Kevin Sorenson

[Pensions, May 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, let me quote Susanna Cluff-Clyburne from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce:

Yesterday's announcement by the federal government that it intends to allow Canadians to voluntarily make additional contributions to the Canada Pension Plan...promises good news for Canadians and their employers.

By contrast, the NDP and the Liberals would impose a job-killing, mandatory increase to the payroll tax. They would take money out of the pockets of hard-working Canadians.

Canadians know they are better off with this Conservative government.

[Pensions, May 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want real action in lowering taxes. What we have brought, and what is consistent with our Conservative government's efforts is to encourage Canadians to voluntarily save more of their money. We will consult on allowing a voluntary contribution to the Canada savings plan.

Again, our government understands that Canadians want low taxes, and they want the freedom to make the financial decisions that would help them with a secure, dignified retirement.

We will not reach into and take money out of their pockets. We are the government that will keep money in their pockets.

[Pensions, May 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. The Liberals and the New Democratic Party do not want to give Canadians a choice. They want to force Canadians to pay higher taxes, higher job-killing payroll taxes. By contrast, our government believes that Canadians want to pay lower taxes, and they want the freedom to make their own financial decisions. That is why we are open to giving Canadians the option to voluntarily contribute to the Canada pension plan.

What we will not do is reach into the pockets of Canadians with a mandatory payroll tax and take money out of their pockets.

[Business of Supply, May 25th, 2015]

Mr. Chair, again, I would like to thank the member for Kelowna—Lake Country for his steadfast support for seniors and, also, for his strong advocacy, even in our caucus, for supporting the seniors. I know his riding of Kelowna—Lake Country has a large number of them. I know many of them benefit from numerous measures that have been introduced by our government. Not only are we helping to support a comfortable retirement for Canadians, but we are also supporting a safe retirement for Canadians.

There are a number of initiatives we have taken to do that. To protect seniors from mistreatment, in January 2013 we put into force the Protecting Canada's Seniors Act. This legislation rightly amended the Criminal Code of Canada so that age would be considered an aggravating factor for criminal sentencing purposes.

As members know, Canadian seniors can trust our government to take appropriate action to help prevent crime and to be tough on crime. Our government continues to focus on increasing awareness of the signs of elder abuse and providing essential information on available resources and supports. We have taken action to combat social isolation of seniors. We know that seniors are better off with this Conservative government.

One of the things we recognized, as far as the security of seniors in their financial well-being, was the importance of our financial literacy program. Our Minister of State for Seniors, the member for Richmond, has done amazing work with our seniors and helping with financial literacy. We recognized the importance of financial literacy to the degree that our government was the first one to bring forward a financial literacy leader for Canada. She will work with a task force to bring in a national strategy.

One large component of that strategy in financial literacy was to help seniors. We understand that when they have the skills and the knowledge, when they understand the financial terminology, and not just the markets, such as what an annuity or a RRIF is, the regulation changes around RRIFs, when they have the confidence, they feel more secure. That is what we want to accomplish. We want to ensure those seniors can move forward with confidence. Therefore, we are helping them enhance their skill set that way, as we are with all Canadians, certainly, newcomers, first nations and our youth.

Again, the security of our seniors is so important. We have brought forward measures. Canadian seniors understand that they are better off with this Conservative government.

[Business of Supply, May 25th, 2015]

Mr. Chair, I want to thank the hard-working member for Kelowna—Lake Country.

We know in western Canada that many of our prairie seniors find their way to Kelowna for retirement. The member is from a beautiful constituency, and I know he represents it very well.

As a complement to a strong retirement system, we are also supporting the growing number of seniors who choose to remain in the workforce. Many senior Canadians are now making this choice in order to stay connected with our social network or to add to their financial resources. These employment opportunities not only help these individuals in meeting their personal goals, but they also provide access to experienced talent that is often sought by other employers.

To support labour force participation by seniors, our government renewed the targeted initiative for older worker program in 2014. It was renewed for a three-year period, which helps the unemployed workers aged 55 to 64 living in small economically-vulnerable communities to improve their employability and reintegrate into the labour market.

Since its launch in 2007, our total investment in this initiative will be an estimated $345 million by March 31, 2017. To date, more than 35,000 unemployed older workers have been targeted to participate in the initiative.

We similarly invested $6 million over three years in economic action plan 2012 to extend and expand the third quarter project, an initiative that has helped approximately 1,200 experienced workers who are all over 50 years old. It helps them find a job that matches their skill set.

In addition to working, a large number of seniors also want to give back to their communities through volunteerism. The new horizon for seniors program helps seniors both benefit and contribute to the quality of life in their community through social participation and active living.

Since 2006, new horizons has funded over 13,000 projects, including those helping seniors and community members, to recognize elder abuse in all its forms and to improve the quality of life, safety and security of seniors.

I am proud to say that even in my riding of Crowfoot, I have had the opportunity to meet with senior organizations that have applied for and received funding through this new horizon program. I am also pleased that, through economic action plan 2014, we invested an additional $5 million per year for new horizons to support projects that have enabled seniors to share their knowledge, skills and experiences with others, bringing total funding for the program to $50 million annually.

