House of Commons Hansard #27 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was ndp.
James Cumming Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
Madam Chair, would the minister agree that increased exports are needed to increase revenue, given the debt that we are loading and that should be a critical component of any fiscal plan?
Mary Ng Liberal Markham—Thornhill, ON
Madam Chair, to the hon. member, this is exactly why we announced the expanded CanExport program and why, in the other room right now, I had a virtual trade—
James Cumming Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
Madam Chair, would the Minister of Finance recognize the importance of a strong resource sector in the recovery and part of the great economic restart?
Navdeep Bains LiberalMinister of Innovation
Madam Chair, of course we recognize the importance of a strong resource sector. We think we need to have a very strong, robust economy for future generations, particularly for my daughters, Nanki and Kirpa, who are watching tonight.
James Cumming Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
Madam Chair, would the minister agree then, in the economic clusters that were developed, that the resource sector was not included and should be included as a strong sector that we want to see rebound?
Navdeep Bains Liberal Mississauga—Malton, ON
Madam Chair, we recently announced $100 million for the Clean Resource Innovation Network. This network invests in the oil and gas sector and the technologies that will enable us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and make sure we leave a bright future for our children—
James Cumming Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
Madam Chair, is the Minister of Finance aware that the Mayor of Edmonton had asked for $240 million toward homelessness and we received $17 million in the rapid housing initiative?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Madam Chair, I am delighted to hear Conservatives talking about homelessness in Edmonton. That is a big focus of ours. We are delighted to work with Mayor Iveson. We will keep on doing that. He is doing a great job on homelessness.
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
Madam Chair, I am glad the government has finally listened to some of the Conservative recommendations from back in May to allow businesses to recuperate lost revenue without being worse off from clawbacks.
Today I heard from a Lakeland farmer who was not eligible for CEBA because he was a sole proprietor. He waited months for the change to allow non-deferrable expenses, but then his application was rejected because his feed invoices are not on a company letterhead. Farmers mainly buy feed from local producers, not big companies.
Could the minister confirm that the bill fixes this issue?
Mary Ng LiberalMinister of Small Business
Madam Chair, right from the very beginning, we wanted to support those farming businesses. I am happy to look into this, and into this specific case.
Of course businesses that meet the $40,000 non-deferrable expense will get access to CEBA.
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
Madam Chair, Canadian business owners going to the border for visas or to pick up supplies have been forced to quarantine, but U.S. billionaires from UPS, Costco and Uline have been exempted. Why?
Mary Ng Liberal Markham—Thornhill, ON
Madam Chair, right from the very beginning, our commitment was to ensure that we keep Canadians safe from COVID and—
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
Madam Chair, the public safety minister said the CBSA exemptions for American executives were mistakes, but the foreign affairs minister said he actually granted almost 200 of them for business mobility.
Canadian small business owners have to quarantine and some owner-operator businesses have to close for two weeks when they cross the border. Why is the government putting American interests ahead of Canadians?
Navdeep Bains LiberalMinister of Innovation
Madam Chair, I want to make it abundantly clear that we have had protocols and procedures in place that protect Canadians. We work with local health authorities to make sure that we advance measures to keep Canadians safe, and that will continue to be our policy going forward.
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
Madam Chair, I want to cite specific cases, just so we can illustrate the double standard here. I hope the Liberals can find a fix for Canadian small businesses.
I just heard about a small business owner in B.C. who was told, in advance, by CBSA that he could go 300 yards across the border to retrieve supplies, yet when he came back CBSA agents told him he had to quarantine for 14 days. He has to close his business or significantly reduce operations, obviously at the very worst time.
Why is the government granting quarantine exemptions to well-connected American billionaires but not to Canadian small business owners?
Jean-Yves Duclos LiberalPresident of the Treasury Board
Madam Chair, we are, of course, very mindful of the difficulties the crisis has created for many Canadians. We would all like for the crisis not to exist and for the pandemic to be away from us. That will come at some point, but until then, CBSA border officials and various departments are doing all they can to protect both the integrity of the system and provide some peace of mind to all Canadians.
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
Madam Chair, Canadians have gone to the border for a visa so they could work. They are given paperwork stating that they were not actually in the U.S. by American border officials, and then when they come back, CBSA tells them to quarantine, that they must stay home from their jobs and lose a paycheque for two weeks.
Again, U.S. billionaires get free access to come into Canada, travel around freely and skip quarantine. How is that fair? How does that help Canadians and Canadian businesses survive financially?
Jean-Yves Duclos Liberal Québec, QC
Madam Chair, indeed, to make businesses thrive and survive going through the crisis and to help workers as well is a central piece of our economic agenda. That is why we are here tonight, together. We want this bill and these pieces of legislation to go forward exactly for that purpose, to support our small and other businesses in Canada.
Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland, AB
This is the problem, Madam Chair. The inconsistency, uncertainty and lack of clarity are hurting Canadians but helping Americans. The government gave the American UPS president an exemption to come to Canada to push the Teamsters union into a new contract. He was not delivering packages for UPS. He could have held his meetings by video like the rest of the world is forced to do, but the government let him in, with no quarantine required.
Canadian small business owners are being forced to quarantine in their own country, with no exemptions for them. They literally have to put their lives and livelihoods on hold for two weeks. How can small businesses survive when there is one set of rules under the Liberals for wealthy American elites and another set for working Canadians and Canadian small business owners?
Jean-Yves Duclos Liberal Québec, QC
There would be a lot more to say that I can say in just 15 seconds, Madam Chair, but exactly the purpose of our meeting tonight is to support and help businesses, and small businesses in particular, get through the crisis, keep their workers and be prepared for when the crisis is over.
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Madam Chair, I congratulate you for your rigour and I also congratulate your predecessors. This is an interesting system.
According to a survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Quebec's SMEs will need an average of $25,000 to cover their fixed costs to the end of the year.
Has the government considered providing assistance for fixed costs for SMEs, whether they are landlords or tenants?
