decisions of the Income Security Section at the Appeal Division;
(b) giving the Governor in Council the authority to prescribe the circumstances in which hearings may be held in private; and
(c) giving the Chairperson of the Social Security Tribunal the authority to make rules of procedure governing appeals.
Division 21 of Part 4 amends the definition of “previous contractor” in Part I of the Canada Labour Code in order to extend equal remuneration protection to employees who are covered by a collective agreement and who work for an employer that
(a) provides services at an airport to another employer in the air transportation industry; or
(b) provides services to another employer in another industry and at other locations that may be prescribed by regulation.
Division 22 of Part 4 amends Part III of the Canada Labour Code to establish a federal minimum wage of $15 per hour and to provide that if the minimum wage of a province or territory is higher than the federal minimum wage, the employer is to pay a minimum wage that is not less than that higher minimum wage. It also provides that, except in certain circumstances, the federal minimum wage per hour is to be adjusted upwards annually on the basis of the Consumer Price Index for Canada.
Division 23 of Part 4 amends the provisions of the Canada Labour Code respecting leave related to the death or disappearance of a child in cases in which it is probable that the child died or disappeared as a result of a crime, in order to, among other things,
(a) increase the maximum length of leave for a parent of a child who has disappeared from 52 weeks to 104 weeks;
(b) extend eligibility to parents of children who are 18 years of age or older but under 25 years of age; and
(c) limit the exception that applies in the case of a parent of a child who has died as a result of a crime if it is probable that the child was a party to the crime so that the exception applies only with respect to a child who is 14 years of age or older.
Division 24 of Part 4 authorizes the Minister of Employment and Social Development to make a one-time payment to Quebec for the purpose of offsetting some of the costs of aligning the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan with temporary measures set out in Part VIII.‍5 of the Employment Insurance Act.
Division 25 of Part 4 amends the Judges Act to provide that, if the Canadian Judicial Council recommends that a judge be removed from judicial office, the time counted towards the judge’s pension entitlements will be frozen and their pension contributions will be suspended, as of the day on which the recommendation is made. If the recommendation is rejected, the judge’s pension contributions will resume, the time counted towards their pension entitlement will include the suspension period and the judge will be required to make all the contributions that would have been required had the contributions never been suspended.
Division 26 of Part 4 amends the Federal Courts Act and the Tax Court of Canada Act to increase the number of judges for the Federal Court of Appeal by one and the number of judges for the Tax Court of Canada by two. It also amends the Judges Act to authorize the salary for the new Associate Chief Justice for the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador and the salaries for the following new judges: five judges for the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, two judges for the Supreme Court of British Columbia and two judges for the Court of Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan.
Division 27 of Part 4 amends the National Research Council Act to provide the National Research Council of Canada with the authority to engage in the production of “drugs” or “devices”, as those terms are defined in the Food and Drugs Act, for the purpose of protecting or improving public health. It also amends that Act to provide authority for the incorporation of corporations and the acquisition of shares in corporations.
Division 28 of Part 4 amends the Department of Employment and Social Development Act in relation to the collection and use of Social Insurance Numbers by the Minister of Labour.
Division 29 of Part 4 amends the Canada Student Loans Act to provide that, during the period that begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2023, no interest is payable by a borrower on a guaranteed student loan.
It also amends the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act to provide that, during the period that begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2023, no interest is payable by a borrower on a student loan.
