Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak today on bill C-26. We are seeing the frightening trend of the Liberal government's imposition of punitive taxes without consultation, with very little feedback from stakeholders, and with very little knowledge of the economic impact these decisions and policies are going to have on Canadian families, and Canadian small businesses specifically.
First, it started with the carbon tax, which is going to increase the cost of pretty much everything. The government has also changed the mortgage rules, which will make it that much more difficult for young Canadians to buy their first home. Now it is talking about a hike to the CPP, which is really going to hamper growth in the small business sector. These are all policy decisions that have been imposed by the Liberal government with absolutely no consultation or study of their ramifications for Canadian families, small businesses, and the provinces.
I am the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, which has been hearing from stakeholders over the last couple of weeks since the carbon tax was announced. All of these stakeholders have said that no one spoke to them about it, that this is going to make the difference between their putting shovels in the ground in some projects, or walking away entirely. What are the ramifications and implications going to be for our energy industry, which is already struggling, if a punitive carbon tax is imposed without any data to back up the economic impacts of that decision?
Yesterday, a motion was put forward in the natural resources committee that the committee do an emergency study of the economic impacts of the carbon tax on the natural resources sector. If Liberals were that confident that the carbon tax and the CPP tax hike were going to have beneficial and positive ramifications for Canadians across the country, then, in my estimation, they would have agreed to go ahead with that study, but they did not. They unanimously voted it down, because they do not know the ramifications of policies like this for hard-working Canadian families.
They are plowing ahead with these kinds of decisions because they think these make great politics for the very vocal minority of union bosses and big companies. Those are the ones driving these decisions. They are not talking to middle-class Canadians, the ones whose pocketbooks are going to be impacted by these decisions. That is what makes these types of decisions so frustrating.
A couple of weeks ago I had an opportunity to speak at a summit in Calgary, which was titled, unfortunately, “The Employment Crisis for Canada’s Energy Professionals—A Lost Opportunity for Canada”. There were more than 200 professionals at that meeting. They were not rig workers or welders, not the people we typically associate with feeling the impact of the downturn in the energy sector. They were petroleum engineers, geophysicists, and geologists. Many of them have not had a job in more than two years.
I asked them if they or their associations were consulted about the carbon tax or the tax increase via the Canada pension plan. I asked if the Liberal government talked to their associations, which include thousands of Canadian professionals across the country. Every single one of them said no, that these things were a complete shock to them. I said there had been ups and downs and booms and busts in the energy sector for decades, and they agreed that these, absolutely, had happened many times but this was the worst they had ever seen.
We heard in question period today and many times over the last week that Alberta has been hit hard by the downturn because of low oil prices. A barrel of oil is now more than $50. A low oil price is not the only reason that Alberta is struggling right now. It is bad policy, it is inaction, it is tax increases on businesses and employers. The professionals said they do not see a light at the end of this tunnel because of the policies being put forward, like a carbon tax that is increasing indecision in the industry, driving away investment, and taking their jobs with them.
They said that intellectual capital is going to be lost because of these decisions and that they are uncompetitive globally in energy, manufacturing, and agriculture, thanks to the decision of the government to put forward a carbon tax, and now a CPP tax hike, not to mention the changes to the mortgage rules that are making it more difficult for young families to buy their first home.
My colleague from Winnipeg North was saying that when he was door-knocking in his community, he was overwhelmed by Canadians asking for these changes. I had zero. Not once did I go to a door and somebody said, “Boy, I am really looking forward to a carbon tax. I am really looking forward to a hike in my CPP taxes, and do you know what? I really hope that you make it more difficult for me to buy my first home.”
Maybe residents of southern Alberta are much more savvy, I am not sure. These issues were never raised in that campaign, so for the Liberals to say that they have this incredible mandate because of what happened a year ago, I think it is disingenuous. I think they are putting through decisions that appeal to a very vocal minority of Canadians but are not in the best interests of hard-working Canadian families.
I would like to talk about some of the things that have been said so far today about how this would help Canadians in their retirement. Having an increase in CPP is great if I have a job, but now there are more than 200,000 Canadians who do not have jobs. I have not heard any decisions or any policies brought forward by the government that would help change that.
We have vehicles in place that will help Canadians save. What I think is most important with those things, including the tax-free savings account, which the government has clawed back, is that, again, in contrast to what my hon. colleague has been saying, that is something I definitely heard at doors. Canadians liked the opportunity to save on their own terms. It is absolutely their money. They want to make the decisions on what they do and how they save with their own money.
It is definitely a step backward to look at government as being the answer to everything. If people do not know how to save, the government will take care of that for them. Canadians are much more savvy than the Liberals are giving them credit for.
