Finance Committee on Oct. 27th, 2009

[Gérard Lalonde]

I'm not sure I understand the question. Why is the home renovation tax credit in the bill?

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Why does it have to be in a bill? Why wasn't this done by the minister unilaterally?

[Gérard Lalonde]

It's a change to the tax law, a change to the Income Tax Act.

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

But it's a reduction in tax, isn't it?

[Gérard Lalonde]

That's correct. It's a tax credit, and you have to legislate tax credits in order for them to be in place eventually.

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Doesn't there just have to be a ways and means motion?

[Gérard Lalonde]

A ways and means motion is a statement of the government's intent to implement a measure. Generally speaking, the government tables a notice of ways and means motion with the budget. That motion is voted on and you get an agreement in principle from....

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

So this will happen regardless of whether this bill passes.

[Gérard Lalonde]

If it were to become abundantly clear to the Canada Revenue Agency that the HRTC was not going to be passed.... Currently, Parliament has agreed in principle to the ways and means motion that was tabled with the budget, and the CRA will continue administering it on that basis until such time as it becomes clear that Parliament will not pass it.

So, for example, if Parliament were to defeat this bill, then the CRA would have to suspend its administration of the measure.

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

It's equally plausible that the government will decide to dissolve itself in the beginning of the new year prior to royal assent. There are all kinds of scenarios by which this bill may not pass.

Is this also true with respect to the first-time homebuyers' tax credit?

[Gérard Lalonde]

If the government were to dissolve, but not because this bill was defeated, then it would not have been a decision of the government to defeat this particular measure, and as a result, the CRA would continue to administer it, as I say, until such time as it becomes apparent from the government of the day or from Parliament that this measure will not be proceeded with.

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

So it's a tax credit, regardless.

I just want to make sure that it's true of the first-time homebuyers' tax credit as well.

[Gérard Lalonde]

That's true.

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Monsieur Laforest.

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Part II of Bill C-51 amends the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. There are a few unanticipated consequences of the former act arising from the previous amendments to the act. Bill C-51 changes those consequences.

What is the impact of implementing what Bill C-51 changes regarding the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act?

[Colette Downie]

The amendments that are proposed to the bankruptcy and insolvency legislation are technical amendments. They do such things as correct cross-references that were incorrect as a result of two bills being in the House at the same time on the same subject. As a result of some drafting errors, the updated definition of “eligible financial contracts”—commonly known as “derivatives”—that was supposed to be introduced was not brought into force.

So it would just correct provisions and the cross-references that would allow those changes to come into force. They contain no new policy changes; they're just technical amendments.

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

They aren't major changes.

[Colette Downie]

No.

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Thank you both.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Merci, Monsieur Laforest.

We'll go to Mr. Wallace, please.

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

Thank you. Mr. Chair.

I think we also have only one round of questions and then we may be done.

I do appreciate Mr. McKay's pointing out that we do need to get this bill passed. The only way things would happen is if they forced an election on the public, which nobody wants, including probably most of you on the other side of the table. Otherwise, Parliament has spoken. Our intention is that we want to get this passed so that we can get to the WITB and all those other tax issues there.

I may be following up on what Mr. Laforest had to say, because I may have missed it. I understand everything; I just want some clarification on the multilateral debt relief part. Is this to allow us to provide aid that we've promised? What are we actually doing in here?

[Philippe Hall]

We're actually just changing the process by which we go about implementing the multilateral debt relief initiative. It used to be included as an item in our main estimates in the Department of Finance's vote 5.

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

I love estimates, but anyway....

[Philippe Hall]

Excuse me?