Finally, it amends the Apprentice Loans Act to provide that, during the period that begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on March 31, 2023, no interest is payable by a borrower on an apprentice loan.
Division 30 of Part 4 confirms the validity of certain regulations in relation to the cancellation or postponement of certain First Nations elections.
Division 31 of Part 4 amends the Old Age Security Act to increase the Old Age Security pension payable to individuals aged 75 and over by 10%. It also provides that any amount payable in relation to a program to provide a one-time payment of $500 to pensioners who are 75 years of age or older may be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Division 32 of Part 4 amends the Public Service Employment Act to, among other things,
(a) require that the establishment and review of qualification standards and the use of assessment methods in respect of appointments include an evaluation of whether there are biases or barriers that disadvantage persons belonging to any equity-seeking group;
(b) provide that audits and investigations may include the determination of whether there are biases or barriers that disadvantage persons belonging to any equity-seeking group; and
(c) give permanent residents the same preference as Canadian citizens in external advertised appointment processes.
Division 33 of Part 4 authorizes the making of payments to the provinces for early learning and child care for the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2021.
Division 34 of Part 4 amends the Canada Recovery Benefits Act to, among other things,
(a) provide that the maximum number of two-week periods in respect of which a Canada recovery benefit is payable is 25;
(b) reduce the amount of a Canada recovery benefit for a week to $300 in certain circumstances;
(c) provide that certain persons who were paid benefits under the Employment Insurance Act are eligible to be paid a Canada recovery benefit in certain circumstances;
(d) provide that the maximum number of weeks in respect of which a Canada recovery caregiving benefit is payable is 42; and
(e) provide that the Governor in Council may, by regulation, on the recommendation of the Minister of Employment and Social Development and the Minister of Finance, amend certain provisions of that Act to replace the date of September 25, 2021 by a date not later than November 20, 2021.
It also amends the Canada Labour Code to provide that the maximum number of weeks of leave for COVID-19 related caregiving responsibilities is 42.
Finally, it repeals provisions of the Canada Recovery Benefits Regulations and the Canada Labour Standards Regulations.
Division 35 of Part 4 amends the Employment Insurance Act to, among other things,
(a) facilitate access to unemployment benefits for a period of one year by
(i) reducing the number of hours of insurable employment required to qualify for unemployment benefits to a national threshold of 420 hours,
(ii) reducing the amount of earnings from self-employment that a self-employed person is required to have to be eligible to access special unemployment benefits,
(iii) providing that only a claimant’s most recent separation from employment will be considered in determining whether they qualify for unemployment benefits,
(iv) ensuring that earnings paid to a person because of the complete severance of their relationship with their former employer do not extend the person’s benefit period, and
(v) providing for an increase in the maximum number of weeks for which regular unemployment benefits may be paid to a seasonal worker if certain conditions are met; and
(b) extend the maximum number of weeks for which benefits may be paid because of a prescribed illness, injury or quarantine from 15 to 26.
It also amends the Canada Labour Code to, among other things, extend to 27 the maximum number of weeks to which an employee is entitled for a medical leave of absence from employment.
It also amends the Employment Insurance Regulations to, among other things, ensure that, for a period of one year, earnings paid to a person because of the complete severance of their relationship with their former employer do not extend the person’s benefit period or delay payment of benefits to the person.
Finally, it amends the Employment Insurance (Fishing) Regulations to, among other things, reduce, for a period of one year, the amount of earnings that a fisher is required to have to qualify for unemployment benefits.
Division 36 of Part 4 amends the Canada Elections Act to provide that the offences related to the prohibition on making or publishing certain false statements with the intention of affecting the results of an election require that the person or the entity making or publishing the statement knows that the statement in question is false.

