Finance Committee on June 2nd, 2026

[Luc Godbout]

All of the above. It doesn't meet the electrification goals. As for how it's distributed among households, wealthier households get more than less affluent ones.

Take the case of Ontario, which introduced a six-month gas tax holiday. It subsequently extended the measure in six-month increments. Eventually, it became permanent. It's possible the tax may never be reinstated.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Do you believe that the oil companies actually lowered gas prices on a long-term basis as a result or was it only temporary?

[Luc Godbout]

In the short term, prices certainly fell, but past studies have shown that, in this type of economic market, producers can recoup part of the tax cut. It was extremely difficult to track.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you, Mr. Garon.

Mr. Deltell, welcome to the Standing Committee on Finance. You have five minutes.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I am extremely honoured to come to this very prestigious committee, led by someone I greatly respect and admire.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

That's true. I think so.

I'm also very pleased to see such a distinguished group of guests here today. They are mostly from Quebec, and we truly appreciate them.

First, I'd like to ask the representatives from the Fédération des chambres de commerces du Québec some questions.

Mr. Lavigne and Mr. Rioux, you mentioned critical minerals, which should receive the same tax incentives as green energy technologies. Can you explain why, in your opinion, this should be the case?

[Mathieu Lavigne]

Good afternoon. Thank you for your question.

I'll just say this: for the sake of consistency. To successfully transition to a green economy and clean energy, many things are needed. One of the most important things is critical and strategic minerals. We must therefore view them as part of the same continuum, the same value chain.

If we provide incentives for technologies that need critical and strategic minerals, we should provide the same incentives for producing them—especially since here in Quebec and in Canada in general, we have reserves of these minerals.

So, for the sake of consistency, we do not understand why this same incentive is not in place.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

Earlier, you also mentioned Canada's international competitiveness. If I understood your comment correctly, we are falling behind. Many things need to be done to improve our competitiveness.

Can you explain what has been done in the United States and why Canada is currently lagging, particularly with regard to our main partner—and also our main competitor—namely the United States?

[Hubert Rioux]

Thank you for the question.

In terms of taxation, even during the first Trump administration, there was a significant reduction in the federal corporate income tax rate, which fell to 21%. This cut was made permanent by last year's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The 21% federal tax rate in several U.S. states—where the corporate tax rate ranges from 0 to 5% for many of Quebec's and Canada's major partners—means that the combined rate of 26.5% for Quebec and Canada, for example, is not very competitive. This therefore has a significant impact on our businesses and their competitiveness relative to their U.S. competitors.

The Tax Foundation's International Tax Competitiveness Index, published annually, ranks Canada 22nd among the 38 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, in terms of corporate taxation. This is due in particular to the combined income tax rate, which is higher than the average not only in the United States but also among advanced OECD countries.

For our part, we believe that a reduction in the federal corporate income tax rate in Canada would also be welcome. We are calling for the same in Quebec.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

Do you have a recommendation on this? You say that this rate is 0% in some states. I don't think it should go that low, but what would you suggest?

[Hubert Rioux]

We suggest a 1.5% decrease.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

Excellent.

Ms. LLambías Meunier, from the Conseil du patronat du Québec, thank you for joining us. I'd like to talk to you about a topic you mentioned earlier: the lack of alignment between policies, the paperwork involved and the outcomes for businesses.

You talked about a barrier to investment and said that the process of aligning policies is too time-consuming and too complex. Could you give us an example of a business that is struggling with the fact that the paperwork required and the need to align with market demands are not straightforward?

[Michelle LLambías Meunier]

I would say that, if it isn't the main challenge, it's the second challenge, right after the workforce issue.

The issue of regulations and the administrative burden comes up consistently among all businesses working with the federal government on various programs or to access various incentives. So it's widespread.

Sometimes it's a matter of form length or consistency across different departments. Very often, businesses tell us they feel like a tennis or ping-pong ball, being bounced back and forth between departments or teams of public servants or colleagues. So this is a huge challenge.

I'll now turn the floor over to my colleague Norma Kozhaya, who is our chief economist. She may have a concrete example to share.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

There's time for a 10-second answer

[Norma Kozhaya, Vice-President of Research and Chief Economist, Conseil du patronat du Québec]

Yes. Thank you.

Every sector is affected by this. Large-scale projects, in particular, come to mind. It can take up to 10 or 20 years to obtain the necessary permits for a project.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent—Akiawenhrahk, QC]

Did you say 10 or 20 years?

[Norma Kozhaya]

Yes, it can take 10 to 20 years in the mining or transportation sector.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you, ladies and Mr. Deltell. Your time is up.

Mr. Lavoie for five minutes.

[Steeve Lavoie, Liberal, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

I would like to thank the witnesses for joining us today. We are doing important work.

Mr. Laurin, I was listening to you earlier, and my colleague Mr. Leitão revisited the issue.

I'd like to share an experience I had when I was at the Quebec City chamber of commerce and industry. We conducted a survey on obstacles preventing businesses from using these programs, and after listening to you earlier, I realize we're still in the same place—and the number one issue is time. You need the time to ensure this alignment, you need to know which program could help, and you need money. You need all three at once to succeed. Often, people have the money and the knowledge, but they don't have the time to do it.

I was listening to you when you were talking about solutions. Back then, we concluded that people needed to step in and help businesses so they could succeed. It wasn't necessarily the federal, provincial or municipal government that was going to do it. The municipal government offered programs, but people didn't take advantage of them because they lacked the time, the knowledge and the money.

That being said, who could do it? Could it be independent organizations, such as the Conseil du patronat du Québec? Could the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, with its network, take care of it, with the help of the other levels of government?

Even if we invent another 10,000 programs, if people cannot use them due to a lack of time, money or knowledge—as I said, all three are needed—we'll never succeed.

I'll now let you answer my question. I would then like to hear from the representatives of the Fédération and Conseil du patronat on who could coordinate all these programs across the federal level, other levels of government and businesses, in order to finally close this gap.

[Frédéric Laurin]

I certainly don't want to add another program. There are so many programs, organizations and supports of all kinds.

The problem isn't the number of programs or their nature; it's getting the business off the ground. It's about getting the business to realize that, since it's going to undertake a project like this, it will need funding, workforce training and someone to open doors for it in Germany.

We have people who will work with the business on all of this, but the project needs to get off the ground and we need to connect the business to all these programs. There are many doors for the business to knock on, but those connections haven't been made yet.

[Steeve Lavoie, Liberal, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Who can do that?

[Frédéric Laurin]

I would say this can be done more at the regional level, because each region faces its own challenges. The municipality or regional county municipality is best positioned to be the first point of contact with the business, because it knows its territory.

Most economic development challenges extend beyond the boundaries of a single municipality, particularly labour markets, economic sectors, and mechanisms for attracting and retaining workers and investment. So it would take someone who thinks in terms of the region, and that's where the gaps lie.

[Steeve Lavoie, Liberal, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you.

I would now like to hear from the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, the federation of Quebec chambers of commerce, for one minute or less, as well as the Quebec Employers' Council. What are your thoughts? Can you or another organization be part of the solution?