Jim Flaherty

[Tax Harmonization, December 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the member that nothing is being pushed on anyone. I spoke with the premier of Manitoba yesterday. This is a decision for Manitoba to make on its own in time. It is a decision that British Columbia chose to make, and Ontario, and three provinces before them.

We respect the tax jurisdictions of the provinces in their own constitutional framework. I think it is our obligation in this place to enable them to make the decisions in their own constitutional framework that are appropriate for their own jurisdictions.

[Tax Harmonization, December 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, a couple of the provinces have chosen to harmonize their provincial sales tax with the GST. Three others did that before. We have a proposal before the House to deal with this issue.

My friend in the NDP is an expert on taxes. We have cut over 100 taxes and the NDP has voted against that each and every time. When we reduced the GST twice, from 7% to 6% and then 6% to 5%, each time the member voted against it. Yet he stands here and says he cares about ordinary Canadians.

[Tax Harmonization, November 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have had useful discussions with the minister of finance of Quebec in recent weeks, most recently on Friday. Those discussions continue.

As members know, two of the provinces that have not yet harmonized have indicated that they want to do so and have entered into agreements to accomplish that. That matter will come before the House, out of respect for provincial autonomy and their request that we assist them with the technical legislation necessary for them to proceed in their own area of autonomous provincial tax jurisdiction.

[Tax Harmonization, November 24th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I think the question was about harmonization of the provincial sales tax and the GST, which is proposed by two provinces now. They are going ahead with their legislative options in that regard. It is up to the provinces that are not harmonized to make that decision. Two of them have done so, in line with the provinces that did so in the 1990s.

[Tax Harmonization, November 19th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that if the hon. member wanted to check and go back more than 10 years ago, he would see that the same proposal was on the table then for various provinces that chose to harmonize. The same proposal is there now and there are still a few other provinces that are looking at the option of harmonizing.

This is an issue that is up to the provinces. Some decided in the 1990s and some have decided more recently, but it is a decision for provincial governments, not for the Government of Canada.

[Tax Harmonization, November 19th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the harmonization initiative with the provinces started in the 1990s with Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The same proposal has continued over the years and has been available to the provinces. A couple of the provinces, Ontario and British Columbia, have also chosen to harmonize. That is a decision for the provinces to make, which they have chosen to do.

[The Economy, November 19th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Wild Rose for the question. I have not had many questions on the economy; it has been so lonely over here.

The OECD today confirmed what we have been saying all along, that Canada will lead the G7 growth over the next two years, much higher than the OECD average.

The global recovery does remain fragile and of course we have to stay the course. We have to implement the economic action plan going into 2011, which is entirely what we intend to do.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 19th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, in response to parts (a), (b) and (c), a decision to adopt the federal harmonized sales tax in the province of British Columbia rests with the provincial government of British Columbia. Negotiations to implement the decision are matters of federal-provincial relations. Nevertheless, as the Minister of Finance noted in the House of Commons on September 29, 2009, “the discussions that I had with the province of British Columbia began after the provincial election in British Columbia.”

In response to part (d), the Governments of Canada and British Columbia signed the memorandum of agreement, MOA, concerning a Canada-British Columbia comprehensive integrated tax co-ordination agreement, CITCA, on July 23, 2009. For more information, visit the Government of British Columbia online at http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2009-2013/2009PREM0017-000141.htm.

In response to part (e), the MOA was released shortly after the public announcement by British Columbia of its decision. For more information, visit the Government of British Columbia online at http://www.gov.bc.ca/hst/Documents/HST_MOA.pdf.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, Manitoba has not adopted the federal harmonized sales tax. A decision to adopt the federal harmonized sales tax in the province of Manitoba rests with the provincial government of Manitoba. This would include decisions surrounding key design elements.

[Financial Institutions, November 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this is not a one-day issue for the typical sort of one-day conference treatment that the Liberal Party gives to issues that are very important to Canadians.

We have been working on this issue of credit cards and debit cards all year. We have already promulgated some regulations as we said we would under the economic action plan in January. Most of those regulations come into force on January 1, in less than two months. There will be better disclosure for Canadians, and that will certainly help them to choose from among various credit cards including a low-frills, low-cost credit card.