Bill C-9 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy)

This enactment amends the Income Tax Act to revise the eligibility criteria, as well as the level of subsidization, under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) as part of the response to the coronavirus disease 2019. It also extends the CEWS to June 30, 2021. The enactment further amends the Income Tax Act to introduce the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) in order to support those hardest hit by the coronavirus disease 2019. This subsidy provides relief in respect of rent and interest on debt obligations incurred to acquire real property used by businesses, charities and not-for-profit organizations in the course of their businesses or other activities. The rent subsidy is effective as of September 27, 2020.

Income Tax Act

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Madam Chair, the question was on whether the government supports a guaranteed livable income, and once again, I note that there is no answer to that question.

I want to move to long-term care. We know that 80% of the deaths to COVID-19 in this country happened in long-term care homes, giving Canada the worst record of any OECD country. Given that Canada is currently in the grips of the second wave and outbreaks in long-term care facilities have been rising in recent weeks, can the minister confirm when the national standards mentioned in the recent throne speech will be brought into force? Will the national standards be tied to new federal funding to meet those standards for long-term care in the provinces?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Chair, that is another great question. I share the member's preoccupation with long-term care. I think this is a national tragedy and a national shame. We have to do better. I do not minimize how hard it is to do this.

I want to say to our partners in the provinces and territories that we are there to work with them on it. Significant support has already been provided in the safe restart agreement. We are—

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Chair, my riding is home to the municipality of Mont-Saint-Grégoire, which has the highest concentration of sugar shacks per square foot. They are worried because they have slipped through every hole in every safety net so far.

The latest announcement has done nothing to ease their worries because, to be eligible for fixed costs, they have to compare one year's revenue to the previous year's revenue. As it happens, sugar shacks make their money in March and April only. Technically, that means they would be eligible for the program next March and April only. Moreover, the program does not cover other costs, such as supplies and food, which they have to pay for several months before a season that might not even happen.

What can the minister say to reassure them?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Madam Chair, I want to thank my colleague for her question.

Obviously, we have a strategy for all regions and all sectors. That is why we invested $1.5 billion in regional development. I believe that investment will help businesses, especially the ones she mentioned.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Chair, help with rent and fixed costs is great, but for some businesses, rent is not their biggest fixed cost. For instance, my riding is home to Rodéo Sainte-Brigide, which took out a huge loan for a new stadium. This business does not have to pay rent, but it does have to pay back an infrastructure loan. These kinds of businesses are also falling through the cracks.

Once again, what can the government say to them to reassure them?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Madam Chair, I thank the member for her question.

I want to say two things. First, I hope the member will agree with me that the rent relief is very important and that we must pass it, because many businesses in Quebec need it.

Second, I agree—

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Saint-Jean.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Chair, several specific sectors did not get assistance tailored to their reality.

This was the case for many seasonal businesses in my riding, such as summer camps. Many of these businesses, such as the Centre de plein air l'Estacade, a non-profit in Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix, are struggling.

Would the minister agree to make assistance for fixed costs and rent retroactive, at the very least for seasonal businesses?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Chair, I thank the member for her question.

As I have already explained in response to the Bloc's other questions, our approach with the rent relief is to focus on the future, not the past. However, I agree with the member that seasonal businesses are unique, and I agree that we need to find a solution.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Chair, I hope that the government will think of the future of these businesses and not their past.

Hotel owners in my riding contacted us in September because the application criteria for the wage subsidy were not reasonably predictable. In order to be eligible, owners needed to have paid employees' wages, which means that these employees would have had to have worked.

Come December 19, will these businesses get the criteria for the next period, or will they still hesitate to put their employees to work because they do not know whether they will be able to get reimbursed through the wage subsidy?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Chair, we tried to strike a balance with the Canada emergency wage subsidy and the Canada emergency rent subsidy.

We gave our businesses plenty of certainty. We told them that the help would be there until June 2021 and that it would remain at its current level until December 19.

At the same time, we need to be flexible. We do not know how the economy will be doing or what the public health situation will be. We therefore found—

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Saint-Jean has 30 seconds.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Madam Chair, there are businesses that were unable to benefit from the assistance because it was ill-conceived.

I have a company that sublets from the tenant of an owner. That company was unable to access the assistance because the tenant was in a good financial position.

Could the government consider retroactive assistance for people who fell through the cracks?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Chair, once again, we are thinking of the future, not the past.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Madam Chair, when the Liberals prorogued Parliament, they said they were going to bring forward a new plan to support Canadians, but since then all we have seen is more of the same.

As we have learned how to better deal with the pandemic, and as the public health crisis ends and these programs eventually expire, we must allow our economy to get back on track, or keep on going back, if I can use the Minister of Finance's terms. However, we have not seen any plan except for the status quo.

I wonder if the Minister of Finance can tell us what the plan is to get this economy off of life support.