Evidence of meeting #83 for Finance in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was benefit.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Senior Vice-President, National Affairs, Canadian Federation of Independent Business
We've estimated about 1.25 million are working for our members.
Senior Vice-President, National Affairs, Canadian Federation of Independent Business
Yes.
Conservative
Mark Adler Conservative York Centre, ON
I'm just curious. Have any of those 109,000 members ever.... You're polling your membership all the time. Is that correct?
Senior Vice-President, National Affairs, Canadian Federation of Independent Business
Yes.
Conservative
Director, Policy, Innovation and Business Taxation, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters
Come on.
Senior Vice-President, National Affairs, Canadian Federation of Independent Business
I can't say they've ever asked for it, no.
Conservative
Mark Adler Conservative York Centre, ON
Okay, thank you.
Dan Kelly, the president of the CFIB, gave this budget an A, and said this is a terrific budget for small business. Is that correct?
Senior Vice-President, National Affairs, Canadian Federation of Independent Business
That's correct, yes.
Conservative
Mark Adler Conservative York Centre, ON
Thank you.
I do want to now move to Mr. Lavoie at the CME.
How many members does the CME have?
Director, Policy, Innovation and Business Taxation, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters
We have 10,000.
Director, Policy, Innovation and Business Taxation, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters
Well, the whole sector is 1.7 million. I would estimate maybe about 200,000 are members at present, because not all manufacturers are members of ours.
Conservative
Mark Adler Conservative York Centre, ON
Of course. When you reach out to your membership, none of them has ever asked that the government should be increasing taxes in any way, shape, or form.
Director, Policy, Innovation and Business Taxation, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters
No, we never bothered asking them.
Conservative
Director, Policy, Innovation and Business Taxation, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters
No, no.
Conservative
Mark Adler Conservative York Centre, ON
Of course not.
I do want to pose the same question to you. How important is it that the budget contained all these confidence-building measures for business?
Director, Policy, Innovation and Business Taxation, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters
It's very important. It's very important also especially for companies that are maybe headquartered outside this country. We have a lot of members where decision-making happens maybe in a boardroom in Connecticut, or somewhere else. I think it's the right message we need to send to these people, because they know little about Canada. They know what their guys here tell them, and I think it's important for them to hear good news about us, like the low-tax environment, all the big-picture items.
Conservative
Mark Adler Conservative York Centre, ON
I suspect they do hear good news about it. We are leading the G-7 in terms of economic performance, some 1.2 million new jobs created since the depths of the recession in 2009, and we are rated by the World Economic Forum as having the most secure and safest financial system. They are hearing good news about Canada, are they not?
Director, Policy, Innovation and Business Taxation, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters
They're hearing very good news about low taxes.
Director, Policy, Innovation and Business Taxation, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters
There are other factors they hear about that are maybe more negative, such as high labour costs, stuff like that.
Conservative
Mark Adler Conservative York Centre, ON
These are all important factors in attracting investment and creating jobs in our country. Is that correct?