Mr. Laurin, you warned us earlier that we would never be safe from negative growth and that we had to be very careful in the new year that is about to start. In fact, a little earlier this week, the Governor of the Bank of Canada revised Canada’s economic growth downwards. So did the Parliamentary Budget Officer. However, in response to a question from us two days ago, the latter made it clear that the previous government had left a surplus of $2.9 billion.
My question deals with the impact on small and medium-sized businesses of the measures proposed by the current administration. Three weeks ago, a new carbon tax was announced. For some investors and entrepreneurs, that tax will be coming into effect much too quickly.
In the House at the moment, we are debating Bill C-26, which proposes to increase the Canada Pension Plan. I say “increase” because the contribution from workers will go up by approximately $1,000. For businesses, it will be $1,000 per employee. The proposal is for the tax rate for SMEs to stay at 10.5%, whereas some people had committed to reduce it to 9%.
In your opinion, what will be the effect on economic growth of the combination of those three factors: the carbon tax, the increase in the Canada Pension Plan, and the SME tax rate remaining the same?
How will that affect those who create jobs and the small and medium-sized businesses that form the backbone of our economic strength?