44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 21, 2022 11:00AM
- Mar/21/22 12:15:47 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, the banks continue to post profits, and their executives are rolling in money while families are struggling to access or purchase housing. Major corporations also keep making profits while small businesses are suffering. The oil companies are raking in the dough while everyone is paying more for oil and gas.
I am therefore in favour of a 3% surtax on those referred to in the motion as the “super‑rich”.
I do want to point out, though, that tax havens represent another anomaly. The government is totally complacent with respect to tax evasion. Is it right to take that attitude?
105 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/21/22 12:16:33 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, that is not right at all, and I am grateful to my colleague for his comments and support.
Tax havens pose a major challenge because the ultrarich are hiding their money and not paying their fair share. We definitely need to resolve that problem.
Today, our motion proposes to address the growing inequality in our society by imposing a 3% surtax on major corporations. Doing so will make it possible to restore justice and equality and to reinvest the money to meet Canadians' needs. We believe that this is a necessary measure.
94 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/21/22 1:23:53 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, my colleague from Winnipeg North knows how much I admire him.
I find it fascinating that the Liberals are forming a coalition government with the NDP and are now claiming that there is a coalition of the opposition. Perhaps they are a bit embarrassed.
That being said, I have mentioned this before. It is true that large corporations pay out dividends. It is true for banks, which must observe minimum Canadian ownership tresholds. It is also true that profits have exceeded all projections. What the Bloc Québécois is asking is to consider the projections. No investment fund manager saw this coming.
During the election campaign, the Bloc Québécois suggested seizing some of these profits, because they have nothing to do with our banks’ business acumen. They are the result of circumstances, not the banks’ actions. We should take some of these profits. It would be both effective and fair.
161 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/21/22 1:27:07 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, there are two things I want to say.
That is what happened in wartime, during World War II, when the debt ratio increased. The government collected exceptional contributions from the big banks and corporations, far more than is being asked for today. That allowed us to get through very difficult times.
Now, my colleagues need to understand that, by its very nature, the Canadian banking system is less competitive than other countries' systems. Profits are higher than elsewhere, and the system is also more stable. We need to be able to take advantage of this stability when we need it the most. That time is now.
108 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/21/22 1:55:05 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to hear that the member is in favour of ensuring that we have a tax on the biggest corporations so that we can invest in the things that matter most: helping our community members who are struggling with the cost of living and investing in climate solutions. I will always work across party lines with members from the Bloc and members from any party to ensure that we put people over corporate profits.
79 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/21/22 4:20:30 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member's push in this direction. It is an important discussion to have. Strengthening the transparency needed for corporate beneficial ownership is a topic that our government is very concerned with and, in fact, has done a pretty substantive public consultation and engagement on.
I note a document posted on the Government of Canada's website from April 6, 2021, provides quite a lot of information about some very detailed and in-depth consultation work that was done. I will read the conclusion, which states:
...stakeholders across the spectrum supported the idea of a central registry (or registries) of beneficial ownership information as an effective tool in making sure that law enforcement, tax and other authorities obtain the information they need to identify the natural persons who own and control Canadian corporations. While there were more mixed views on the value and merits of public access, [this]...remains a priority of the Government of Canada.
160 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/21/22 5:25:52 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I would say to my hon. colleague that I am particularly concerned. Since this has come up in her speech, what can we start doing? We know this is about beneficial ownership that is absolutely hidden. Foreign corporations can be running shell companies in Canada. There is no way to track them down. This applies across a number of provinces as well as federally. Canada is now being advertised in places like Russia as the place to hide one's assets. A recent report called “Snow-washing, Inc.” draws attention to it, so it is both federal and provincial.
I would love to hear my hon. colleague's comments on when we can crack down on this, particularly in light of what has happened with respect to the Russian assets of oligarchs around the world.
139 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/21/22 5:41:25 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I absolutely agree with my hon. colleague. I absolutely think it is time that we go after offshore tax havens and that the ultrawealthy and multinational corporations pay their fair share and be held to account. I think it is beyond time. Certainly, the government, which has been elected since 2015, has had lots of time to amend the tax system to make it fairer and make sure that people's needs are met, but it has failed to do so.
83 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/21/22 5:54:46 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, it is clear that more and more Canadians are tuning in to the fact that one of our Crown corporations that was created to meet the infrastructure crisis across the country is simply not delivering. It has turned into a corporate welfare model pushing disastrous PPP projects with a for-profit agenda, and ultimately the result is that we have not seen one project brought to completion. This is unacceptable from a public entity or Crown corporation that is sitting on money that is ours as Canadians, an entity that we desperately need to do the work of meeting Canada's infrastructure needs, particularly in the face of the climate crisis. That is why I am proud of my private member's bill, Bill C-245, which I hope MPs will support, which would allow us to reform the bank so that it works in support of Canadians and Canadian communities in the fight against climate change.
159 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Mar/21/22 5:55:52 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and the NDP for this fantastic initiative, because it is worth discussing.
I come from an entrepreneurial background. All my life, I have heard it said that small businesses and self-employed workers are the backbone of the economy. In my riding, there are a lot of small and medium-sized businesses that are driving the economy.
I would like my colleague to give me some insights into how we can deal with large corporations, which often receive subsidies and then engage in tax avoidance. In the post-pandemic era, how can we urgently find a way to recoup this money?
108 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
