House of Commons Hansard #33 of the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was chair.
Alex Ruff Conservative Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON
Mr. Chair, small and micro-businesses, especially those that are family-owned or sole proprietorships, are not eligible for many if any of the current COVID-19 benefits and are slipping through the cracks.
Will the government remove the minimum $50,000 wage ceiling for businesses to qualify for the Canadian emergency business account? If yes, when?
Mary Ng LiberalMinister of Small Business
Mr. Chair, those micro-businesses and family-owned businesses are really important to the communities, as they make communities so dynamic. The various supports we have put in place are intended to help those very businesses.
In this very difficult time we are going to continue to work and listen to our businesses and micro-businesses to ensure they are supported through this period.
Alex Ruff Conservative Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON
Mr. Chair, I did not hear an answer. Yes or no, will the ceiling be changed?
Mary Ng Liberal Markham—Thornhill, ON
Mr. Chair, we will continue to listen to those businesses, as they are so dynamic in our communities. We are going to ensure that we work hard so that our businesses are supported through this very difficult time.
Alex Ruff Conservative Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON
Mr. Chair, could the Minister of Finance answer that question? Will the ceiling be changed?
Mary Ng Liberal Markham—Thornhill, ON
Mr. Chair, businesses across the country have been listened to and we are going to continue to listen to those businesses. We have done a number of things to help our Canadian businesses.
We have helped businesses keep their costs low. For businesses like the one the hon. member just talked about, we are helping by deferring the GST, the HST and customs duties payments so that our businesses can weather this difficult time.
Alex Ruff Conservative Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON
Mr. Chair, Service Canada offices have been closed across the country. Canadians without Internet access or phone access depend on Service Canada offices.
Will the government consider reopening Service Canada offices, and when?
Carla Qualtrough LiberalMinister of Employment
Mr. Chair, Service Canada offices were closed both in the public health interest of our public servants, but also in the public health interest of Canadians who access services through these offices.
I can appreciate the frustration of individuals who do not have phone or Internet access, and I will take that back as a personal challenge. We have doubled our efforts to make sure that we are answering questions online, that we are answering questions on the telephone, but right now we do not think it is in the public health interest of either our citizens or our public servants to have our Service Canada offices open.
Scot Davidson Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Chair, I am going to read a quote from the Financial Post:
“In a few months, we would normally see a lot of fresh Canadian produce coming onto the market, I believe that’s in jeopardy right now,” said Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Mary Robinson. “I am so nervous to say that because we don’t want to create any sense of panic.”
Farmers in Bradford West Gwillimbury reached out to me. They are very concerned about the planting right now. They are concerned about their accounts receivables and being paid. How will the government support farmers who are facing uncertainty right now about their yields and in the months to come and offer some protection for fresh produce farmers on their receivables?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Chair, I just have to say that we all are concerned with the impacts on multiple sectors that are happening because of COVID-19. This means we need to think about how we can support different sectors.
Most importantly, we have put in place approaches for credit for organizations of all different sizes, and we are continuing to work on that. In the agricultural sector, we have specifically changed the rules around Farm Credit Canada to allow for agricultural sectors to get access to credit to find their way through this. We are going to continue to consider other approaches to ensure the support is there.
Scot Davidson Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Chair, what follows comes from the physically and mentally challenged adult homes in my riding: “We need your help now.” “Time is of the essence.” “If there is an outbreak in our homes, it will be deadly.” “Our most pressing needs are PPE and off-site isolation beds.”
York—Simcoe is home to over 28 of these homes. They are pleading with the federal government for more financial help. The government has said that no Canadian will be left behind. We expect no Canadian will be left behind. This is a vulnerable group in homes that need more support.
What is the government willing to do for these people?
Carla Qualtrough LiberalMinister of Employment
Mr. Chair, I can assure every member in this House that vulnerable Canadians, in particular those with disabilities, are top of mind for this government. Yesterday we issued a statement affirming our commitment to leave no one behind and to ensure quality of access to health care and medical treatment, and that is exactly what we are doing.
I am working very closely with the disability community. Yesterday I announced the creation of a COVID-19 disability advisory group to get on-the-ground, lived experience and real-time advice, and that is the exact kind of situation we are tackling. Working with my colleague, the Minister of Seniors, we want to make sure that any kind of more residential-type care facility has the most protection possible in this time of crisis.
Scot Davidson Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Chair, we are looking for an exact answer. When will money and help be available for these homes? We all know time is of the essence. If we have an outbreak in one of these homes, it could be disastrous. The question is when.
