Industry Committee on May 3rd, 2022

[Corinne Pohlmann]

The digital main street program was sort of a private sector thing. It was supported initially, I believe, by the Government of Ontario, and has since expanded beyond that.

[Han Dong, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

Wasn't it supported by the municipal government as well?

[Corinne Pohlmann]

It was the municipal government as well, yes—Toronto.

[Han Dong, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

Okay. That's good. I'd be very interested in finding out, because $4 billion is a large pot. I want to know if it's effective or not.

Second of all, I see that in the budget there is a significant amount of dedicated resources that will allow small business to grow and still continue to pay lower tax in the category of small business. Do you think that's helpful and is in the right direction?

[Corinne Pohlmann]

I think you're referring to the increase in the taxable capital limits for the small business tax rate.

[Han Dong, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

That's right.

[Corinne Pohlmann]

Yes. That's something we've been pushing for over many years. It had been sitting at $15 million for probably 20 or 25 years. It needed to go up, so going from $15 million to $50 million was a very good step forward.

Some businesses had large taxable capital but revenues still under $500,000. They had all this large capital on their property, such as the case of a farm implement dealer or dealership, but their revenues were still under $500,000, and they would lose access to the small business tax rate. Therefore, I think that is going to be helpful for those businesses to potentially grow their businesses. Yes, we think that was one of the good measures in the budget.

[Han Dong, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

That's great.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

MP Dong, I'm sorry. We're out of time.

[Han Dong, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

I have a beer question to ask.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

I've been very generous with the Conservatives and with Mr. Généreux, so go ahead, Mr. Dong. I will try to be fair.

[Han Dong, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

I will keep it very short.

The reason I want to ask this is that my fishing buddy is a brewmaster. Over the years he's been telling me about the nature of the business.

In the last two or three years, has the industry been growing in terms of the number of craft brewers and microbrewers? Is there a sort of inner competition between the microbrewers and the craft brewers?

[Luke Chapman]

Before the pandemic, the small to medium-sized brewing category was growing. One thing that's unique about that segment of the market is that those companies rely much more significantly on sales through their on-site taprooms. Obviously, when COVID-19 hit, there were restrictions in place for consumers to go and enjoy a pint of draft beer. I would say they were more negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We like to say in the beer industry that there's a beer for every occasion. In the summer, you like a light lager and in the winter you might like a heavy stout. I think the competition within the category is healthy, but there are certainly challenges at the same time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Lemire, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My question is for Mr. Blackburn or Mr. Hamel.

I understand that you did not want to make a shocking statement about the federal government, but I would nonetheless like to hear more from you.

The Quebec Immigration Lawyers Association was able to obtain an admission from the federal government that files of skilled workers were set aside and that the processing of Quebec files was deliberately delayed. We also heard Minister Mendicino admit that last year.

Owing to the federal government, over 51,000 skilled workers are waiting to be admitted to Quebec. Never have so many immigrants waited to be admitted to Quebec, and it is extremely hard to know the status of their applications.

Would you agree with urging the federal government to immediately admit those 51,000 people? We could then get back on track. Clearly, this would allow all programs to function again and help everyone to get out of a precarious situation, particularly businesses that have invested in the system and that need skilled candidates who are immigrants.

What do you think?

[Karl Blackburn]

First, I must digress slightly. At this late hour, and after discussing beer, I really want a beer. I don’t know why.

That said, resolving the files that are on hold and restarting the calculation from scratch would indeed be a good idea. However, I would ask Mr. Hamel to give you concrete examples.

[Denis Hamel]

Mr. Lemire, we have heard the statement by the federal ministers. At the time, the minister in Quebec, Mr. Jolin-Barrette, had also made a public apology, as he had set aside immigration files. The two governments are in somewhat of a competition to see who will look good, but the result is often the opposite.

When the information about the 51,000 files came out, the two governments were asked to agree and resolve the situation. Some of the files date back 10 years. The government was called upon to resolve the files and allow those people to stay here as permanent residents and fill the many job vacancies. It is essential to do some cleanup and to start from scratch with the new files being received. Those new applicants will probably meet the needs of the labour market better than applicants whose files have long been pending.

That request has already been made, but it's clear that there is still a disagreement between Ottawa and Quebec City about who is delaying the files and who is advancing them.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

I would also add that these are human lives, so this is also about dignity. They are not only workers, but also people who want to integrate into our society.

Thank you for being here.

[Karl Blackburn]

We could settle this over a good beer.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Lemire and Mr. Blackburn.

Mr. Masse now has the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Shaban, I wonder if you have any opinion on the CRTC. When it gets a directive from the minister, I think it could be stronger with regard to decisions based upon competition. Do you have an opinion on that or on whether the CRTC needs some reformation? You don't have to answer if you don't or if it puts you on the spot. I'm just curious if you do have an opinion on that.

I have some reservations, of course, with the directive of the CRTC. It doesn't seem that some of the decisions are consistent with telco competition, for example.

[Robin Shaban]

Unfortunately, I have nothing to share about that, in part because I just don't have an in-depth understanding of the CRTC process. It's not my wheelhouse; that's not my nerddom.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

That's fair enough.

Those are all my questions, Mr. Chair.

Thanks to the witnesses. They have been excellent today.

[The Chair, Liberal, Joël Lightbound]

Thank you very much, Mr. Masse.

Mrs. Gray, you now have the floor for five minutes.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I have a couple of questions for Mr. Agnew.

When you went through the new budget 2022, did you see activities or policies in there to help address inflation for small businesses? We hear that's one of the biggest concerns out there for small businesses, so are you satisfied with what you saw in there regarding inflation? Can you maybe talk about that?