Finance Committee on May 1st, 2020

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to direct my first questions and comments to Ms. Carter, of the Canadian Airports Council.

My riding has the transportation hub of Manitoba: Winnipeg Richardson International Airport. By the end of 2019, they had handled 4.5 million passengers and over 100 daily flights to more than 60 destinations. In Winnipeg, 18,500 families rely on airport operations to put food on their tables from the jobs created at the airport. By March, our airport's traffic had plummeted 60% almost overnight. Outbound traffic declined by more than 80%. As of the beginning of April, boarded passengers were down 92% from the previous year. Nearly all retail and food and beverage offerings are now closed, and parking lots are empty.

Speaking with president and CEO Barry Rempel, it seems the grim reality is that without further targeted assistance, many parts of the aviation sector could shut down. He believes the airport in my community will be facing reduced annualized revenues in 2020 of 63%.

Given all this, given the financial strain that the COVID crisis is having on airports, could you comment on whether the existing programs offered by the federal government have been of any assistance?

[Joyce Carter]

Thank you for the question. I very much appreciate it.

The situation you described exactly mirrors all of the airports across Canada. The significant drop in revenue because of the loss of passengers is exactly as you've described, including at the Winnipeg airport.

The Canada emergency wage subsidy has been helpful to us. I'm going to ask our RJ Steenstra to comment on that program and its relevance to the airports across Canada.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Go ahead, Mr. Steenstra.

[Roelof-Jan Steenstra, Vice-Chair, Canadian Airports Council]

Thank you very much, Joyce.

The Canada emergency wage subsidy is hugely important to our entire economy, as well as to our airports. We've just confirmed in the last 24 hours that Canada's 21 privately operated airport authorities are eligible for this program. However, the delay in this confirmation has unfortunately meant that airports have already laid off employees. It's going to be difficult for us to bring those workers back.

At least 12 of the CAC member airports are ineligible for this wage subsidy program based on their governance structure as municipal and/or territorial airports. Therefore, it is a mixed review in terms of who is able to access that program and who is not currently able to do so.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Thank you.

To continue, I want to have either of you address the issue of supply chains.

In Manitoba, the airport in Winnipeg services many northern communities. A lot of these small airports play an essential role in the critical supply chain for indigenous, northern and remote communities. Winnipeg's airport is a critical part of the supply chain that keeps the north connected and receiving the supplies required to sustain life.

What is your view on whether these programs are of assistance in maintaining that supply chain, especially for northern and indigenous communities?

[Joyce Carter]

Perhaps I'll start, and then I will get RJ, as the chair of our small airports, to speak specifically to your question.

Before I do, I just want to add one thing about the Canada emergency wage subsidy.

The recovery for the aviation business is going to be extremely long. While we very much appreciate the program put in place today, it is currently scheduled to expire in June. Ending it in June is simply going to push the ball down the court in terms of when airports need to lay off employees, for those that haven't already done so, because our recovery is going to be so long delayed. Therefore, we very much would like to see that program extended.

As for northern communities and the supply chain, in particular in the smaller communities, I'd ask RJ to comment on that.

[Roelof-Jan Steenstra]

Thanks again for the question.

I think it's important to recognize that smaller communities and smaller airports are vital links for these areas, including indigenous communities. They are important for access to food, supplies, health care and people.

In some cases, of course, small airports or regional airports even play a role in removing barriers to job opportunities for indigenous populations who commute by air to and from their communities to remote job sites in the NWT, in northern Alberta and throughout the north.

Small airports are an essential service for safety and economic and social prosperity, but I think what's really important for airports like this is to access liquidity. With fewer sources of revenue and without an ability to service their debts, these airports need capital to offset the cost of their operations, especially for regulatory compliance.

While there's a federal program for small airports through ACAP, the airport capital assistance program, this program has long been underfunded and does not currently meet the industry's needs at the best of times, let alone during a crisis of the kind we're going through with COVID-19.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

You can have a short supplementary question, Marty.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

I have a quick one for Ms. Thomas from the accountants' association.

My role is shadow minister for national revenue. I'm interested in your suggestions in terms of the extension of tax deadlines. I know a number of them were extended. I thought I heard you say that you had additional suggestions and I was wondering if you could elaborate on those for a moment.

[Joy Thomas]

Yes, we do have some specific additional suggestions. If you would allow me, I'm going to ask my colleague Bruce Ball to respond.

[Bruce Ball, Vice-President, Taxation, Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada]

Thanks, Mr. Chair. Thanks, Joy.

We do have some suggestions. What we're finding is that with the work on the subsidy programs and advising clients, and also the extensions that have happened already, a lot of our members, and I think tax preparers generally, are finding that a lot of the work they would do before the end of April has been pushed out. They will still be working on personal tax returns throughout May, probably right to the deadline of June 1.

The concern is that some of the other work is going to have to be deferred because they are working on other things. Of course, as everyone's trying to cope and people are working at home and that sort of thing, things aren't running as smoothly as they were.

