Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Winnipeg-North for having such a selective memory, but I hope he remembers what he said over the last few years when he sat in opposition. I will share my time with my colleague from Barrie-Innisfil, in Ontario.
Before going into politics, I worked for a long time in the business world and, naturally, I met many businessmen and women. I have a huge respect for entrepreneurs and SMEs. I acknowledge their work and contribution. Working in business means not counting the hours. When someone chooses to start a business, that normally means dedicating themselves to it heart and soul. There is no 9 to 5 for them, nor happy hours, since they have to work practically 24/7. They have to wait at least five years before even thinking of planning a vacation, and if they take time off, they have to pay the price, before and after.
Now let us talk about the risks. Investments have to be made, and there are no guarantees. Entrepreneurs are diving in head first, investing in their business. At the beginning of every month, they have to start over, get more orders, pay their employees, pay back their loans, and remit payroll deductions. Before they know it, their monthly expenses are due again, so they have to create wealth.
They also need to become financially independent in order to get through difficult times. Unfortunately, when a person starts a business, there are difficult times. They often occur unexpectedly, so business owners need to have a contingency fund. That is an enormous sacrifice for families. It is a choice, and, if these entrepreneurs do manage to create prosperity, they can enjoy it, but there are no guarantees.
Many Canadians dream of being their own boss, creating something that will grow and that can be passed on to their children and grandchildren. A responsible government needs to create winning conditions for these entrepreneurs to achieve their goals and feel good about their accomplishments. That is what economic development is all about. It creates jobs. Many of the jobs out there are held by the middle class. We must not forget that 90% of all jobs in Canada are created by SMEs.
Our country is the greatest country in the world, largely because of our robust economy. We spent 10 years in power building a solid economy, and now the government is destroying any optimism and passion our entrepreneurs might have had. Whether they are creating or managing SMEs or working for themselves, these people are an important part of our economy.
I entered politics for a number of reasons. First, I wanted to represent the citizens of the beautiful riding of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, but it was also because I firmly believe that we need to implement measures to support our entrepreneurs. There are many industrial parks in Canada’s 338 ridings. They drive the economies of many of our regions, and it is important that we support them.
As I was saying, more than 90% of jobs in Canada are created by SMEs. We need to motivate them to continue to prosper. It makes some people uneasy when we say a business is prospering, but there is no crime in prospering. On the contrary, when businesses prosper, they continue to do business and grow. That is what provides momentum for the economy and makes it possible to improve the lives of middle-class workers.
We are well aware that the Liberal government is unabashedly spending Canadians’ tax dollars while continually asking them to tighten their belts. This same Liberal government, in its 2016 budget, could not wait to eliminate the tax breaks implemented by Mr. Harper’s government to help Canadian families.
In 2015, this same government promised to lower the tax rate for small and medium-sized businesses. What has it done since taking office? It nixed this policy because it came from the Conservatives. Just yesterday, as a result of representations from the Conservative opposition and action by thousands of entrepreneurs in Canada, the Prime Minister, with his lapdog the Minister of Finance, hastily, but somewhat reluctantly, said that he was going to lower taxes for SMEs. He did this to buy the silence of SMEs, but that change will take effect not in 2017 or 2018, but in 2019, an election year. What does he take entrepreneurs for? This is all just smoke and mirrors. He is making things up as he goes along.
What led the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister to change their plan was the tax reform. When will it be put in place? When will it be applied? They did not cancel the reform yesterday. They handed out a goody, but the tax reform is still happening. The Liberals do not respect SMEs. Once again, it is all just smoke and mirrors.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance is strutting about developing business for Morneau Shepell. I do not know if everyone knows about the company. It is the company he owned. We do not know either whether he has sold his shares. We asked today during question period, but we have not yet had a response. He probably did not understand the question. That is why the parliamentary secretary parroted the same talking points that did not answer the question.
This minister said he was above the law. We learned last week that the Minister of Finance had waited two years before informing the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner that he was a partner in a company that owns and manages a villa in France. We are learning now that no only is this Liberal government spending taxpayers' money shamelessly, but that the Minister of Finance's family business, Morneau Shepell, would also benefit from changes proposed in the document entitled Tax Planning Using Private Corporations. I am not the one saying this; experts have said this. It will lend more credibility. I am a parliamentarian, not an economist.
The Minister of Finance should not avoid questions in the House. He must answer without always repeating the same talking points. He must not scorn the middle class and SMEs that create jobs. He must provide honest answers to the questions asked by all parliamentarians.
Once elected and sworn in, members are required to observe certain rules of conduct in performing their parliamentary duties. I will quote a few paragraphs from the House of Commons Procedure and Practice, which describes the responsibilities and conduct of MPs:
Members sit in the House of Commons to serve as representatives of the people who have elected them to that office. They have wide-ranging responsibilities which include work in the Chamber, committees, their constituencies and political parties.
On being elected, Members of the House of Commons become trustees of public confidence. Members must place the public’s interests over their private interests and [I stress this section] derive no personal benefit or gain from their decisions. [They must be impartial].
The same source states:
In addition to statutory prohibitions, Prime Ministers have issued conflict of interest guidelines for Ministers and other public office holders....The code is voluntary and applies to Cabinet Ministers, Secretaries of State, Parliamentary Secretaries and other senior public office holders (full-time Governor in Council appointees). It requires that, on appointment to one of these offices, the office holders are to arrange their private affairs so as to prevent real, potential or apparent conflicts from arising. They are not to solicit or accept money or gifts; not to assist individuals in their dealings with government in such a way as to compromise their own professional status; not to take advantage of information obtained because of their positions as insiders….
I have other things to say, but I simply wanted to ask the Minister of Finance to table these documents, as requested in the motion.
