Okay.
Evidence of meeting #18 for Finance in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was governor.
A video is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #18 for Finance in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was governor.
A video is available from Parliament.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON
—but I really appreciate your important contribution today and your recommendations, and they will be taken seriously.
My last question is for Ms. Potter of the Tourism Industry Association. You talked about the need for immigration changes to fill labour shortages within the tourism industry. Can you elaborate on that for 30 seconds, please?
4:50 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Tourism Industry Association of Canada
We've been looking at lots of the programs that already exist within immigration and at how our industry is able to access those programs. We've come to the conclusion that we're looking for a stream that is specific to the industry. We know our population is shrinking. We are a great opportunity for new Canadians, so we see immigration as a way for us to gain the skills, the knowledge and the expertise we are missing right now within our sector.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Fonseca
Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Dzerowicz. We are moving to the Bloc and Monsieur Garon for two and a half minutes, please.
4:50 p.m.
Bloc
Jean-Denis Garon Bloc Mirabel, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Breton, what are the consequences of climate change and air pollution, keeping in mind that few rational observers see carbon capture as a viable solution, at least not in the foreseeable future. How can electric mobility counter those impacts?
4:50 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Electric Mobility Canada
Thank you for the question.
People sometimes tend to talk about climate change and the role that the electrification of transportation, among other solutions, can play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, people forget one thing, and that's air pollution.
As I said in my presentation, Health Canada indicates that the cost of air pollution is $120 billion a year. That is a monumental cost. Much of this pollution comes from the transportation sector, as well as the oil and gas sector.
The Environment and Climate Change Canada website, for example, states that greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector represent 25% of total greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, it's the emissions coming out of tailpipes. Another 24% comes from the development and refining of the oil needed to make the fuel.
This means that if we rely on carbon capture to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from oil development, but not greenhouse gases that come out of tailpipes. In other words, carbon capture will have no impact on more than three‑quarters of the transportation sector's greenhouse gas emissions.
That's why we think the electrification of transportation is a much faster and more direct way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
4:50 p.m.
Bloc
Jean-Denis Garon Bloc Mirabel, QC
Mr. Breton, I have a few seconds left, and I don't want to lose them this time.
You talked about $120 billion in damages. By comparison, how much are the subsidies given to the electric car industry?
4:50 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Electric Mobility Canada
We are talking about a few hundred million dollars. To date, the government has given just over half a billion dollars, which is considerably less than what has been given to the oil and gas industry.
We will have to make a transition to renewable energy and sustainable transportation. That's why I'm always surprised to hear people say that investments in the electrification of transportation are an expense, as opposed to investments in other areas.
This deserves serious consideration, especially when you see all the health costs.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Fonseca
Thank you, Monsieur Garon.
Now we are moving to the NDP and Mr. Blaikie for two and a half minutes.
4:50 p.m.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Thank you very much.
In your opening remarks, Mr. Cochrane, you talked about the importance of transparency. I'm just wondering if you could take a little time to expand on that and some of the recommendations you have with respect to better transparency in the tax system.
4:50 p.m.
Policy Researcher, Canadians for Tax Fairness
It's hugely important, and it's also the type of thing that gets support from Canadians of all stripes. Everyone thinks it's ridiculous that we don't know how much revenue and profit Amazon makes in Canada. How much tax does Amazon pay in Canada? It's obviously becoming an ever greater part of our economy. At the very least, shouldn't we have information on just how big a part of our economy they're becoming?
The OECD recommended country-by-country reporting for major transnational corporations about a decade ago. That information already gets provided to tax authorities. We just think that the step needs to be taken to make that information publicly available.
4:55 p.m.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
What does that look like for you? Do the legal authorities exist right now for that kind of reporting, or is legislative work necessary to make that happen? What do you think that looks like?
4:55 p.m.
Policy Researcher, Canadians for Tax Fairness
We think that the model that's been set up for the beneficial ownership registry can serve as a template for something similar. It should be relative to the beneficial ownership registry. This is a much simpler step, but you can definitely coordinate among the various relevant government departments to figure out how to do this in a way that maximizes transparency and doesn't potentially risk exposing information that you may not want to make public. It's more than doable.
4:55 p.m.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Right on.
When we talk about people who hold massive amounts of wealth, one of the things that compounds some of the inequities is the difference between the statutory and the effective tax rate. I just wonder if you could speak to some of the ways that the effective tax rate ends up getting driven down for people as they accumulate more wealth and what are some practical steps that Canada could take to make sure that folks are paying what they ought to be paying by law.
4:55 p.m.
Policy Researcher, Canadians for Tax Fairness
The wealthier you are, the more you can afford accountants and lawyers who can help you sidestep the taxes that you should be paying, often legally. We want a comprehensive review of the entire tax system to identify the loopholes that are being exploited in this way.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Peter Fonseca
Thank you.
We are moving now to the Conservatives.
I have Mr. Chambers up for five minutes.
February 10th, 2022 / 4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Adam Chambers Conservative Simcoe North, ON
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all of our witnesses for coming with wonderful presentations.
I'd like to pick up where my friend, Ms. Dzerowicz, left off with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
I am coming to you today from Midland, Ontario—just outside of Midland—which is on beautiful Georgian Bay. My riding covers a significant number of waterways and lakes, including Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, Lake Simcoe, Couchiching and Trent-Severn waterways. This is an incredibly important issue for us in our community and, of course, the surrounding communities that rely on the Great Lakes to survive.
The question is about the sea lamprey. Do we know how often the population would double, say, if it were untreated?
4:55 p.m.
Executive Secretary, Great Lakes Fishery Commission
We do know that they are very prolific. If they're not treated, the population rebounds incredibly quickly. It takes about four or five years for larvae to mature into the adult phase where it goes out from the streams where they spawn, out into the lakes where they do their damage during the parasitic phase. They only live out in the lakes for about two years, but that's where they do all the damage. As I was saying before, each one kills about 18 kilograms of fish.
4:55 p.m.
Executive Secretary, Great Lakes Fishery Commission
In the 1980s, during a period of austerity we relaxed control, and we were proud at that point that we had held the population to about 90%, generally speaking, across the basin to what it was pre-control. We started to fall back really quickly well below the 70% range in just a couple of years. They're incredibly prolific in their repopulation.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Adam Chambers Conservative Simcoe North, ON
Thank you very much. I really appreciate that. You'll have my full support, including all of your recommendations in the letter from this committee.
I'll be changing witnesses.
Ms. Mbarki, thank you very much for being here.
I have two large first nation communities in my riding, Beausoleil First Nation and the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, as well as one of the largest Métis populations in Ontario.
If you had a wish list, is there one thing that you think that government could do in this budget that would help with economic participation and growth with our indigenous populations in this country?