[Jean-Guy Côté, Chief Executive Officer, Conseil québécois du commerce de détail]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

My name is Jean-Guy Côté, and I am the chief executive officer of the Conseil québécois du commerce de détail (CQCD).

First, I would like to thank the members of the committee for inviting me to appear today. This will allow me to present some of the vision and analysis of Quebec retailers on Bill C-30 and on the budget tabled a month ago.

As you may know, the Conseil québécois du commerce de détail is an organization that represents the majority of Quebec retailers. The CQCD is Quebec's leading retail industry association. The CQCD's mission is to represent, promote and enhance this sector and to develop resources to foster advancement for its members.

Given the limited time available for my presentation, I will focus on only a few points.

As you know, the past 14 months have been challenging for retailers. The pandemic has accelerated a number of transformations already under way in the industry, including the shift to e-commerce. In some sectors, such as fashion, retailers have closed up shop and jobs have been lost.

The various programs announced by the federal and provincial governments as well as by the municipalities have addressed some of the needs of retail entrepreneurs. The speed with which they were implemented is to be commended, although we believe they should have been adapted as early as the fall of 2020.

The federal budget extends the duration of various programs, including wage support, income support and rent support that were put in place during the pandemic. These programs will be phased out over the summer. While the recovery, confirmed by the very positive retail sales figures from Statistics Canada this morning, appears to be well under way, some retail sectors are still very much affected by the revenue losses incurred during the pandemic. We hope that the phase-out of the various measures will be monitored and that government support measures will be provided again at the first sign of further economic stress.

This brings me to my main topic, interchange fees. These are fees charged to retailers by large credit card companies on all in-store and online credit card transactions. These fees are sometimes very high and are used to fund, in part, the credit card companies' generous rewards programs. As a result, all in-store and online credit card transactions are subject to an additional charge, usually paid by the retailer.

Canada has the unfortunate but justified reputation for having some of the highest interchange fees. In 2019, research conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the FED, showed that Canada was among the top countries for interchange fees. Interchange fees typically hover around 1.4% per transaction. In comparison, Australia has reduced its interchange fee to less than 1%, but the example to follow is the European Union, which has capped it at 0.5%.

The significant expansion of e-commerce in recent months has led to a sustained use of credit cards to pay for purchases. This practice will not disappear, but it needs to be controlled. Such control would be welcomed by the retail industry, but more importantly it would be a gesture of fairness. The credit cards with most rewards are often supported by the revenues from regular credit cards of those with fewer financial means. In addition, charities are regularly charged interchange fees on donation transactions. A cap would have no impact on the federal government's finances, but it would be welcome for the finances of the retailers.

We are pleased to see that the budget opens the door to a consultation on introducing concrete measures in the budget update. This was an election promise made by the current government. We are ready and willing to work together to propose innovative and positive solutions for retailers.

Our request is simple: cap interchange fees at 0.5%, as the European Union has done, and eliminate fees charged on the GST or other taxes on transactions.

In closing, I would like to thank the members of the committee for their welcome today, and I look forward to their questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

We will reconvene the meeting.

Just for the purposes of the record, welcome to meeting number 49 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, the second panel of the day.

We are meeting on the subject matter of Bill C-30, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 19, 2021, and other measures.

Just for the information of witnesses, we are operating in a hybrid format, and under this system only people who are speaking will show on the website system of the House of Commons, which is made public.

With that, we will turn to the witnesses. Our first witness is the Conseil québécois du commerce de détail. Mr. Jean-Guy Côté is the chief executive officer.

Jean-Guy, if you could hold your remarks to about five minutes, or thereabouts, it would be helpful.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Thanks very much, Mr. Chair.

I should signal that after my questioning of the witnesses I'm going to have to step out for a few minutes. My second round of two and a half minutes could go to Mr. Ste-Marie or Ms. May.

I'd like to thank all of our witnesses for coming forward. It was very interesting testimony, of course. We hope that you and your families are staying safe and healthy during this pandemic.

I'd like to start with you, Ms. MacNaughton.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and David's story with us. It certainly resonates. There is no doubt, as you've heard from a number of members of the committee, that your story is heartfelt, and I think we all understand the importance of that.

You have talked about the 26 weeks, and you've said that we should go beyond that. There will be an amendment coming up next week to this budget implementation act that would actually take the sickness leave to one year, a full year of supports for Canadians who are experiencing what you and David experienced.

How would you feel about having sick leave extended to a full year? We certainly have the resources in our country to provide those supports for a full year of EI sick leave. Would you support that measure?

