Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Edmonton—Leduc, potentially the future premier of Alberta. Therefore, I am happy to share my time with him.
I rise today to speak to this ill-advised Liberal motion that will turn back the clock on our Conservative government's low tax plan that promotes economic growth and job creation. When the world's worst global recession since World War II hit Canada's shores, our Conservative government took action. We introduced Canada's economic action plan, a timely, targeted and temporary plan to stimulate Canada's economy to help create jobs.
Canada's economic action plan and our low tax plan are working. Canada has weathered the recession better than most industrialized countries. We have had five straight quarters of economic growth. Indeed, only last week we got further good news, with the strongest GDP growth in eight months to last November. The IMF and OECD both project Canada to be among the fastest growing economies in the G7. Canada's financial system has been ranked the soundest in the world for the third straight year by the World Economic Forum.
Canada has created 460,000 jobs since July 2009. That is the best in the entire G7. Canada also has one of the strongest fiscal positions in the G7. We have among the lowest deficits in the G7 and the lowest net debt. In the words of the IMF:
Canada’s overall fiscal outlook in the aftermath of the crisis stands out as among the best in the G20. Net debt is the lowest in the G7.
Clearly, on the economy, Canada's economic action plan and our government have delivered. Canada's economy has weathered the recent global economic storm better than most. That has not gone unnoticed around the world.
For instance, The Economist, the magazine that most of us read, calls Canada “an economic star”. The OECD says, “Canada looks good—it shines, actually”.
The Los Angeles Times has praised Canada, saying:
Americans have almost never looked to Canada as a role model…But…on such critical issues as the deficit, unemployment…and prospering in the global economy, Canada seems to be out performing the United States.
The Washington Times holds Canada up as an example to follow. It says:
We could learn a lot from them.
Look what’s not happening in Canada. There is no real estate crisis. There is no banking crisis. There is no unemployment crisis. There is no sovereign debt crisis....It may not be long before Americans see our northern neighbor as the land of the future.
The Wall Street Journal proclaims:
Twenty-two years ago, we wrote an editorial...warning Canada that economic prosperity isn't a birthright but requires sound policies like free trade. Nowadays, that's a lecture Canada could credibly deliver to Washington...
However, it is not about numbers. It is not about the international praise we have received. It is about Canadian families. This is about creating the jobs and promoting the economic growth we need to prosper. Those jobs and that growth will not and cannot be created and sustained on an ongoing basis with the Liberal plan for higher and higher taxes, bloating government and deficit spending. The Liberal leader wants us to believe the engine of the Canadian economy should be big government, reaching back to the failed and tried economic policies of the 1960s and 1970s. The Liberal leader is wrong.
While a temporary stimulus was necessary to help boost Canada's economy during the worst of the global recession, it must end. The private sector must return as the primary engine of growth, not big government fuelled by higher and higher taxes. Our Conservative government is focused on promoting economic growth and growth creation, through lower taxes to support a sustainable private sector led recovery. That is why we are implementing our job-creating low tax plan.
By lowering taxes on job creators, we are making Canada a destination for investment. Increased investment means more jobs for Canadians and for their families.
We have heard the studies from independent, third-party voices like Jack Mintz and the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters that our low-tax plan is and will create hundreds of thousands of jobs. If the Liberals do not believe them, maybe they would listen to former Liberal deputy prime minister, John Manley. He said:
—I support the federal plan to lower the statutory corporate tax rate to 15 per cent by 2012. ....Canada needs a significant tax advantage....I don’t think we should underestimate the benefits of these changes.... we are transforming how Canada is seen by investors looking for good places in which, and from which, to do business globally....So reforming the tax system in a way that promotes business investment and growth is a hugely positive move.
By lowering taxes on job creators, we are letting businesses keep more of their hard-earned money. That is what we believe in, lower taxes and a low tax plan, a low tax plan for businesses and individuals.
Indeed, since we formed government in 2006, we have cut taxes in every way government collects them: personal, consumption, business, excise and more. We cut the GST to 5%. We cut the lowest personal income tax rate to 15%. We increased the amount of money people could earn before paying taxes. We introduced pension income splitting for pensioners. We reduced taxes on small businesses by lowering their taxes to 11%. We introduced the tax free savings account, the biggest change in personal savings since the introduction of the RRSP, with nearly five million Canadians currently taking advantage of this savings tool.
What does this mean to the average Canadian? All together, we have cut over 100 taxes since taking office, saving the average Canadian family $3,000. That is $3,000 they can spend on their priorities. This is the lowest overall tax burden in nearly 50 years. Again, we believe in lower taxes.
While our Conservative government thinks Canadians pay enough taxes, the Liberal leader thinks government should be digging deeper into the pockets of hard-working Canadians, especially job creators. What Liberals are proposing is the hiking of business taxes.
The tax relief we are talking about was passed in the budget of 2007 by the House, including support from the Liberals. To pull the rug out from under our job creators, who have made their investment and hiring plans based on what Parliament passed years before is simply irresponsible. It would be a disaster.
Businesses do not plan their affairs on a month to month basis, but look years ahead and plan for those years. They make investment decisions partly based on their expected taxes. To pull the rug out from under them and raise their taxes after the fact will seriously dampen our economic growth and job creation.
In the words of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce:
Our members are from all sectors and collectively employ 75,000 citizens....In 2007, the federal government announced a series of graduated business tax reductions designed to keep Canada competitive with our trading partners...Employment and investment has been predicated on the availability of funds that, if the tax changes are reversed, will no longer be available. This will have a negative impact on economic growth.
That is from the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, the industrial heartland of Ontario, my neighbour, and I agree with that quote. It has the pulse on the business community and that is the answer it is bringing forward. In other words, people would lose their jobs. Families would be hurt.
How can the Liberals think of these tax hikes when we are trying to shake off a global recession? The facts are clear. The Liberal plan to hike taxes on job creators is dangerous as it threatens our fragile economic recovery. That is why I firmly stand in not supporting the Liberal motion before us today.