House of Commons Hansard #86 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was chair.
Joe Oliver Conservative Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
Mr. Chair, we have introduced this measure to ensure the long-term viability of the system, given actuarial changes and the fact that Canadians are living longer and in good health. This is a step we have taken, and other countries have taken, to maintain the viability of the system to provide for benefits to seniors going forward.
Murray Rankin NDP Victoria, BC
Mr. Chair, the answer to that question is that it will cost $11 billion for that program cut.
How many Canadians will face a drop of more than 20% in their standard of living when they retire, according to the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce?
Joe Oliver Conservative Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
Mr. Chair, with respect to the last question, it will not cost. It will save money.
Canada has one of the strongest retirement income systems in the world. The old age security program, which includes the old age security pension and the guaranteed income supplement, is one pillar.
We are gradually increasing the age of eligibility to ensure the sustainability of the program. As I said, changes in the program will be phased-in starting only in April 2023, with full implementation by January 2029, to ensure that Canadians have sufficient advance notification to plan for retirement.
Murray Rankin NDP Victoria, BC
Mr. Chair, the question that was asked, but never answered, was this: How many Canadians will face a drop of more than 20% in their standard of living when they retire, according to the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce?
Joe Oliver Conservative Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
Mr. Chair, I am not sure why the member opposite is asking me what a particular bank is forecasting. I mean, if he has the information, why does he not simply tell us?
What we are trying to do with the TFSA, of course, is encourage savings. That is a critical objective and priority of our government.
Murray Rankin NDP Victoria, BC
Mr. Chair, according to that bank report, well known and well publicized, 5.8 million Canadians, nearly a third of our workforce, are facing a steep decline in the standard of living on their retirement.
My next question is this. Did the Department of Finance tell the minister of state this in a report it wrote?
In the long run, expanding the CPP would bring economic benefits. Higher savings will lead to higher income in the future and higher consumption possibilities for seniors.
Did the minister know that the Department of Finance wrote that?
Kevin Sorenson Conservative Crowfoot, AB
Mr. Chair, we have heard here tonight how the New Democratic Party disliked the tax-free savings account. We know that the New Democrats voted against the pooled registered pension plan. We know that every measure that we bring forward to encourage Canadians to save more, they vote against.
Our government believes, and we stand firm, that now is not the time to consider extra payroll taxes for every employee who is working out there. We believe that employers and employees want to take more of their pay cheque home, not leave more of it with Ottawa, not send it off anywhere else. Canadians cannot afford a higher payroll tax, and that is why we have brought forward pension income splitting. That is why we brought forward the pooled registered pension plan. That is why we brought forward the tax-free savings account. That is why we have even brought forward the target benefit plan. Every measure we bring forward, the New Democrats vote against.
Murray Rankin NDP Victoria, BC
Mr. Chair, the Department of Finance said exactly that: “In the long run, expanding the CPP would bring economic benefits”, and the like. Anyway, that is the finance department.
How many Canadian citizens will be affected by the intergovernmental agreement contained in the current budget implementation act?
Joe Oliver Conservative Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
Mr. Chair, the Canadians who will be affected are those who have dual citizenship, and I do not have that exact number but I am sure the member opposite thinks he does.
Murray Rankin NDP Victoria, BC
Mr. Chair, according to Mr. Ernewein at the finance committee, there were one million people affected, and it is not just dual citizens. He was reporting that there were one million people affected by this and it is not just dual citizens; it is people who are living with or married to dual citizens as well.
How many days were Canadians given to comment on the intergovernmental agreement, an extremely complex agreement, from the time it was made public on February 5 of this year?
Joe Oliver Conservative Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
Mr. Chair, of course this particular agreement has been known for some time, and the public has had ample time to consider it. The U.S. model intergovernmental agreement, which is the platform of the Canada–U.S. agreement, has been in the public domain since July 2012. We had announced that we would enter into negotiations with the U.S. on this agreement on November 8, 2012, and invited public comment. We received many comments, and we signed and released the agreement on February 5, 2014. The agreement was introduced on March 8.
Murray Rankin NDP Victoria, BC
It was 30 days, Mr. Chair. Are there any formal obligations under the intergovernmental agreement for the government or the banks to notify Canadians when their personal information gets transferred to the IRS via the CRA?
