Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Also missing from the throne speech is a succession-planning strategy for SMEs. Just over a year ago, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business reported that 72% of small business owners plan to exit their businesses, and the reason given by the vast majority of them was retirement. We are talking about a potential transfer of $1.5 trillion of business assets, which is a massive amount.

Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement Implementation Act  They have made changes to the small business tax rate that will disqualify thousands of local businesses. Dan Kelly, president of Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said: Many small businesses want to take action on climate change, but the carbon tax is putting them further behind. In fact, 71 per cent have told us that the carbon tax makes it harder for them to make further investments to reduce their emissions.

The Environment  We know that small-business owners and their employees care about the environment and have implemented a wide range of environmental initiatives. However, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has just released a policy position paper that reveals that 87% of business owners in the four provinces where the federal carbon backstop tax is positioned say that they are opposed to the carbon tax and that the majority of these business owners will not be able to pass on their costs to consumers.

Human Resources committee  Don't panic; just try to wrap up your comments. Starting us off this morning, from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, is Monique Moreau.

Human Resources committee  This is why we need a definition. I asked the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business what industries are represented that way. They indicated there was no definition of precarious work, so they really couldn't tell me. I remember that the woman, I believe from the chamber, said that.

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much. Up next, from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, we have Monique Moreau, vice-president of national affairs. You have seven minutes.

Human Resources committee  Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. You should have our presentation in front of you that I'd like to walk you through in the next few minutes. As many members know, CFIB is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization that represents more than 110,000 small and medium-sized businesses across Canada.

Human Resources committee  Appearing before our committee as individuals are Katherine Lippel, professor, law faculty, civil law section of the University of Ottawa; and Allyson Schmidt, financial empowerment coach, Credit Counselling Service of Sault Ste. Marie and District. From the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, we have Monique Moreau, vice-president, national affairs. From the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, we have Francis Fong, chief economist. From the Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy, we have Andrew Cardozo, president.

Committees of the House  I know that the Conservatives like to brand themselves as the great captains of enterprise and like to pitch that they support small business, but this government actually walks the walk when it comes to important policy decisions. We were very happy to see that the CFIB, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, came out as very supportive of reducing the small business tax rate to 9%, beginning on the first day of 2019. We also have a serious plan when it comes to climate change.

Finance committee  I want to start by asking if any of you have had a chance to see or read a couple of reports that have come out recently from different organizations. One of them is the Canadian Federation of Independent Business's February report. The other is Restaurants Canada's state of the Alberta industry overview. Are you familiar with those reports, and have you read them?

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The labour shortage is therefore the number one concern for most Canadian businesses. A recent survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business confirmed that the labour shortage had caused a loss of sales for 40% of respondents, and that 42% had had to cancel their investment plans. Yet recruiting temporary foreign workers continues to be a process burdened by international competition, long delays and inconsistent decisions.

Canada–Madagascar Tax Convention Implementation Act, 2018  We had Kim Moody talk about the changes the government had made to the Income Tax Act, specifically around small businesses and Canadian controlled private corporations. I asked the Canadian Federation of Independent Business about this. The government likes to talk about lowering taxes for small business, but when I spoke to the CFIB, when I heard some of the testimony of Mr. Moody today, I found that the government had made it so difficult for many families to utilize a legitimate tax regime that was available to them in previous years.

Human Resources committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. You should have a slide deck in front of you. I'd like to walk you through it over the next few minutes. As I know some members are aware, CFIB is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization representing more than 110,000 small businesses across Canada.

Industry committee  It will streamline extra-provincial corporate registration and reporting. You may be aware that this is one of the top 10 irritants that the Canadian Federation of Independent Business talks about: multiple corporate registries. We're also working on making it easier to protect intellectual property which is very important for small businesses as they look into exporting.

Industry committee  Karen, you had mentioned that you had watched Tuesday's testimony from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. During that time, I had started some questioning, but I didn't get into this one particular question that I would like to propose to you.