Jim Flaherty

[The Economy, September 21st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, let me deal with the facts. The oil companies pay the same taxes as other Canadian businesses pay. It is high time that suggestions to the contrary are stopped, because they are not accurate.

I know the member opposite wants to try to be accurate when she talks about tax matters in Canada and accurate, of course, about the NDP plan that that party advanced to the people of Canada in the last election to raise taxes by about $10 billion per year on businesses, which we all know will be passed along to individuals as part of the cost of doing business. That proposal by the NDP is inflationary for Canadian families.

[The Economy, September 21st, 2011]

Because it is true, Mr. Speaker. Canada is doing relatively well. That is what the IMF said yesterday.

We have the best fiscal position in the G7. We have the lowest total government net debt to GDP ratio in the G7. We have the best growth in the G7. We have the best banking system in the world. Canada is the best place to invest and do business in the next five years according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. We have the best job creation in the G7 since the recession.

All of this is true, and that is why we are doing relatively well.

[The Economy, September 20th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Calgary Centre for that brilliant question about the news that we had just today from the IMF.

Our Conservative government is focused on what matters to Canadians, which is economic growth, of course, and the creation of jobs.

The IMF today forecasted Canada would have the strongest economic growth in the G7 over the course of the next two years.

We are faced with turbulence from abroad, of course. We are faced with a serious situation with respect to sovereign debt in several European countries and the banking consequences of that, particularly with European banks. We are faced with turbulence from outside.

However, as the IMF said today, we have relatively healthy economic fundamentals here in--

[Tax Harmonization, September 20th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the member opposite is familiar with negotiations.

We are negotiating with the Government of Quebec. We need to agree on the terms with respect to the HST, and then the payment would flow after that. This is entirely normal. It is the procedure we are following. There is goodwill on both sides. We will carry on with the discussions with the goal of reaching an agreement by the end of September.

[Tax Harmonization, September 20th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, we have had a lengthy series of discussions with the Government of Quebec with respect to the HST and those discussions have continued.

The Minister of Finance of Quebec and I agreed a week or so ago that we would continue the discussions toward the end of September. I am hopeful and relatively confidence that we will arrive at an agreement.

[Tax Harmonization, September 20th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the HST is a provincial responsibility. There is an agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of British Columbia. The agreement has provisions with respect to repayment of the sum that was advanced by the Government of Canada. That sum was advanced as part of the agreement to proceed with the HST. The province is not proceeding with that now. It follows that honouring the agreement will require repayment.

[Tax Harmonization, September 20th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, as I am sure the member opposite knows, there is an agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of British Columbia.

HST is a provincial responsibility. I met yesterday with the Minister of Finance of British Columbia. He reported to me, of course, the results of the referendum there. We are now working on the exit strategy since this is a provincial responsibility and the provincial government will not be continuing with the HST.

[Service Canada, September 20th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, under our government we have created about 600,000 net new jobs since the end of the recession which, as I said earlier, is the best record among the advanced economies. The opposition, on the other hand, is calling for higher taxes which would, of course, kill job creation in Canada and is the wrong way to go.

With respect to spending, we certainly are opposed to reckless spending. I think Canadians expect us to be prudent in the way we look at spending in Canada, so we are through the deficit reduction action plan. Private sector advice is valuable, important and essential and it is part of our task of appropriately—

[The Economy, September 20th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, we are on track to balance the budget. We ran substantial deficits in 2009 and 2010. We have reduced that deficit by about half and we will continue to do that.

This is in stark contrast to what the hon. member opposite did in the Province of Ontario over five years. Year after year he was in denial and continued raising the deficit, accumulating a massive public debt in the Province of Ontario.

We are not going to go that route. We are going to stay the course and go back to a balanced budget.

[The Economy, September 20th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, we have indicated that if we are faced with a large external shock to our economy from Europe or elsewhere, we would, of course, be pragmatic and flexible. We have said that before, and I say it again here today. We would act as we have acted before.

What we would not do is run the Government of Canada like the member opposite ran the Government of Ontario between 1990 and 1995. He ran the Province of Ontario into massive debt and deficit from which that province is still trying to recover.