We also heard, when the Liberals made the decision to claw back the tax-free savings account, that this is just a vehicle for the wealthy. Only wealthy Canadians have the opportunity to invest in the tax-free savings account. Of those Canadians who have maxed out their tax-free savings account, 60% were making $60,000 or less. Those are not wealthy Canadians. Those are hard-working Canadian families who are making very tough choices for their future.
They are putting money aside to buy their first home, which now, unfortunately, is even more difficult to buy. I would ask where the government got the information that this was a good decision. Maybe it is for Vancouver or Toronto, but it certainly is not for Calgary or rural Alberta. I certainly have not had anybody come to me and say that this is a good decision. I have had the exact opposite. Realtors, mortgagers, credit unions, young families, come to me and say that this is devastating. Now it will take them another decade to save up for that first home, which we know is one of the largest investments they will have in their lifetimes.
When I was going door to door last October, I had so many Canadians, so many residents in my riding of Foothills, talk to me about the importance of the tax-free savings account and how welcoming they were that they would have an opportunity to invest further in a tax-free savings account. As I said, these were Canadians who were making very difficult choices for their families, whether it was a first home, their child's education, or saving for their own retirement.
The key to that is that Canadians had the opportunity to make their own decisions on what they felt was best for them and best for their families and their children's futures. This is a decision, once again, where government is imposing its will on Canadians, and Canadians have not said in any way, shape, or form that this is what they want, whether it is a carbon tax, mortgage rule changes, tax-free savings accounts, or electoral reform.
I do not understand why the government feels that it should be governing with an iron fist, a sledgehammer, and imposing its will on the provinces and Canadians. This is certainly not what I heard from hard-working Canadian families or certainly folks in my riding throughout the election campaign, and even before that.
But what has really been overlooked here is the impact this would have on small businesses. It is ironic that we are having this discussion during Small Business Week here in Canada. I am hearing daily from small business owners in my riding in southern Alberta and across the province that they are struggling. I do not think it is any mystery. The Liberal government will not do anything about it except to say that it has compassion and sympathy for what is going on in Alberta. I say in response, well, do something about it and give us a hand.
Imposing a carbon tax, and now a CPP hike on small business owners, is certainly not the way to do it. We have a very fragile economy right now in Alberta, and to impose these types of decisions when we are struggling does not make any sense. Alberta was the economic engine of this country for decades and, unfortunately, that engine has stalled. Rather than giving us a lifeline, the Liberals are throwing us an anchor. This would push those small business owners off the edge.
Right now in Calgary the unemployment rate is in the double digits. The vacancy rate in downtown Calgary is at 30%. It is unbelievable to me that in a province I have raised my family in and have worked in, I can go to downtown Calgary and see 8th Avenue deserted and entire floors of business buildings and office towers deserted. There is nothing but empty desks and empty offices. Yet our top priority is to impose a Canada pension plan tax hike, which would cost business owners more than $1,000 a year per employee.
Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business notes that “Two thirds of small firms say they will have to freeze or cut salaries and over a third say they will have to reduce hours or jobs in their business in response to a CPP/QPP hike.”
When we are already struggling with an unemployment rate in Alberta close to double digits, and in some communities well over double digits, and 200,000 direct and indirect energy jobs that have been lost, we would further stress the employment numbers with these decisions. It will be more difficult for a small business owner to hire because of the increased costs from this CPP tax hike, which I do not think anyone was really asking for.
Indeed, Hendrik Brakel, a senior director at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, has said:
...we’re worried a big tax increase is headed for the middle class like an elbow to the chest....
This comes at the worst possible time—an economy reeling from weak commodity prices and slower consumer spending will be lucky to eke out growth of 1.5% next year. It’s difficult to stimulate the economy while pulling money out of the pockets of Canadians.
The Chamber of Commerce represents businesses across the country, as does the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. These people are raising the alarm about the impact of the CPP tax hike on small businesses at the worst possible time.
I know we talk a lot about Alberta, but the energy downturn has impacted Canadians across the country. I was in Nova Scotia a couple of weeks ago, and it was amazing how many people came up to me to say, “I was working in Alberta in the oil sands, but I had to come home, obviously, because there are no jobs. But there are no jobs for me here either”. We need energy east. We need policies in place that will kick-start our energy industry. But instead, when it is down, we kick it with a carbon tax and now a CPP tax hike. Where does this make sense?
I am going to conclude with this. This has been my question all along: if the Liberals are so confident that these types of policies will bring a great positive change to our economy, with all these great jobs for Canadians they talk about, can they prove it? Can they show me the data? Can they show me an economic impact study they did before they announced the carbon tax and the CPP tax hike? I have not seen it. If they are so confident this is the best thing for Canadians, I ask them to show it to me.