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

I call the meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 49 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the committee's motion adopted on Tuesday, April 27, the committee is meeting to study the subject matter of Bill C-30, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 19, 2021, and other measures.

Today's meeting is taking place in the hybrid format pursuant to the House order of January 25, and the proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. So that people are aware, the webcast will always show the person speaking, rather than the entirety of the committee.

We will start with BIOTECanada.

Just before we do that, just as a heads-up to committee members, we were having some difficulty in getting extended hours on May 27 to deal with clause-by-clause. That's now been accomplished, so we will be able to meet into the evening of Thursday, May 27 when we're in clause-by-clause to, hopefully, finish Bill C-30 that evening. We'll go from there.

I see that Mr. Barrett is on there. Does he want to do a sound check, Mr. Clerk, before we go to BIOTECanada?

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you.

Ms. Lloyd, if you have anything to say in that regard, just send it through to the clerk, and he will get it to committee members. We always run out of time.

This is our fourth panel today. I try to keep track of the comments that I think are good and note down the time they happen, and then I'll go back to the transcript. Thank goodness for transcripts. My note paper fills up about every five minutes all day from having over the four panels.

Look, we've had a great series of witnesses. We've had constructive criticism. We've had some praise. It goes all over the map, with good ideas for the future—and not all on Bill C-30, for sure.

I thank members for their endurance during the day.

I thank all the panellists for their great presentations and for taking the time to answer our questions.

With that, we will see committee members again tomorrow.

Thank you very much.

The meeting is adjourned.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Thank you.

Ms. Lamonde, I'll ask you the same question. Under Bill C-30, the government will be drastically cutting supports for individuals and businesses, including start-ups, in the next few weeks. How is that going to affect start-up ecosystems in Quebec and other parts of Canada?

[Bob Masterson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada]

Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members.

My apologies; this is the time I was assigned.

I am pleased to be with you on behalf of Canada's chemistry and plastics manufacturers. Combined, they represent nearly an $80 billion-a-year industry in Canada. It's the third-largest manufacturing sector. Most importantly, it serves all of your other important economic sectors, be they mining, forestry, automotive, aerospace, agriculture and agri-food, to name just a few.

With respect to Bill C-30, the budget implementation act, we offer three comments for you.

First, our chemistry and plastics sectors have been resilient, and for the most part—albeit it's been a little uneven—companies had already recovered or nearly recovered to pre-COVID levels by the end of 2020. Due to a wide variety of factors that have had the winds at the back of this industry in Canada this year, the sector is showing significant growth through the start of 2021.

Nevertheless, there are many other sectors and that are struggling. We've just heard from Mr. Kelly and others about these sectors and households. Canadian families and businesses have not had the opportunity yet to recover or participate in this recovery, and this budget will play a very important role in providing a supporting floor as the recovery takes hold in these more challenged sectors of the economy.

Second, I think there was a strong message in the budget that the challenge of a circular, net-carbon-zero economy is truly daunting to comprehend. In many areas, this budget does propose substantial early investments, which will send strong signals on the direction businesses and society must go in the coming years and decades.

Third, I do have to point out that those signals alone are not sufficient. Mr. Gill has already talked about this, but achieving a circular and a net-zero economy is going to require a complete recapitalization of the Canadian economy. Government expenditures alone will never be able to get the job done. Though I don't have an exact number for you, if you look at our chemistry sector alone, it will be well in excess of $100 billion, probably over $200 billion, to recapitalize the current industry we have to allow it to transform for a circular and net-zero economy. Only the private sector has the ability to allocate resources at any scale approaching that.

From our perspective, that's where the budget fell short and where we believe more attention is urgently needed. Make no mistake, global supply chains will recapitalize; they will be transformed completely for a net-zero and circular economy. The only question is whether Canada’s industrial and economic sectors will be able to participate or will just continue to be a flyover destination for the much-needed global investment.

