Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I appreciate the NDP putting forward a motion that reaffirms and describes the CEBA program—and its importance—which was brought forth to help hundreds of thousands of businesses keep afloat during a time of tremendous uncertainty during the pandemic. I have a few amendments that I have already discussed with Mr. Johns, and I would like to submit them to the clerk. I will submit them in both English and French. I would prefer to move them in a block, but I'm prepared to move them separately as well.
My first amendment is to note that businesses are still recovering from the aftermath of COVID and to note that the government has previously extended the CEBA deadline twice. I would add the words “in Canada risk closing”, and then remove “that” and add “due to the economic aftershocks of the COVID pandemic”. I would add the word “deadline” and the words “for a third time”. I can elaborate further when I read it in full.
My second amendment would be to add the language of reaffirming the value of CEBA and calling for a government response to report to the House. It would add at the end of the motion “and reaffirms the value of these programs to small business owners, and Canadians across the country, and that the committee call for a government response to its report.”
My third amendment acknowledges the actions of Conservatives over the course of the pandemic and the continued scapegoating of pandemic programs as drivers of inflation. It would add “for a third time, given the fact that we've extended it twice before, and given the Conservative leadership's description of pandemic supports like CEBA as 'big fat government programs' and numerous occasions on which the Conservative Party of Canada voted against pandemic support programs that supported Canadians and Canadian businesses”.
I would be happy to move these amendments as a block for the sake of time, but I'm also prepared to do them separately, Mr. Chair.