Gerald Keddy Conservative South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS
That is not what the minister said. Where are they getting 30 days? Did she make that up?
Joe Oliver Conservative Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
Mr. Chair, apparently after they get an answer, the members opposite create their own answer, ignoring the facts. However, in fact I gave them an array of dates, which clearly demonstrated that people had much more time than that.
There is no requirement for a financial institution to notify clients that information about their account is being provided to the CRA under the terms of the intergovernmental agreement. Nevertheless, clients of financial institutions whose accounts already have been reported are generally expected to be aware of this fact because they have self-identified as U.S. persons or have been contacted by their financial institutions about information associated with the account that suggests they may be a U.S. person.
The Assistant Deputy Chair Conservative Bruce Stanton
That finishes that round. Now there will only be five minutes remaining for the hon. member for York Centre. We will start in any case.
The hon. member for York Centre.
Mark Adler Conservative York Centre, ON
Mr. Chair, it is a great honour to be here this evening to discuss how our government has lowered taxes for seniors and has strengthened Canada's retirement income system.
Since 2006, our government has delivered approximately $2.8 billion in annual targeted tax relief for seniors and pensioners. The opposition has fought tooth and nail against every initiative that we have attempted to bring in to lower taxes for Canadians and for seniors. I hope the opposition understands that the way to help seniors is not to raise taxes, beginning with a $21-billion carbon tax.
I hope that what I am about to say, and unfortunately I do not have the full ten minutes to say it, will be a learning experience for the NDP and the Liberals. I encourage them to listen very closely.
Why did we place such importance on tax relief for seniors? Canadians know that our government focuses on what matters most to them. We heard from seniors across Canada who said that they wanted to keep more of their hard-earned dollars in their wallets, where it belongs. That is why we cut the GST from 7% to 6% to 5%. We introduced pension income splitting. We increased the age credit amount by $2,000. We doubled the pension income credit to $2,000 and created the tax-free savings account.
The tax-free savings account is the most innovative and popular savings vehicle since the RRSP. Initially allowing Canadians to save up to $5,000 a year, the tax-free savings account was expanded by our government due to popular demand. We now allow Canadians to save up to $5,500 a year. Members may be wondering how many Canadians have taken advantage of the TFSA that our government created. I am pleased to tell the House that more than nine million Canadians have taken out a tax-free savings account. The NDP and the Liberals voted against it.
This has been particularly beneficial for seniors. Neither income earned in a TFSA nor withdrawals from a TFSA affect a senior's federal support, such as the guaranteed income supplement.
We have also increased the amount that GIS recipients can earn through employment without any reduction in their benefits. We have increased the amount that recipients can earn from $500 to $3,500. For instance, a single pensioner earning at least $3,500 will now be able to keep up to an additional $1,500 in annual GIS benefits. This is important. We even introduced the largest GIS increase in 25 years. This is helping more than 680,000 seniors across Canada.
Our government's low-tax plan has even helped remove 380,000 seniors from the tax rolls altogether. In 2014, a single senior can earn $20,000 and a senior couple can earn $40,000 before paying any federal income tax.
Under the strong leadership of our Prime Minister, not only have we lowered taxes for seniors, we have also succeeded in ensuring that Canada's retirement income system remains strong. Today, Canada's low-income rate for seniors is one of the lowest in the industrialized world.
Our government understands the importance of a secure and dignified retirement for Canadians who worked hard to build this great country. We want to ensure that Canadians have a secure retirement today and for future generations. Canada's retirement income system is renowned globally for preventing poverty among seniors and ensuring high levels of replacement income to retirees. Such high regard is based in no small part on the effectiveness of our government's actions. These actions have been effective because they are based on guiding principles of fiscal responsibility, sustainability, and innovation. We have applied these principles to strengthen the various pillars of Canada's retirement system with its balanced mix of private and public supports.
The Assistant Deputy Chair Conservative Bruce Stanton
It being 11:30 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 81(4) all votes are deemed to have been reported. The committee will rise and I will now leave the chair.
Finance—Main Estimates 2014-15Business of SupplyGovernment Orders
The Acting Speaker Bruce Stanton
The House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).
(The House adjourned at 11:32 p.m.)