As for the experience in our sector, I've talked to you folks about this a number of times. As a case in point, south of the border we've seen $300 billion in new investment in the last seven years. By historical measures, we should have seen $30 billion of that in Canada; we've seen just $7 billion. Yes, COVID has certainly delayed some investment activity south of the border and globally, but some of those trends I talked about are pointing to the sector already looking tight.

I think you can expect to see some global announcements of new investments, including in the United States, in the weeks and months to come. At this point, however, I would have to say that another round of investments is probably not on Canada's radar. We don't believe the budget offered anything to improve the chances of attracting that investment in the near future.

Prior to the next budget, we urge the committee to make further recommendations to underline those you've placed before to focus on improving Canada's investment climate. One of them already discussed is the 100% accelerated capital cost allowance that was introduced in the fall economic statement. Previously, you'll recall that it was a temporary measure. The clock is already running. Companies that had to go on hold for two years because of COVID now can't take advantage of the full allowance that you put in place for them. We'd encourage you to, at a minimum, extend that out to 2030, a full capital-cost cycle. If that's not sufficient, we'd certainly encourage you to make that permanent, like it is south of the border.

Second, please, we have to recycle these carbon revenues back into industrial sectors. We can't take hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars out of the productive economy, send it elsewhere and then expect the same sectors of the industrial economy to somehow magically come up with these hundreds of billions of dollars to invest in recapitalization. It's not going to happen. We have to find a way to get the revenues back to allow for that investment.

Third, and you've heard me say this before, as much as the federal government and provinces have collaborated to the benefit of all Canadians throughout this COVID pandemic, we need equal, shared and collaborative attention to building a sustainable investment climate that will attract global capital and retain Canadian capital in this country so that we have a chance to succeed in this transition to a circular and net-zero economy.

I thank you once again for this opportunity to be with you today.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

We'll call the meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 48 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee is meeting on the prestudy of Bill C-30, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 19, 2021 and other measures.

We welcome witnesses here on the fourth panel of the day to hear their views on Bill C-30. We welcome you all.

Just so witnesses know, when you're speaking, the only person who is seen on the screen is the person who is speaking, not the committee and witnesses as a whole.

With that, we will start with the witnesses, and please try to hold your remarks to about five minutes.

We'll start with Bonjour Startup Montréal and Liette Lamonde, president and CEO.

The floor is yours.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My question is for Mr. Kucheran or Mr. Strickland. It's about employment insurance and the measures in division 36 of part 4 of Bill C-30.

Earlier today, we heard from Pierre Céré, a representative of the Conseil national des chômeurs et chômeuses. He was worried about the EI amendments, specifically, those that would apply for a one-year period beginning in September in relation to the number of benefit weeks and benefit amount. He called the measures a return to the status quo, referring to them as gaps that could hurt seasonal workers.

I believe some of the occupations you represent involve seasonal work, so I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the EI amendments, especially in response to what Mr. Céré said.

[Michael Villeneuve, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Nurses Association]

Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members, for inviting the Canadian Nurses Association to share our perspectives on Bill C-30 and the 2021 federal budget.

I would like to acknowledge that I speak to you today from the ancestral unceded lands of the Algonquin Anishnabe peoples in eastern Ontario. My name is Mike Villeneuve and I am the CEO of the Canadian Nurses Association. I am joined today by my great colleague Aden Hamza, who is our policy lead.

Overall, the Canadian Nurses Association welcomes the important measures outlined in the budget to continue fighting COVID-19, to care for children, to protect older adults, to expand broadband Internet to support virtual care, and to tackle systemic racism. I will focus my remarks on key issues CNA has strongly been advocating throughout the pandemic and on how the budget addresses some of these concerns.

CNA has been calling for a larger national conversation around aging to identify the best models to support safe and dignified aging in Canada. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have all seen, and some have even experienced, the devastating effects of the virus for older adults and the way COVID-19 has put a spotlight on some well-known vulnerabilities in our health care systems.

