Evidence of meeting #3 for Finance in the 39th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was budget.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
All I can say is that we would have had to have authority to spend the money. We used Bill C-48 to provide funds--
Assistant Deputy Minister, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
The rest goes to reducing the debt.
NDP
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North, MB
I acknowledge that, absolutely. I said it from the beginning, but there's $5 billion that could have solved the problem; you could have met the targets for child care and we could have reaped enormous benefits.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Brian Pallister
I'm sorry, Madam Wasylycia-Leis, did I mention we're not televised today?
NDP
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North, MB
I'm not doing it for television; I'm doing it because I'm...I was going to say pissed off, but I won't.
On the question of the changes in terms of the GST, I'd like a cost-benefit analysis of that reduction of 1% in the GST. As far as I understand, it really does have a very minimal effect for low-income earners. People under $40,000 might, if they're lucky, reap $199 in benefit from that reduction, as opposed to something like a $900 benefit to a family making over $150,000.
I would assume you've got that kind of a breakdown and you could table with us a chart that shows who reaps the benefit and how the 1% reduction in the GST affects families right across the board.
General Director, Analysis, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance
We could share that with you.
General Director, Analysis, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance
As you can imagine, this is based on statistical models, but this data is available.
NDP
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North, MB
That would be great.
Do I have time for one more question?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Brian Pallister
No, you don't; time has elapsed, but there may be a subsequent opportunity.
Mr. McKay, five minutes.
General Director, Analysis, Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance
The fact is that for those with very low incomes a GST reduction provides more tax relief than an income tax reduction--just to clarify what you mentioned.
NDP
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North, MB
That's not what the main authorities on anti-poverty say.
NDP
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North, MB
Could I ask that the evidence to back up that statement be tabled with the committee?
Liberal
John McKay Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood, ON
Thank you, Chair.
I want to ask a question about the Kelowna accord. You'll recollect the November update, and you'll recollect that the November update provisioned for the Kelowna accord. My recollection is as well that the sources and uses tables provisioned for the Kelowna accord, and yet it's been suggested that those moneys were never booked. Can you advise me as to whether it was reflected in the November fiscal update and reflected also in the sources and uses?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Department of Finance
The Kelowna accord was not reflected in the fall update numbers because the accord took place after the update. The funding is coming from the surplus unallocated in the fall update, and at the time we said the surplus would be used to address other priorities, and that's all there was. The accord came after the fall update, and therefore the numbers were not reflected in the document.
Liberal
John McKay Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood, ON
So coming out of the surplus, though, with the change of government, that sources and uses line simply got stricken from the books and moneys were then made available to other uses. Is that a fair statement?