Human Resources committee  In your presentation, you spoke briefly about how the OECD has documented the polarization of the labour market. How is Canada, and more particularly Quebec, affected by income inequality, the gap in which is growing larger and larger?

Business of Supply  I would challenge any member across the way to inform me as to when any other minister of finance has been so successful in the redistribution of Canada's wealth and in trying to make a difference to income inequality. One of the first initiatives this government undertook, headed by the Minister of Finance, was when we decided that there was going to be a tax increase for the one per cent of Canada's wealthiest.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 2  For a single person balancing escalating costs, it will ease the transition back into the workforce. It will also reduce income inequality and help to reduce poverty in this country. In addition to assisting working Canadians, we are acting on our priority of supporting communities' most vulnerable people: children and families in need of additional resources.

Human Resources committee  One other thing I would mention along that line—and this was my sixth point that I didn't get to say at the time—is that what's also happening in incomes in general, particularly earnings, is being driven by what's happening in the labour market, and that's a quite rapidly growing income inequality since the 1980s—again, far more so in the United States than in Canada, but it is still the case in Canada. If earnings are growing further and further apart, particularly at the top end, and things like CPP depend upon earnings, that means you will have a growing fraction of people at the top end who will be at the top end of CPP and QPP.

Business of Supply  Earlier this week, when we debated tax fairness in the House, I spoke about the true unfairness of income inequality. I will repeat some of the shocking, heartbreaking statistics that are a reality in Canada today. According to the census data in 2015, the richest 1% now make 6.8 times more than a worker making Canada's median wage of $34,204.

Agriculture committee  First, we heard a great deal about income inequality during the June food summit, and I think that should be taken very seriously. A significant part of the problem with access to food in Canada is really about income. Many of the other costs in people's lives are inflexible, so they have to be flexible with their food budget and that is one of the big challenges for Canadians.

Finance committee  The government's ambition to improve productivity and competitiveness, while reducing income inequality and growing Canada's middle class, requires smarter use of higher education's contribution to the economy and society. Canada's polytechnics are ready to contribute, and today I urge the government to harness us better.

Finance committee  Using CCPCs for income sprinkling is unfair, both horizontally between individuals with the same income but able or unable to run this income through a company, and vertically by eroding the progressivity of Canada's income tax system. Rising income inequality has come to prominence over the past few years, with a focus on the income shares of the top 1%. Our analysis suggests that this degree of inequality is worse than the statistics indicate because these statistics fail to account for income received but retained within private companies.

Finance committee  Yes, most definitely there are advantages, but what has to be recognized is that the advantages are not gender equal, and they're not equal by age, either. This is a system that is actually contributing to the growing income inequality between women and men on an after-tax basis in Canada. Canada has a very low rate of redistribution when it comes to getting women out of that low-income category.

Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1  However, neither Bill C-44 nor any other legislation before us addresses this critical step in reducing income inequality in Canada. As I mentioned at the start, one of the features of Bill C-44 is a section that would change the role and powers of the parliamentary budget officer. This has no place in a budget implementation bill.

Business of Supply  They have used the money to facilitate their government largesse, which ostensibly includes travelling around the world giving speeches about income inequality. They take from the poor to facilitate opportunities to speak in all kinds of fora about income inequality. I would say this is the height of cynicism, but we had the whole electoral reform flip-flop, so I will say it is close to the height of cynicism.

Status of Women committee  For example, we have funded research projects on the gender aspects of poverty alleviation, employment standards protections for precarious job workers, child care policies, gender income inequalities, and much more. What is important is that the leadership of women in these fields of research is very strong. Indigenous research is also a strategic priority for SSHRC. Now up to 10% of our budget is invested in that area and indigenous and non-indigenous women researchers are central to our efforts.

Business of Supply  What is critical for the Canadian economy and for the creation of jobs is to help move Canada towards a more sustainable economy, one that ensures the Canadian environment, such as B.C.'s beautiful coasts, are respected and preserved, one that tackles issues such as income inequality and precarious work. The motion also points to the NEB's approval of the Kinder Morgan pipeline's environmental safety issue. As my colleagues have pointed out throughout the day, the NEB's process is fundamentally flawed, and its approval of this pipeline is yet another of a growing list of broken promises made by the Prime Minister to Canadians.

Petitions  The petitioners cite that it could cost tens of thousands of good Canadian jobs, leading to growing income inequality; raise the cost of medications; pose a barrier to a national pharmacare program; ease the path for foreign takeovers; and there are many other issues that they cite as being dangerous in the trans-Pacific partnership.

Canada Labour Code  Two committee reports have called for action, yet the government is making women wait. It is unconscionable. All these are contributing factors to greater income inequality. If the government is truly sincere about helping the middle class, then it must immediately address all of these issues. If the government cannot manage to stickhandle its own bill through the legislative process, what hope do we have that these pressing issues will ever get the attention they deserve?