In our pre-budget submission and advocacy, CNA urged the federal government to lead the development of pan-Canadian standards and to increase funding for long-term care. We're pleased to see a commitment of $3 billion to support provinces and territories in ensuring that standards for long-term care are applied, while respecting jurisdictions.

As referenced in the budget, the Health Standards Organization and Canadian Standards Association are launching a process to develop standards for long-term care. While CNA welcomes this work, of course, we do continue to urge the federal government to take a leadership role and to institute meaningful change by implementing measurable, actionable, and accountable standards to address the shocking outcomes we have seen.

Furthermore, although division 12 of part 4 of Bill C-30 provides an important emergency $4-billion top-up to the Canada health transfer, more funding is needed to meaningfully support the health and social needs of the largest generation of older people in our history. As we shared with this committee during pre-budget consultations, just the aging of our population will drive increases in health care spending by an additional $93 billion over the next decade. New dedicated funding is critical to enhance the ability of provinces and territories to invest in home care, community care, long-term care, palliative care and end-of-life care. That is why CNA continues to call on the government to implement a new demographic top-up to the Canada health transfer.

Finally, as nurses continue to fight COVID-19, CNA was pleased to see that budget 2021 pledged mental health supports dedicated to health care workers who are experiencing trauma due to COVID-19.

More than a year into the pandemic, and with many provinces facing a dangerous third wave this very day, nurses and other health care workers are facing critical fatigue and burnout. We have been hearing stories about nurses, physicians, and others planning to leave the profession, and we have seen major staffing issues in critical care units over the recent weeks across Canada. CNA is extremely concerned about nursing shortages and about how those could impact the health of Canadians going forward. A new health human resources plan led by the federal government will be crucial.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. My colleague Aden and I will do our best to answer any questions. Thank you for including us.

[Sean Strickland, Executive Director, Canada's Building Trades Unions]

Thank you, Robert.

It's a real pleasure to be here today. Thanks very much, members, for the work you do on behalf of your constituents and all Canadians.

We appreciate the opportunity to engage on Bill C-30 and look forward to continued consultation on budget items such as the new apprenticeship service, the community workforce development program and the sectoral workforce solutions program as details get ironed out.

Bill C-30 includes important measures to alleviate some of the financial burden on apprentices as they move through their apprenticeship by absorbing interest accrued from the Canada apprentice loans program until March 2023. We applaud the government for this initiative. We also appreciate the budget's focus on green energy and workforce development, but we recognize there's an opportunity to expand on additional investments as we look beyond the pandemic and getting Canadians back to work.

In the construction sector, this means support for a skilled trades workforce mobility tax deduction, which is currently on the floor of the House of Commons as a private member's bill, Bill C-275. Unlike many careers, construction work is temporary, in that you build a project, complete the project and then move on to the next one. This can require workers to travel and temporarily relocate for work, with costs that can be too much for a worker and can disincentivize them from travelling to where the work is. This can create labour shortages in different regions, with high unemployment in others. A skilled trades mobility tax deduction would address this problem and transition workers away from utilizing programs like EI so that they instead contribute to the Canadian economy through tax revenues from their employment.

This past March, an independent financial projection commissioned by Canada's Building Trades Unions found that the Canada-wide implementation of a skilled trades workforce mobility tax deduction would save the treasury an estimated $347 million annually through increased tax revenues and reduced reliance on EI and other government programs. This private member's bill will not receive royal assent, but we encourage the government to adopt this measure. This is very important for helping to rebuild Canada's economy, and it is very important to members of the building trades.

There is a lot in the budget that will help to continue building Canada's skilled trades workforce. However, we need to ensure that funds that have been committed in budget 2021 and previously for infrastructure investment flow out the door, put shovels in the ground and get people back to work, and faster.

