Multilateral Instrument in Respect of Tax Conventions Act  Madam Speaker, I want to put on the record that I grew up in northern British Columbia, in Prince Rupert. My mother and her five sisters worked at a cannery. That is how they made their income. I worked at a cannery. Unfortunately, many of those canneries no longer exist, as the industry has changed quite a bit.

Multilateral Instrument in Respect of Tax Conventions Act  Madam Speaker, I come from a very humble, middle-class background, having grown up in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. However, through a lot of work, I had the privilege of working on Bay Street and Wall Street for over 20 years. Our government does listen and consult when it puts forward changes in how businesses operate and in our tax system.

Multilateral Instrument in Respect of Tax Conventions Act  Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague and friend, the member for Calgary Shepard, who I have the privilege of sitting on the finance committee with. What I will say is that when we look at our overall tax system and the way it works, and if we look at the elasticity of tax in terms of the way the Parliamentary Budget Officer wrote about it in the report, our tax cut worked.

Multilateral Instrument in Respect of Tax Conventions Act  Madam Speaker, in the riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, which I am privileged to represent, the residents work hard and pay their taxes diligently. They want assurance of our tax system and its fairness, assurance that everyone is paying his or her fair share. As a government, since being elected we have invested over a billion dollars in the Canada Revenue Agency to ensure that we have a system that works for all Canadians and that our country can have confidence in this department.

Multilateral Instrument in Respect of Tax Conventions Act  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House this afternoon and speak to an important piece of legislation, Bill C-82, which is a further step in our government's agenda and plan to build an economy that is fair and where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. A fair tax system forms the foundation for a stronger middle class and a growing economy, instills confidence in Canadians and helps create opportunities for everyone.

Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, with regard to our veterans, they should be afforded every service possible. They made the ultimate sacrifice in terms of serving our country. This would, in my view, encompass a whole-of-government approach. We have put billions of dollars toward mental health in the provinces, have developed the poverty reduction strategy and have implemented the pension for life for veterans, and this would be an additional step.

Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, as the chair of the all-party credit union caucus, I have also inquired as to why only one of the two measures introduced in the budget has been put into the BIA, and I hope to have an answer shortly.

Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, Canadians will face a choice in a few months. One of the choices they will face is to continue to grow the economy with smart investments and smart policies, such as the accelerated capital cost allowance that was put in place in the fall economic statement; the adoption of measures to enhance skills training in Bill C-97; and increasing the earnings exemption for seniors to $5,000 and then by 50% from $5,000 to $15,000.

Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, it is great today to speak to Bill C-97, the budget implementation act, which introduces many of the measures we have brought forward un budget 2019. This goes to our central value of continuing to strengthen the middle class and help those working hard to join it in our great and beautiful country, Canada.

Multilateral Instrument in Respect of Tax Conventions Act  Mr. Speaker, I wanted to ask the hon. member and parliamentary secretary about the theme of our government for the last three and a half years, which has focused on tax fairness. We have Bill C-82 with respect to base erosion and profit shifting, along with budget 2019, which limits the stock option tax deduction.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate having the privilege of asking the member for Carleton a question, also a member whom I sit with on the finance committee. I listened attentively over the last couple of days to his comments on the budget. I just have to throw some facts out there. I know facts are inconvenient to the party on the opposite side, but these are the facts: our economy has generated over 900,000 jobs since we were elected; over 800,000 Canadians have been lifted out of poverty since we were elected; in 2017, we led the G7 in economic growth at almost a 3% clip; Canadians are over $2,000 better off today than they were three years ago; our debt to GDP ratio is on a declining trend; Moody's, S&P; and other rating agencies reaffirmed and confirmed our AAA credit rating.

Social Development  Mr. Speaker, this week, we are taking a big step towards improving gender equality at home and at work with the introduction of the new parental sharing benefit. Thanks to the parental sharing benefit, parents across Canada will be able to share the work of raising their children more equally.

Rare Disease Day  Mr. Speaker, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Phelan-McDermid syndrome, mutation of the Spatton One gene, these, like many others, are rare diseases. By definition, each one of them affects fewer than one in 2000 individuals, but those individuals have names, like Jesse, Lorena and Isabella.

Canada–Madagascar Tax Convention Implementation Act, 2018  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member from Quebec for his question. I would like to answer in French, but it is a bit tricky. Our government has invested over $1 billion in the CRA to provide the wonderful folks who work there with the services and tools they need to ensure that all Canadian organizations, including multinationals, pay their fair share of taxes.

Canada–Madagascar Tax Convention Implementation Act, 2018  Mr. Speaker, this tax convention entered into by Canada and Madagascar is based on the OECD Model Tax Convention. The convention is expected to contribute to the elimination of taxes, to trade and investment between Canada and Madagascar and to solidify economic linkages between the two countries.