What we're asking—and we've been in discussion with the Canada Revenue Agency already—is if something could be done with the June 15 deadline for self-employed individuals. Also, there are a lot of corporate returns due at the end of June. We're looking at those two things.

The other thing we've asked for is perhaps a little more clarity that could be given to taxpayers and their advisers around logistical issues. For example, a tax adviser may not have been able to meet with a client to get the person's information. We're hoping a little more information could be given on the taxpayer relief program and how that would operate at a time like this as well.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you all.

I will say, Bruce, on the deferrals, my own accountant told me in no uncertain terms the exact same thing. There need to be some deferrals or they won't be able to handle the work.

I'll turn to Ms. Koutrakis, who will be followed by Ms. Larouche.

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Can you hear me? I seem to be having some technical difficulties.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

You're crackling. We will get the technicians to have a look at that.

Ms. Larouche, are you ready to roll? We will go to you and then come back to Annie. We will see if we can fix that technical problem.

Go ahead, Ms. Larouche.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Good afternoon. I am here today in my capacity as the Bloc Québécois's critic for seniors.

My questions are for Ms. Tassé-Goodman of the FADOQ.

Ms. Tassé-Goodman, you explained what kind of assistance various groups receive. Billions of dollars have been invested so far, but there have been very few measures for seniors.

You also noted that their expenses have not gone down during the crisis. In some cases, even for those receiving the $2,000, rents are not the same in rural and urban areas. Those costs vary. Groceries cost more too, and people have other services they need to pay for.

Given all that, isn't boosting old age security and the guaranteed income supplement a necessity rather than a luxury? Why aren't the measures implemented so far helping seniors get through this crisis?

[Gisèle Tassé-Goodman]

Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, and well before, we've been saying that there's a critical need. This government promised to raise old age security by 10%. People are expecting that. We want higher pensions, be it the guaranteed income supplement or old age security.

As everyone knows, the pandemic means that seniors are in lockdown and can't be out and about. They can't even leave their homes. They are totally isolated. They have to call on outside services because they can no longer rely on their families, loved ones and friends for help.

Seniors have to buy things over the phone. Basic groceries such as bread, butter and flour are more expensive; flour is hard to find. People also have to pay delivery fees. Those are added costs they never had to cover before, added expenses.

We sincerely hope the government will take a close look at this and increase the guaranteed income supplement or old age security as announced last year.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

You mentioned this briefly, but the stock market crash is also impacting seniors' RRIFs. Higher grocery prices are hitting them hard, but so is the declining value of the savings many of them spent a lifetime building up. The stock market crash is really affecting them.

As such, is it too late to protect RRIFs from the stock market crash? If not, how might they be better protected?

[Gisèle Tassé-Goodman]

Seniors' portfolios are losing value. The investments they spent years building up are shrinking before their very eyes. They want it abolished for this year.

Also, as I said, seniors want the age limit for converting RRSPs into RRIFs raised to 75. Seniors who enjoy good health want to work. They want to help address the current labour shortage, and working improves their quality of life too. It is a fact that seniors who work spend less time at the doctor's office. Plus, when they work, they can transfer their knowledge to others.

Deferring RRSP conversion to age 75 would enable seniors to keep contributing to their RRIFs and participate in the labour market.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

You mentioned federal health transfers. There's no escaping that right now given the public health crisis hitting seniors' homes and support for community groups, which often comes from the health budget. These groups need to make do with temporary, unstable funding that has not gone up for far too long despite growing needs.

You said it was critically important and crucial, but how could higher federal health transfers have helped seniors get through this crisis and beyond?

[Gisèle Tassé-Goodman]

According to Statistics Canada, 5.1 million people in Canada will turn 65 over the next 10 years, which is a significant number. We're not experts, but we believe the Canada health transfer should be increased by 6%. It was reduced in 2017, which we know full well has had an impact on the labour force in both the provinces and the territories. Employment income and tax revenues have declined. That is what has happened and will continue to happen. So we're asking that it be restored to 6% for all provinces and territories.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

You also addressed the issue of seniors' isolation, which is a health determinant. The current crisis has made it clear that Internet access is essential for everyone, including seniors. Now that Service Canada offices are closed, people have to apply over the phone, but the phone lines are often busy when they need help fast. They can use the Internet, but that's extremely difficult in some places.

On the other hand, we're hearing more and more about the importance of maintaining connections. Initiatives such as video calls help family members stay in touch with our seniors.

How essential do you think high-speed Internet access is for seniors?

[Gisèle Tassé-Goodman]

It is absolutely critical, Ms. Larouche.

The Government of Canada must do more to connect all Quebeckers and all seniors to the Internet. They must have Internet access, and it must be quality access. In some regions, it's much more difficult to access the Internet, and it's also not affordable for all seniors. The less fortunate are therefore less likely to get the service and use it to communicate with their loved ones.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Okay. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

We are out of time, Ms. Larouche. Thank you.

We will go back to Ms. Koutrakis and then on to Mr. Julian.

Are you there, Annie?

Annie must be off the system, so we will go to you, Mr. Julian, and then to Mr. Cumming if we don't get Annie back on.

Go ahead, Mr. Julian.