Finance committee  Well, that’s a broad question. The first thing I would say is that taxation is the cornerstone of social solidarity. It’s a way to redistribute wealth. Clearly, the tax system needs to be progressive, so the wealthy pay more than the poor. With that money, we set up public servic

Finance committee  It is perfectly compatible. At the International Trade Union Confederation, or ITUC, they often actually say that there are no jobs on a dead planet. We have no choice but to blend respect for the environment and social rights with economic development, in what is called sustain

Finance committee  I will ask Mr. Bélanger to answer that.

Finance committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I represent the Confédération des syndicats nationaux, a labour organization with about 300,000 members, mainly in Quebec but also in the rest of Canada. Given the time allotted to us, I will present the recom

Finance committee  This is an issue that we also addressed in our brief. Mr. Paradis has just touched on what we might call new realities. For our part, we did not understand the government's position not to tax Netflix, while other Canadian companies have to pay these taxes. Netflix is not an SME.

Finance committee  If I may, I would like to say something about pharmacare, since you mentioned it. The CSN wrote a brief, and there was a consultation recently on the topic. We agree on establishing a universal drug plan. In fact, Quebec has already taken the lead by introducing a mixed system.

Finance committee  I will answer the first question, and Mr. Bélanger will answer the second. With regard to Kinder Morgan and, more generally, the fight against climate change, we only have to look at the summer we have just had. You may say that it's only one summer, but the series of natural di

Finance committee  I would just like to add a word on supply management. We represent about 2,000 workers in the food-processing sector, making yogurt and other products, who may well be indirectly affected by the supply management issue. That's the first thing. The second thing is that it may hav

Finance committee  I was saying that there is pressure to reduce corporate income tax rates. However, it is far from certain that simply emulating U.S. policy is the right approach for Canada. Here are some of the measures Canada should put forward to ensure its continued economic and social devel

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Hello ladies and gentlemen and members of the Standing Committee on Finance. First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge Mr. Fergus and remind him that the CSN stands in solidarity with those affected by the tornadoes in the Outaouais area. We have alr

Finance committee  There's no denying that everyone is worried about what's happening in the U.S. for all sorts of reasons. Just the reopening of NAFTA and the countervailing duties—another issue that didn't work out as hoped—are enough to cause concern. That said, in Canada and Quebec, we have va

Finance committee  I'll speak to that first, and Mr. Bélanger may want to round out my answer. Indeed, estimating the losses of tax revenues for the various levels of government is extremely tough. Tax havens are, by definition, opaque jurisdictions. That's the first thing I would say. For our par

Finance committee  I'd like to respond to a few of the comments. First of all, I completely agree with what Mr. Fergus said about corporate taxes. At the beginning of the 21st century, the federal corporate tax rate was 29%. Today, it sits at 15%, and we are still bemoaning the lack of investment.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. The Confédération des syndicats nationaux, or CSN, is a trade union organization with nearly 2,000 member unions who together represent 300,000 working women and men, primarily within Quebec. The CSN welcomed the changes made t

Finance committee  I only had a quick look at the main points in today's papers. But from what I was able to gather, we agree with what the Parliamentary Budget Officer stated. We object to cuts to both equalization and health transfers, especially given that, in 2007 or 2008, the federal Conserva