New horizons is yet another example of how we are making Canada's seniors stronger, more prosperous and more secure. I am very proud of the work we have accomplished with our seniors.

[Business of Supply, May 25th, 2015]

Mr. Chair, I want to thank that hard-working member for Winnipeg South Centre for the question.

A central focus of our efforts going forward will be continuing to ensure that Canadians have access to effective workplace pension plans. The Association of Canadian Pension Management offers a concise summary of some of the challenges that we are overcoming. It notes that:

Sponsors of DB pension plans are continuing to struggle with the significant funding challenges posed by continuing low interest and annuity rates, complex and increasingly volatile investment markets, chronic solvency funding issues....

Currently, 96% of pension plans across Canada are in defined benefit plans, as compared to 71% in the United Kingdom, 42% in the United States and 15% in Australia, but faced with such recent developments, employers are under increasing pressure to move their employees to defined contribution models, which exposes employees to market volatility and longevity risk.

Our government appreciates that Canadians want a more predictable option and employers want to attract or retain workers with a strong pension plan. That is why we launched extensive consultation on the proposed framework for target benefit plans, or TBPs in April 2014. Our consultation placed a high emphasis on the importance of consent, and proposes to require plan members and retirees to agree to converting existing benefits.

Target benefit plans would offer new, voluntary, sustainable and flexible pension options to the employees of federally regulated corporations. They would not involve changes to federal public sector pension plans that are governed by their own respective legislation.

The proposed target benefit plan framework combines features of both defined benefits and defined contribution plans. Similar to defined benefit plans, TBPs would provide highly predictable income for life for the employee, but as with defined contribution plans, target benefit plans would offer cost certainty for employers.

The plan would also be flexible, allowing for the conversion of both defined benefits and defined contribution plans into target benefit plans. All plan parties would have a say in the decision as to whether or not to adopt the target benefit plan, as well as how the plan would be designed.

Members and retirees would also benefit from the pooling of longevity risk, which is not a feature of defined contribution plans. In short, by providing a better balance of protection and costs, TBPs would offer a sustainable, innovative pension option to help support better retirement savings for Canadian workers.

Having consulted extensively with Canadians, pension experts and industry, our government continues its work in developing a framework for TBPs that meets the needs of all stakeholders.

Although the details of this framework have yet to be finalized, I can assure Canadians what TBPs will not do: TBPs will not take away benefits that retirees already have earned without their consent. We will not bring forward a framework that allows for the conversion of accrued benefits without explicit consent from pension holders.

We are still working toward finalizing an effective and responsive framework for target benefit plans that reflects this commitment. In the meantime, those who are retired or saving for retirement will benefit tremendously from targeted tax relief, new optional savings methods like the tax-free savings account, and the full range of measures that I have outlined here this evening.

[Business of Supply, May 25th, 2015]

Mr. Chair, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak here this evening, and highlight our government's record of supporting Canada's seniors and pensioners. It is a record that all Canadians can be very proud of. Our government understands that Canada's seniors helped to build this country, to make our country great. That is why we are proud to be putting money directly back into the pockets of our seniors and pensioners, in a number of ways but certainly by lowering taxes.

At the same time, we have strengthened Canada's retirement income system so that it is there to serve the needs of Canadians for today and for tomorrow. The result of our leadership is clear. Canada's retirement income system is acknowledged to be among the world's best by groups such as the OECD in terms of preventing poverty among seniors and ensuring appropriate income in retirement.

Under our low-tax plan, 83% of Canadians are on track for a comfortable retirement, according to McKinsey & Company. What is more, the 2014 Global AgeWatch Index ranked Canada as the fourth-best country in the world in which to grow old.

Let me also remind members that according to the latest Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index, Canada has the best retirement income system in the G7, one of the leading retirement income systems in the world. Scott Clausen, a member at Mercer, said:

Canada’s retirement system continues to be one of the strongest retirement systems in the world by providing a combination of universal pensions, income-tested...employer pensions, individual RRSPs and individual TFSAs....

Even Canadian editorialists recognize that Canada's retirement income system is strong. Andrew Coyne at the National Post said:

By most measures, Canada's retirement income support system is an outstanding success. The poverty rate for Canadian seniors...is among the lowest in the world.

Our targeted relief effort is building on this success. Under our government, 380,000 low-income seniors have been completely removed from the tax rolls. We also introduced the largest GIS increase in over 25 years, helping more than 680,000 seniors right here across Canada. This GIS increase provided eligible low-income seniors with additional annual benefits of up to $600 for single seniors and $840 for couples.

