House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 43% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, the member opposite wants me to talk about a policy that we have not adopted. He wants me to get into details with respect to something in which there is a variety of alternatives, and so no answer is possible.
I am not certain what the objective of the questions is. I have been very clear that we are not going to announce this until the next budget, after an extensive period of consultation with Canadians.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, since there is so much interest in this subject, let me just say that, since 2006, our government has introduced a number of broad-based tax relief measures from which families are benefiting. They include reducing the GST to 5% from 7%, increasing the amount Canadians can earn without paying federal income tax, reducing the lowest personal income tax rate to 15% from 16%, and introducing the incredibly successful new tax-free savings account, which helps Canadians meet lifetime savings needs. Half of Canadians have participated in this account, and the amount involved I believe is now $80 billion.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, as I said, this is not my plan. This is a policy alternative that we are looking at, along with many others.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, there are a variety of reports, and I have certainly read reports on this subject, as I have on a variety of subjects. I will continue to look at them.
I do not know about this focus on income splitting. It seems the only thing the NDP knows about is splitting Canadians' income from their pockets.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, I thought I was fairly clear. The department provides analyses on a wide range of policy alternatives. I look at them, I am briefed on them, and we discuss them. We then make our decisions after a robust consultation period with Canadians right across the country.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, the department, of course, analyzes a whole variety of policy alternatives and I am briefed on them.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, again, I guess the member opposite likes our current budget so much that he cannot wait for the next one. However, good things are worth waiting for, and at the appropriate time we will reveal it in this House.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, I am not sure whether the member opposite is in favour or not of this policy, but as I have said, and as the Prime Minister has said, income splitting is a policy that is good for seniors and we will devote our attention to reducing the tax rate for Canadian families next year.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, the first point to make is that federal support has reached historic levels, nearly $65 billion, and will continue to grow every year. Federal support for health, education and social services has increased 56% since we formed government. We have also made changes to ensure transfers grow in line with the economy, allowing the program to remain affordable and sustainable. We are protecting transfers to provinces. Health and social transfers will, as I said, continue to grow.
Perhaps the member opposite is thinking about the former government, the Liberal government, which shamefully slashed transfer payments to the provinces and the territories.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2014
Mr. Chair, I am not sure what the hon. member is really getting at. I told him what the number was today. For the federal government, it is about 33%, including all the provinces. It is a slightly different calculation but the international calculation is 38.5%. Our number is going down to 25% and one would expect it would continue to decrease from there.
Therefore, I can only assume that the hon. member has in mind vast increases in provincial debt. We know that some provinces are not doing very well at all, but that is outside federal jurisdiction.