Guy Caron

[Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1, April 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Kings—Hants for his speech. I have the pleasure of sitting with him at the Standing Committee on Finance. We have had a number of opportunities to discuss important issues there, including one that is in this bill.

I am talking about the FATCA agreement between Canada and the United States. It has to do with the United States going through Canada to collect taxes from people it considers to be U.S. citizens. I raise this issue not just because it is important, but because we have studied the issue of tax havens and tax evasion at the Standing Committee on Finance. Some, including me, believe that we only scratched the surface, while others believe we studied the matter at length. Even though I do not feel we spent very much time on this study, it was extremely intense because the issue is quite broad and complex.

At the Standing Committee on Finance, we will be studying this budget implementation bill in its entirety, so the committee might need several weeks to get through all the complexities of the FATCA agreement. Can my colleague comment on that?

[Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1, April 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley for his excellent speech. This is his first speech on an economic topic since he was appointed official opposition finance critic. I loved his speech.

The question I wanted to ask was already asked, in part, by my colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands. I would like to take that one step further. She talked about the constitutional issues related to FATCA. It is becoming increasingly clear in budget bill after budget bill after budget bill that the Conservative government's process does not include enough preparation.

They rush their bills through with very little discussion, and they introduce bills, like the last one, with monumental errors. We took a stand against that and warned the government, in the Standing Committee on Finance and in the House of Commons, that the provisions to change the appointment process for Supreme Court judges would not get past the Supreme Court itself. The Conservatives did not listen to us.

There are other elements, such as the Conservatives' decision not to charge GST and HST on parking fees after all, even though that was a measure they proposed. We pointed out their mistake to them.

I would like the member to comment on the growing number of increasingly serious mistakes resulting from the government's hasty approach time and time again.

[Petitions, April 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present to the House a petition signed by people who are calling for the creation of a specific offence regarding assaults against on-duty bus drivers and harsher penalties for criminals who attack bus drivers.

[Pensions, April 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as if attacking SMEs was not enough for the Conservatives, they are also trying to make financial security in retirement more difficult to achieve.

As many experts have said, it is imperative that public pension plans be improved gradually in order to deal with the crisis that is taking shape. It is the best way to guarantee our seniors a dignified retirement. Even the Department of Finance recognizes that improving the Canada pension plan and the Quebec pension plan would be good for both retirees and the economy.

Why does the minister refuse to take action?

[Small Business, April 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, there are currently 300,000 more unemployed Canadians than there were before the recession. Far from promoting job creation, the budget bill indicates that the Conservatives wants to axe the tax credit encouraging SMEs to hire more workers.

I do not want the Minister of Finance to tell me what the government did in 2006, in 2008 or in 2009. I want to know why, in an economy that continues to be uncertain, the government has decided to do away with this tax credit encouraging SMEs to hire more workers, thereby undermining the main driver of job creation in Canada.

[Pensions, March 31st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives keep claiming that expansion of the CPP and the QPP could result in the loss of 70,000 jobs. However, the finance department's fall 2013 report contradicts this utterly partisan Conservative claim.

Not only is the job loss figure wrong, but the report suggests that the positive effects on the economy would for the most part offset the impact of an increase in premiums. Expanding public pension plans is a good thing for the economy. It is the right thing to do for the economy.

Why are the Conservatives ignoring the provinces' needs as well as expert advice?

[Finance, March 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the question has to do with his department's report on income splitting. If it is a good measure, this report should say so. If the report says so, he should be able to release it. It is as simple as that. If they do not want to make it public, the report must contradict their claim that it is a positive measure. However, two other reports specifically state that 85% of families will not benefit from income splitting. I have a specific question for the Minister of Finance.

When will he release the department's report on income splitting?

[Finance, March 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we now understand a little better why the former finance minister was clearly hesitating about income splitting. We now know that the Department of Finance—his department—is in possession of a 300-page report on the fiscal impact of this measure, which it refuses to make public. We know that two independent studies have stated that the fiscal impact of this measure would be at least $3 billion. As the saying goes, all things come in threes.

Will the Minister of Finance commit to releasing the report he has on income splitting?

[Finance, March 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, that is twice now I have asked him questions about budget 2013. Someday I would like to get an answer about budget 2013.

The minister keeps making up stories about the job creation data. On Tuesday, he told us that 85% of the new jobs were full-time positions. That is completely false. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says that 95% of the jobs created in 2013 were part-time positions. Contrary to what the minister says, the job market is stagnant. Why is the minister so determined to make up statistics?

[Finance, March 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance should know that Kijiji is for buying and selling things, not developing public policy.

Yesterday, I asked the new Minister of Finance about unused funds from budget 2013. His answer was unclear, to say the least. Now that he has had 24 hours to do his homework, can he tell us what he found out? What money from last year's budget was not used? What programs did not get all of the funding they were supposed to get? What programs were dropped?