Mr. Chair, I would like to know whether the government is planning to privatize the CMHC.
House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2019, with 29% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, I would like to know whether the government is planning to privatize the CMHC.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported that the national average price for a home in March was $401,000, an increase of 6% since March 2013. It doubts that the housing market has reached equilibrium or is cooling. Are we in a bubble right now? It is hard to know.
According to CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal:
The gap between the importance of the real-estate market to the economy and the lack of publicly available information on it is mind-boggling.
Will the minister work to increase the quality of the available data to allow Canadians to properly assess current risks in the market?
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, it is too bad that he has to repeat the statistics he gave me in response to my first question.
I will switch to English. Could the minister tell us if in his opinion the current housing market is heating or cooling?
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, there is much less than in other European countries.
He is saying that I am being selective about the figures I mention, but I have others from Statistics Canada. According to Statistics Canada, the Gini coefficient—an index developed specifically to measure income inequality after taxes—has increased from 0.318 to 0.324 since the Conservatives took office.
Once again, how can the minister ignore these statistics and the reality of growing income inequality?
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, unfortunately, the minister is choosing the figures that suit him, but he is ignoring other statistics.
Statistics Canada, among others, finds that the share of total income in Canada that goes to the 20% wealthiest people has increased from 43.9% to 44.4% since 2006, while the income of the remaining 80% has decreased from 32% to 31.7%.
Again, how can the minister deny that there is a growing income inequality in the country?
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, what the minister is not saying is that measures such as reducing access to employment insurance harm economic growth and contribute to widening economic inequalities.
Two weeks ago, an OECD report showed that income inequality in Canada was among the worst in developed countries: 12.2% of the current income in Canada goes to the top 1%. Only the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany are worse.
Why is this government ignoring the reality of the growing income inequality?
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, the minister is telling us that he prefers measures with a lower fiscal multiplier, measures that have less of an impact, such as cutting personal and corporate income taxes and lowering premiums.
The Department of Finance is telling us that investments in infrastructure and housing and measures targeting low-income households and the unemployed are most effective in stimulating economic growth.
Why are less effective measures chosen over more effective measures, which the government does not seem to prefer?
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, with regard to economic stimulus, I have just shown the minister that measures that target housing, low-income families and the unemployed, as well as investments in infrastructure, are much more effective, according to data from the Department of Finance, than the measures adopted by the government.
Once again, why does the government choose only the least effective measures?
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, in 2011 the tax multiplier used was 0.3. In other words, a $1 reduction in corporate taxes meant economic growth of only 30¢ on the dollar.
According to the finance department, investments in housing, infrastructure, low-income households and unemployed workers have a much higher tax multiplier than the measures taken by the government since 2011, which focus mainly on personal and corporate income tax and the reduction of EI premiums.
Knowing that, why does the government choose the least effective measures when preparing its budget rather than much more effective measures that would promote economic growth?
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, I do not have the figures for 2014. I have the figures for 2011. That is why I am asking about the latest tax multipliers used by the Department of Finance to prepare the budget and the latest budget. I will therefore repeat my question.
Does the minister know what tax multiplier was used for measures related to corporate income tax in the latest budget?