Another way that we are helping Canadians prepare for retirement is by providing new options, voluntary vehicles to help them save. We developed and implemented the framework for pooled registered pension plans, which will provide a low-cost and large-scale retirement savings option to the roughly 60% of Canadians who do not have a workplace pension plan. Pooled registered pension plans, or PRPPs, are of particular help to employees of small- and medium-sized businesses who until now have not had access to low-cost private pension options. PRPPs help them by establishing large-scale, broad-based voluntary pension arrangements available to employees with or without a participating employer as well as even the self-employed. PRPPs are very advantageous for those people who are self-employed. This innovative new option would place a high emphasis on consent, and be available to the federally regulated private sector and crown corporations.

It would add to the other options we have created, such as the landmark tax-free savings account. Eleven million Canadians have signed up for the tax-free savings account. They have opened an account. The majority of accounts belong to low- and middle-income earners. Half of the account holders earn under $42,000 a year. The tax-free savings account has been particularly beneficial to seniors as neither income earned in a TFSA nor the withdrawals from a TFSA affect account holders' federal income-tested benefits and credits, such as GIS.

Due to popular demand, we increased the annual tax-free savings account contribution from $5,000 to $5,500, and then to $10,000 in economic action plan 2015.

This is also particularly beneficial to seniors. Some 600,000 seniors aged 65 and over with an income below $60,000 are currently maximizing their tax-free savings account and would benefit from the measure that we have brought forward. This move was praised by CARP, which said:

CARP members welcome government action in Budget 2015...to almost double the TFSA from $5,500 to $10,000...

Another staple of our low-tax plan is the introduction of pension income splitting for seniors. Pension income splitting is helping over two million seniors and pensioners every year. I hear from them at tax time. I hear from them after they have visited their accountant, and year after year, they thank us for that measure.

We know that both opposition parties are fundamentally opposed to income splitting. Just like they would take away income splitting for nearly two million families, if given the chance, we believe that they would take away pension income splitting for those two million seniors. We will not let that happen.

There are additional ways that the Liberal Party, in particular, would pick the pockets of seniors. As I have said, under our government, 600,000 seniors are currently maximizing their tax-free savings account and would benefit from the increase to the tax-free savings limit. However, again, given the chance, the Liberal leader would shut those accounts down. The Liberals' billion-dollar blunder in the last plan that they put forward was exposed when they had to airbrush their website. Now, they are proposing to fill the holes in their discredited plan by cutting TFSAs and using the revenue.

It is clear that only our government can be trusted to keep taxes low for Canadians and, certainly, for Canadian seniors.

What we will not suggest is raising taxes on workers while claiming that it is for their own good. Under our government, there will be no mandatory job-killing and economy-destablizing pension tax hike for employees or, certainly, for employers. Let me quote Dan Kelly, of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, who cautioned against forcing Canadians and small businesses to pay higher payroll taxes. He said:

CFIB’s Forced Savings report shows that increasing Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) benefits would result in higher premiums for businesses and employees, significant job losses and lower wages for Canadians.

What is more, finance department estimates indicate that the NDP would kill thousands of jobs by hiking mandatory CPP contributions. Meanwhile, Ontarians should be aware that the Liberals' new mandatory pension tax hike could cost a two-worker family up to $3,200 every year. That is $1,600 for each worker in the household. According to the Meridian Credit Union, the majority of Ontario small business owners believe that this “could be their greatest challenge ever faced”.

Our government does not believe in forcing Canadians into a single, compulsory, one-size-fits-all approach, nor do we believe in reaching into the pockets of hard-working, middle-class Canadians and reducing their take-home pay. On the contrary, we will continue to put money into the pockets of seniors and all Canadians. With our low-tax plan in place, we have established a rock solid foundation upon which Canadians can achieve their retirement goals with confidence.

I would be pleased today to respond to any questions about our record achievements. They are records. They are achievements. We are very proud of them.

[Pensions, May 12th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that retirees and all Canadians are benefiting from our low-tax plan. I would note that according to a retirement study by McKinsey & Company, 83% of Canadians are on track for a comfortable retirement. That is why we want to enhance their retirement savings.

We have lowered taxes. We have brought forward new incentives for Canadians to save for retirement. Those incentives include the family tax cut plan, pension income splitting and tax-free savings accounts.

We know the opposition would take these away. We know the opposition believes in a high-tax plan for seniors and for all Canadians. Canadians know they are better off—

[Taxation, May 7th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, our government is proud to be cutting the small business tax rate to 9%. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business applauds this measure and gave the budget an A.

For a small business with a taxable income of $500,000, this tax cut, and all of the tax relief that our government has brought forward, will result in a decrease in federal tax of nearly 50%. That is 50% that the business can then reinvest in creating jobs back into that business.

However, the Liberal leader has said that if given the chance, he would kill jobs by reversing our small business tax rate.

[Consumer Protection, May 7th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, our party is the only party that has consistently brought forward legislation that would support middle-class consumers. We have lowered taxes for consumers, making Canada the lowest tax regime in the last 50 years right now, unlike the Liberals and the NDP. They would raise taxes on those same consumers, on the middle-class consumers. They would raise taxes on middle-class seniors. They would raise taxes on middle-class families.

That is the reason Canadians understand that this Conservative Party is the party they want to support.