Mr. Speaker, I rise today in the House to express some concerns about the budgetary policy presented by the Conservative government on February 11.
I would like to join my colleagues in saying that this budget clearly does nothing to stimulate the Canadian economy and that it could even create obstacles for credit unions, for example. I rise as the member for LaSalle—Émard and the official opposition's critic for co-operatives.
I have two simple suggestions for the Minister of Finance and the government. First, I am asking them to acknowledge the positive contribution of co-operatives to our economy. Second, I am asking them to look at co-operatives through the eyes of their members so that they can gain a better understanding of co-operatives, their structure and the democratic way in which they operate.
Co-operatives make a major contribution to our economy and our society. They are engines of growth and job creation. These businesses benefit communities and meet their needs. That is the case in my riding of LaSalle—Émard, where credit unions are firmly established in the community. Our community is served, to name just a few, by the Caisse populaire de LaSalle, the Caisse populaire canadienne italienne and the Caisse de Saint-Henri et Ville-Émard, of which I am a proud member. We also have the Association coopérative d'économie familiale du Sud-Ouest, which is a consumer advocacy organization that provides tools to help people get out of debt and make informed choices.
Despite the significant growth of the co-operative sector in all provinces and territories and despite demands presented by the main umbrella groups for Canadian co-operatives, the government once again tabled a budget that does not reflect their reality and, above all, that does not recognize the positive impact of these activities on our economy and our communities.
As the NDP has already mentioned, the government has tabled an uninspiring budget. It is full of vague statements and does not set out real measures to strengthen the co-operative sector and to make the federal government an active partner in its development.
However, it does contain clues about changes that could affect the credit union system in the medium term. We will keep a close eye on those to make sure that the government heeds the recommendations put forward by the co-operative sector. In its budget, the government indicated that it would streamline the process for amalgamations of two or more provincial credit unions wishing to move to the federal credit union framework. This proposal complements measures introduced by the government in 2010 and the federal framework introduced in 2012.
The Credit Union Central of Canada stated that credit unions have experienced major challenges in transitioning to the federal framework. We hope that the government will consult them about the amalgamation process and will take their experience and their needs into account.
Again, I would like to remind the minister and the government that I hope they will look at this from a co-operative perspective to ensure they also understand the co-operative principles that govern credit unions, the principles that make these institutions democratic institutions.
The second element that could affect credit unions is the move to review and update the federal regime for credit unions. In addition, joint supervision of provincial credit union centrals by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions will cease.
I would like to point out to all MPs how important it is to carry out a responsible review of the powers of federal entities with respect to provincial credit unions.
The largest co-operatives, the largest credit union federations are concerned about this measure. The government must take care to ensure that changes to the nature of the relationship with the lender of last resort do not have consequences in terms of how ratings agencies react and in terms of access to the capital of provincially regulated credit unions.
We hope that the government will undertake an open consultation process with the provinces and stakeholders such as the Credit Union Central of Canada and the Mouvement Desjardins.
The third element of the budget plan that I would like to talk about is establishing a property and causality demutualization framework. At the beginning of the month, I met with representatives of mutual companies from across Canada as part of the Canadian Association of Mutual Insurance Companies' lobbying day on Parliament Hill. Their message was clear: do not incentivize demutualization, and if there must be demutualization, there must also be equitable redistribution to the whole sector.
The NDP believes that there should be no external or internal incentives to demutualization. Rather, the upcoming regulations should be strongly oriented toward the elimination of demutualization incentives. Any regulation on this matter should be developed by considering the history of property and casualty mutuals and the collective nature of the assets.
Like the Canadian Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, we feel that demutualization should not benefit a small group of policyholders, directors, or employees; it should provide fair and equitable treatment to all of them. All policyholders must have the right to vote and participate in the decision process. We must avoid unfair enrichment as a result of demutualization. It is for this reason that we support the distribution of proceeds of an eventual demutualization within the co-operative sector.
The fourth and last element of the budget plan I want to talk about pertains to the government's proposed measures to ensure that new financial market participants and small banks can be more competitive.
We agree with increasing competition in a financial sector dominated by three or four main players. We also want to remind the government that it is important to consider the differences between a small bank and a credit union.
I remind the government and the Minister of Finance that they need to look at things from a credit union perspective. They need to understand the structure of co-operatives and the democratic manner in which co-operatives operate, and they need take that into account in their approach.
Co-operatives, caisses populaires and credit unions can be found in communities where there are no banks. They offer products and services adapted to the needs of their members and they reinvest in their community. It is the same in my riding. However, they have a hard time dealing with some aspects of the regulations and they face significant challenges in terms of human resources and logistics. That is why we need to make sure that the new standards do not increase their administrative burden.
In conclusion, I am concerned that there are no measures in this budget to address some priority needs that the co-operative sector has been calling for for years. The budget does not contain a proposal for tax fairness for credit unions. Similarly, the budget does not say anything about a review of Farm Credit Canada's mandate.
This budget fails to invest in the development of the co-operative sector. The co-operatives demand the creation of a co-operative investment fund, with the joint participation of the co-operative sector and federal government. Access to capital remains a key challenge for co-operatives. That is why the NDP, since 2012, has been seeking the support of the federal government to create conditions facilitating access to financing and capitalization.
I truly expect that the government will reconsider its approach on this fund and that it will introduce measures for this matter in the budget bill. One can only hope.