Carla Qualtrough Liberal Delta, BC
Mr. Chair, as part of our global response to ensuring that each province has the health care capacity it needs to respond in this time of crisis, the Minister of Health and I are working with our colleagues in the area of health and disability to ensure provincial needs are identified and that we can, through collaboration, address them.
I can assure the member that this is a top priority for us, and we are doing everything we possibly can.
Scot Davidson Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Chair, the medical intelligence cell within the Canadian Forces intelligence command warned the government about the emergence of COVID-19 in January. Specifically, did the government take heed of this report when it had the ability to prepare our country for the COVID-19 outbreak?
Chrystia Freeland LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Chair, our government was focused on the threat posed by the novel coronavirus from the end of last year. We have been very aware of it and have been following it closely, both through our own officials and in close collaboration with our friends and allies around the world.
When it comes to specific intelligence to which I or other ministers have been privy, of course we cannot share that.
Scot Davidson Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Chair, the economic repercussions of this period will be deeply felt by Canadians across the country. People need to get back to work and have jobs to go back to. Action needs to be taken to get our economy back on track once COVID-19 is contained.
Does the Liberal government have a plan for economic recovery once the pandemic is over?
Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON
Mr. Chair, absolutely, but I do want to clarify one assumption embedded in the hon. member's question, and that is this notion that there will be an immediate and visible end to the pandemic.
We will be fully safe and fully past this only once either a vaccine has been developed or we have a very high level of herd immunity within Canada. Prior to that, what experts are saying is likely to happen, and as was shown in our data forecast on Friday, is that there will be a peak, and we will get past that peak, and then we need to prepare for some wavelets coming after. We need to have a calibration of social distancing efforts that go on and off, allowing our economy to restart to some extent.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Chair, yesterday, the Government of Quebec announced that all sports and cultural events are cancelled until the end of August. That will be catastrophic for the tourism sector across Quebec and Canada, and especially in the Lower St. Lawrence.
Does the government have measures in mind to mitigate the impact on the tourism sector?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Chair, that is a very good question.
We know there are sectors that are really hurting because of COVID-19. That is why we have negotiated credit opportunities for the largest of them. We will keep making more credit support available to them.
There are also other approaches to consider, and that is what we are doing.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Chair, my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable came up with an idea I would like to share with my government colleagues. When we send documents and other things through the mail, whether it is to Whitehorse or across the street, Canada Post charges the same.
Could the government take a look at that with Canada Post and see what might be done? We are going to be seeing more and more online sales in the future, and we want to stimulate economic activity in our regions, so is there something concrete Canada Post can do to help businesses that sell online both close to home and internationally?
Mary Ng LiberalMinister of Small Business
Mr. Chair, I want to thank the hon. member for that suggestion.
In fact, just last week I had the opportunity to listen to a number of businesses that are looking at online sales as a new opportunity to grow their business or do business in the time of COVID-19. As I said earlier, we have been listening to businesses and we will continue to listen to businesses.
I want to thank the hon. member for that very good suggestion. We are going to continue to keep listening to him and businesses across this country to see what we can do.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Chair, some businesses are finding themselves excluded from the wage subsidies in Bill C-14 because they are subsidiaries of a larger entity. They are put in the same basket as several other small businesses, and the revenues of each one come from the parent company. This is also true in the case of management companies.
I would also like to know whether these companies should be or could eventually be eligible under this legislation.
Bill Morneau Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Mr. Chair, we looked at the situation of companies with subsidiaries and concluded that a solution was needed for that group.
In the case of companies that are in good shape overall but have one branch that is struggling, what matters is the group. That way, we can make sure that money gets to the businesses and individuals who are really struggling because of COVID-19.
I am confident that companies will be able to keep and protect their employees, if they have sufficient revenues.
Bernard Généreux Conservative Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Chair, assistance provided through the BDC or Investissement Québec, for example, comes with an interest rate of 3% or 3.3%. These are loan guarantees for the most part. They are direct loans, but they are loan guarantees. This is in addition to the current debt load of businesses, such as mine for example. However, only 75% of the $40,000 is repayable, because the interest is at the government's expense.
Is there any chance of offering businesses with smaller revenues the possibility of accessing this? Very small businesses, as I said earlier, also have expenses like rent, municipal taxes and so on. They will need income to get through this situation. It could be many months before they can get going again. They will not have enough money to get through this situation.