Finance committee  It's always great to have the input of our stakeholders. I want to pick up with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. We hear a lot from the government about carbon tax rebates and how families are compensated for expenses related to the carbon tax. They're not the only ones paying for goods when the carbon tax is applied, whether that's on fuel itself—which is, obviously, very direct—or indirectly on other goods.

Finance committee  Thank you for your question, Mr. Ste-Marie. I'm going to reiterate the comments that were made at the beginning of the presentation by my colleague, Ms. Pohlmann. One of the things we would have liked to see in the budget is the effort to reduce operating costs for small and medium-sized businesses in Quebec and Canada.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. My questions are for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. I'm perfectly fine with either of the two, whether it's the senior vice-president or the vice-president, to answer, and I thank you for being here today. With respect to the luxury tax, are you concerned that the highly complex nature of the tax will add to the already significant compliance costs that your members are facing?

Finance committee  Perfect. I'll just quickly zip over to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Ms. Pohlmann, would you agree with the Quebec council of employers on their point about changing the personal use category on the luxury tax? Would you also share some of the same concerns about the cash rebates system the government proposes?

Finance committee  Sure, you can do that during question time. Thank you, Mr. Laliberté. Now we will hear from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Finance committee  Thank you. Thanks for the opportunity to be here today. I am joined by my colleague Jasmin Guenette, who will help with answering some of the questions when we get to that point. First of all, CFIB is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that represents 95,000 small and medium-sized companies across Canada.

Finance committee  As an individual, we have Pierre Laliberté, Commissioner for Workers. Welcome. From the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, we have Corinne Pohlmann, who is the senior vice-president of national affairs and partnerships, and Jasmin Guénette, vice-president of national affairs. Welcome.

Industry committee  Training is a tool that will allow us to deal with the situation. Earlier, I listened to the comments from the representative of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. One thing that she did not mention, but that we feel is important, is to extend to the end of the year the programs put in place to support Canadian businesses during the pandemic.

Industry committee  Thanks very much. I want to stick with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. I'll start with the red tape recommendation that you made. Maybe it won't be in your answer now, but could you commit to providing a list of examples of red tape at the federal level?

Industry committee  Thank you very much. My next couple of questions are for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Actually, Ms. Pohlmann, you mentioned in your opening statement the one-for-one rule that formerly existed. As well, I note there was an advisory committee to help identify these barriers and I know that the CFIB was a representative on that committee.

Industry committee  Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. CFIB is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that represents 95,000 small and medium-sized businesses across Canada. We are also a research-based organization. We take our direction from our members through surveys. We conduct them on a regular basis.

Industry committee  From the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, we have Mark Agnew, senior vice-president of policy and government relations, and Alla Drigola Birk, senior director of parliamentary affairs and small and medium enterprises policy. From the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, we have Corinne Pohlmann, senior vice-president, national affairs and partnerships. From the Quebec Council of Employers, we have Karl Blackburn, president and chief executive officer, and Denis Hamel, vice-president of workforce development policies.

Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021  It is good that the deadline for repaying Canada emergency business account loans has been pushed back, but that is not enough. We have proposed other measures. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has also sounded the alarm, saying that its members are struggling. They have taken on heavy debt loads, and the concern is that many of these businesses will not weather the crisis.

Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021  The tourism industry has pleaded to extend those benefits to the end of the summer. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business wants CEBA loans extended for two years, and the government has abandoned them. I am just wondering why the Conservatives are siding with the government in abandoning small businesses and tour operators.

Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021  They were both drawn up before the omicron variant hit and extended the pandemic by months and months. We have had calls from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada to extend the benefits that were there before to help businesses that have struggled to stay alive until now. Even a few months would help some of them get through this pandemic alive, yet we are seeing the government abandon those programs.