Evidence of meeting #94 for Finance in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site.) The winning word was chair.
A video is available from Parliament.
11:45 p.m.
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Again, I would request a recorded vote, Mr. Chair.
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])
11:45 p.m.
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Could we have another recorded vote, please?
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])
11:45 p.m.
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Again, I would request a recorded vote.
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])
11:45 p.m.
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Again, Mr. Chair, I would ask for a recorded vote, please.
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])
11:45 p.m.
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
I would request a recorded vote.
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])
11:45 p.m.
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
I would request a recorded vote, please, Mr. Chair.
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])
11:45 p.m.
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
I would ask again for another recorded vote, please.
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])
11:50 p.m.
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Could I request a recorded vote, please?
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])
11:50 p.m.
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Again, Mr. Chair, could I request a recorded vote, please?
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])
11:50 p.m.
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Mr. Chair, could I request a recorded vote, please?
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])
11:50 p.m.
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
I would request a recorded vote, please.
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])
11:50 p.m.
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Again, Mr. Chair, I would request a recorded vote, please.
(Clause 26 agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
(On clause 27)
11:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Rajotte
Colleagues, clause 27 has a number of amendments, by both the NDP and the Liberal Party.
I'll remind you that we're at 11:52 p.m., so at 11:59 I will make the changeover, as we discussed earlier.
I will start with the official opposition for their amendments, please.
11:50 p.m.
NDP
Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
With the last five minutes I'll have to make comments here at the finance committee before we're obliged to just vote without debate, I do want to make the point that we have tried to make substantive amendments and we've restricted our comments to those substantive amendments, but it does speak to the really offensive nature of the overall omnibus bill that has so much crammed into it and so little time. That we're forced to deal with all of this before the finance committee, it really is unacceptable.
I want to speak specifically to clause 27. We have amendments NDP-5 to NDP-9 on this clause, and others have other amendments. Because there are so many unrelated changes crammed into this one clause, there are many different things that it addresses.
For example, the Conservatives have combined their $500-million cut to the SR and ED tax credit on research and development with another provision for a tiny reduction in fossil fuel subsidies and a minor expansion in tax credits for certain clean electricity generation equipment. We're forced to vote on these all together, which really makes no sense.
For example, one of our amendments, NDP-4, would clean up this clause by deleting the cuts to the SR and ED tax credit while preserving the measures on fossil fuel subsidies and clean energy generation equipment, because we support those measures. We've also proposed amendments that would delay the coming into force of the cuts to contract payments, to capital eligibility, and to the general SR and ED tax rate. I outlined earlier under clause 9 our overall concerns about the cuts. They will destroy innovation, destroy investment, destroy jobs.
Our amendment NDP-8 would delay a single clause that would cut hundreds of millions from support to business research and development in Canada. Now, the Department of Finance has valued this cut to support for business research and development at $295 million a year. Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters says the real impact will be much greater, probably about $350 million in impact on research and development. It's a major cut. We've heard from all sorts of businesses that it will drive them to scale back their planned R and D activities and we've even heard of planned new R and D centres that are now on the chopping block.
We know that when the Conservatives came into government in 2008, Canada was ninth in terms of its support for large firms' R and D expenditures, but if this bill passes as is, even taking into account their cuts to corporate income taxes, Canada will fall to seventeenth in terms of its support for major business R and D. This means that some companies will likely move their planned R and D activities to other countries, countries that do support business R and D, like Norway, Taiwan, India. These are the countries that we're in competition with and Canadians will be the losers. We're the ones who will lose out on investments and jobs.
These cuts will also open up a gulf between the 35% refundable tax credit for small business with the 15% that companies with more than $50 million in sales will get, and it might serve as a reverse incentive for companies not to expand and move over that $50 million in sales measure.
We are going to be losing in terms of research and development. We've heard from companies concretely that this is going to cost them and cost us as a country in terms of research and development and in terms of jobs.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.