Evidence of meeting #88 for Finance in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was rate.
A video is available from Parliament.
3:35 p.m.
Conservative
3:35 p.m.
NDP
Hoang Mai NDP Brossard—La Prairie, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to thank Mr. Cuthbert for his presentation.
I would like to follow up on the question my colleague, Mr. Caron, asked. You said that the $205 million was coming out of the employment insurance fund.
How was it decided that the money would come from that fund and not from government revenues?
3:35 p.m.
Director General, Employment Insurance Policy, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
Actually, it is the employment insurance contributions that go in this… Therefore, if you give a credit, it should in fact be taken from the same source.
3:35 p.m.
NDP
Hoang Mai NDP Brossard—La Prairie, QC
It's a government decision that has a direct impact on the employment insurance account that, itself, is contributed to by workers.
Have any consultations been held in this respect?
Who are the stakeholders on this front?
3:40 p.m.
Director General, Employment Insurance Policy, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
Through the various means of consultation available to our ministers and the government, consultations are always carried out. This measure, in particular, was undertaken by certain groups of employers, including the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
3:40 p.m.
NDP
3:40 p.m.
Director General, Employment Insurance Policy, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
That would have been done as part of the pre-budget consultations and other consultations that the ministers and departments carry out regularly.
3:40 p.m.
NDP
Hoang Mai NDP Brossard—La Prairie, QC
In the 2012 budget, it was expected that 563,000 employees would be affected.
Have you done a study or have you some idea of the actual impact with respect to new hires?
3:40 p.m.
Director General, Employment Insurance Policy, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
The numbers we have are the same as the ones in the budget: it will cost $205 million, and it could affect 535,000 employers.
3:40 p.m.
NDP
Hoang Mai NDP Brossard—La Prairie, QC
You told Mr. Caron that there has not yet been a concrete study on this, isn't that right?
3:40 p.m.
Director General, Employment Insurance Policy, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
We have no other information.
3:40 p.m.
Conservative
November 5th, 2012 / 3:40 p.m.
NDP
Wayne Marston NDP Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON
Mr. Cuthbert, I'm looking at what's happening with the pension plans for the employees. There's a provision in this bill that talks about the potential for some retroactivity. In other words, for existing employees—in my understanding of it, anyway—it gives a transition provision. It gives a section on retroactivity. What would that mean for the workers? Are we saying that somehow they could owe something for the plans they have? Do you have any sense of what that could be used for?
3:40 p.m.
Director, CPP/EI Rulings Division, Canada Revenue Agency
Unfortunately, I'm not sure what provision you're talking about in the budget. It would be difficult for me to answer that question.
3:40 p.m.
NDP
Wayne Marston NDP Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON
They're calling it a transitional provision. If you can't answer, that's fine.
There's a heavy emphasis in the public and in certain media about the richness of public service pensions. My understanding is that the average pension plan for the public service is under $18,000 dollars a year. Is that a reasonable assumption?
3:40 p.m.
Director, CPP/EI Rulings Division, Canada Revenue Agency
Unfortunately, I'm not really an expert on that area. I can't answer that question.
3:40 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Rajotte
There will be a division on that. We can come to that later on in the public sector pensions.
Is there anything further on this?
Okay, I will go to Mr. Jean, please.
3:40 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm a past owner of a small business. I am very excited about the small business tax credit. I know many of my constituents and many small business owners are as well. You went through it—the maximum is if you pay $1,000. Was it $1,000 or $10,000? Could you just go through it again so that people who are listening can understand the basic fundamentals of the tax credit itself, and some changes? Then I will have some further questions for you.
3:40 p.m.
Director, CPP/EI Rulings Division, Canada Revenue Agency
The credit is a calculation based on the difference between EI premiums in 2012 and in 2011. To be eligible for the credit, you must have, in 2011, $10,000 or less in employment insurance premiums. If you meet that criterion, when the employer's T4 information return is processed, there is an automatic calculation that looks at the difference in the amounts.
3:40 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Canadian small businesses—the 534,000 of them—don't even have to know anything to do this. It's automatically done to encourage them to have more growth. Is that fair to say?
3:40 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Okay. They don't have to worry about telling their accountants or anything else. It's just automatically calculated for them. If the difference is over two dollars, for instance, they automatically get that credit.
How does that credit work? Let's say they paid $9,500 last year, and there's a difference this year of possibly $1,000. How does that $1,000 work?
3:40 p.m.
Director, CPP/EI Rulings Division, Canada Revenue Agency
If there is a difference of $1,000—that's the maximum—they would get a maximum credit of $1,000. That would be applied against their payroll deductions account.
3:40 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Wow. They automatically get that. They don't have to put any new paperwork in. What has been the uptake of this? Obviously 100% of the people who are eligible would take it up automatically. What has been the response by small business groups such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Independent Business? What has their response been?