On behalf of the over half a million skilled trades professionals who belong to Canada's Building Trades Unions and our 14 affiliated international unions, I want to thank the committee for this opportunity to present. I look forward to any questions that you may have for me and Robert.

[Robert Kucheran, Chairman, Executive Board, Canada's Building Trades Unions]

I am. Thank you very much.

Good afternoon, and thank you very much for the opportunity to address you today on Bill C-30 and the effect the budget will have on the skilled trades workers in Canada.

My name is Robert Kucheran. I am the chair of the Canadian executive board of Canada's Building Trades Unions. The CBTU is an organization composed of 14 international unions, with over 500,000 skilled men and women from coast to coast to coast. I am also the general vice-president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, one of the CBTU's 14 affiliates. Today I'll be sharing my time with the executive director of the CBTU, Sean Strickland.

First off, we are pleased to see the $30 billion allocated for a national child care program in the budget. Access to child care remains an issue for skilled trades workers who don't fit a typical nine-to-five, Monday-to-Friday work schedule. A large-scale investment of this kind is important to help working families, and we will continue to work with the government to ensure child care means child care for all workers.

Overall, over 500,000 workers have been laid off or faced cuts to their working hours due to the pandemic, impacts that have been disproportionate among certain segments of the population, including young workers, women and racialized communities. While the construction industry, which accounts for about 6% of Canada's GDP, has been a key player in keeping the economy going this past year, industry employment is down from pre-pandemic levels, with unemployment nationally at about 8% and much higher in certain regions of this country.

The recent extension of programs like the Canada recovery benefit in the budget will help workers through this unprecedented time. Looking to the longer-term, we are pleased to see the reforms in the employment insurance program included in Bill C-30. This has been a high priority for Canada's Building Trades Unions and will better support workers in the long term. Recently we appreciated the opportunity to address the HUMA committee on this issue, specifically on allowing claimants to start receiving EI benefits sooner by simplifying the rules around monies paid on separation, lowering the thresholds for entrance requirements to EI, and, very importantly, extending the EI sickness benefits from 15 to 26 weeks. This will help all Canadians, including CBTU members who don't have access to paid sick days. We commend the Government of Canada for taking those measures into account in this bill.

Thank you. I will hand my remaining time over to Mr. Sean Strickland.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

I call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 48 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance. This will be our third panel today. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the committee's motion adopted on Tuesday, April 27, 2021, the committee is meeting to study the subject matter of Bill C-30, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 19 of this year and other measures.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format pursuant to the House order of January 25, 2021. The proceedings will be made available on the House of Commons website. Just so that witnesses know, the webcast will always show the person who's speaking rather than the entirety of the committee, and we ask that screenshots not be taken.

With that bit of introduction, we will go straight to witnesses. If you could keep your presentations to about five minutes, that would be great, because it will leave a little more time for questions.

We'll start with Canada's Building Trades Unions. We have Mr. Kucheran, chair, and Mr. Strickland, executive director. I'm not sure who's taking the lead, but the floor is yours.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It was indeed a very interesting discussion.

My question is for Ms. Tiessen and Ms. MacEwen. It concerns what is known as contract-flipping, which are aimed at subcontractors at airports.

The mechanism works on by tendering. The new company that submits the lowest bid and wins the tender hires the same skilled workers already in place in the position they held, but offers them lower wages and less favourable working conditions.

I'd like to know if any of your members are in this situation.

In Bill C-30, the government intervenes by saying that the new subcontractor will not be able to lower wages, but does not protect all collective agreements.

I'd like to hear your comments about this. Ms. Tiessen could start, then Ms. MacEwen could respond.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

This is very clear, thank you.

The measure that will fix the situation was announced in the budget, but it's not in Bill C-30, which we are considering now. That will only be for next fall.

Do you think it would have been better if this was proposed now? Since retailers have had a terrible, even catastrophic year, the measure would have provided them with immediate relief. Was there no urgency to act?