- Dec/8/21 8:31:02 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the finance minister's office said they will review EI contribution rates. When is this review going to be completed?
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- Dec/8/21 8:30:27 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, being in this House most of today listening to a lot of debate, there were a lot of comments from the government side about the fact that we are still in a pandemic and it is a really difficult time. Based on that, will the government commit now to not increasing the payroll taxes for 2022?
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- Dec/8/21 8:30:14 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, this is an unprecedented difficult time for entrepreneurs. Will the government freeze payroll tax hikes for 2022?
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- Dec/8/21 8:30:04 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, will the minister commit to freezing the payroll tax hikes for 2022?
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- Dec/8/21 8:29:36 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I was not referring to the CEBA. I was talking about CPP payroll tax increases. How many business groups has the government consulted on these increases?
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- Dec/8/21 8:29:11 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I am a little in shock with that answer considering how much small businesses have been through over the last two years.
How many small businesses has the government consulted regarding the 2022 payroll tax increases?
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- Dec/8/21 8:28:42 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the finance minister often likes to quote people, so here is the quote from the CFIB: “Pausing the rise in CPP premiums for small businesses is one of the top priorities for CFIB.” Does the minister agree?
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- Dec/8/21 8:28:21 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, does the minister acknowledge that some small businesses will likely have to go more into debt to afford the upcoming payroll tax increases?
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- Dec/8/21 8:28:09 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, what is the average amount of debt? Surely the government should know this answer.
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- Dec/8/21 8:27:44 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, now we have clarity from the comments that the other minister made on Friday.
Could the minister tell us the average amount of debt individual small businesses have taken on over the course of the pandemic?
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- Dec/8/21 8:27:12 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the question was about how much businesses are paying. Once again, the Minister of Innovation made this comment on Friday.
To gain clarification for Canadian businesses, is this an increase or is there no increase in 2022?
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- Dec/8/21 8:26:34 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, on Friday when I asked the government about CPP premium increases that businesses are facing in 2022, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry said, “this is not an increase.” Can the minister confirm today that the CPP premiums are not going up for businesses in 2022?
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- Dec/8/21 8:26:07 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I was referring to CPP increases. What is the dollar value that businesses will pay for the CPP maximum employer contributions per employee?
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- Dec/8/21 8:25:34 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I will give the minister the answer. It is 18% and it is right on the government's website.
What is the maximum dollar value increase from this year to next year a business will have to pay in CPP employer contributions?
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- Dec/8/21 8:24:57 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I will be questioning the President of the Treasury Board.
Can the minister tell us the percentage increase in payroll taxes over the time period 2020 to 2022 which small businesses are facing?
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- Dec/8/21 2:15:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, British Columbia has been devastated by unprecedented flooding, landslides, the washing out of highways, evacuation of whole communities and tragic losses of life.
In my riding of Kelowna—Lake Country, we continue to do our part to assist those who have come seeking help and support. We have opened our doors to people and animals, and offered food, clothing and shelter to those in need. Many faith organizations, companies and not-for-profits have initiated donation campaigns. This shows that the spirit of Kelowna—Lake Country continues to shine brightly, just as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic and summer wildfires.
We must continue to do all we can for those most in need as we move forward from this tragedy. The rebuilding and reopening of our province will not be swift, and all levels of government must come together to ensure a robust recovery and to protect our communities from future weather events and help them to adapt.
My heart goes out to all those affected. I thank all who are doing their part to help.
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- Dec/7/21 11:00:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, let me again remind the government why small business labour shortages in our economy matter. Small businesses represent about 70% of Canadians employed in the private sector. Out of every 20 businesses employing Canadians, 19 are small businesses. They are the greatest driver of innovation and prosperity in this country and are the ground level for our economic success.
Statistics Canada's most recent survey of business conditions shows more than one in four businesses expect its profitability to decline by the end of the year. The government's inaction on this labour crisis will only cause more stress to entrepreneurs working longer hours and more businesses folding in the new year. Keeping Canadians employed in good-paying jobs should be an essential priority for the government, but without a small business sector that is thriving, not just barely surviving, those jobs will not be there to go back to.
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- Dec/7/21 10:53:40 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-2
Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to be here at this very late hour to be granted an adjournment debate on the labour crisis.
The government's recent economic recovery speech said it was committed to leaving no worker or region behind, yet nowhere in the speech was there a single mention of the labour shortages that thousands of small and medium-sized businesses face. Leaving small businesses adrift is a roadblock to our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. As the member of Parliament for Kelowna—Lake Country, my local businesses are feeling the crunch of not having the staffing levels necessary to offer their goods and services like they are used to.
Jason Davis, who operates the Okanagan branch of a security company, told me that a significant drop in employee candidates has left the company running at a loss. They estimate losing over $100,000 in contractually guaranteed revenue because of lost staffing coverage. That is in addition to the hundreds of thousands more they have been forced to incur in penalties for not meeting contractual obligations, higher costs of recruitment and the inability to take on any new work. This is similar to stories I hear from many business owners. Working in security, they are able to see how labour shortages have been damaging to their sector and the many other businesses they work with.
However, employers like Jason are not coming to my office just to talk about difficulties. They are coming to me with solutions. He has suggestions on the temporary foreign worker program, and this side of the House has similarly looked at offering solutions to tackling this labour crisis. Along with the chairman of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, I have already sent a letter to the Minister of Immigration asking him to extend working visas that have expired for people already in Canada. This is an easy fix, yet so far we have received no response and the government is silent. Ignoring our warnings on this labour crisis will not make the problem disappear. It will leave our recovery on the rocks.
Statistics Canada said that in September there were over one million job vacancies. During that same month, there were about a million people on the CRB. RBC Economics reported that one in every three businesses is grappling with labour shortages. A report from the government's own Business Development Bank says that 55% of entrepreneurs struggle to hire the workers they need.
We do not have to let this country run into a growing iceberg. We can choose to take action to ensure our recovery lifts up all businesses and workers. We can ensure that Canadians continue to be employed at good-paying jobs that support their communities with affordable goods and services. We need to get people who are able to work back to work.
We can keep Canadians spending at small businesses by tackling skyrocketing inflation, which is escalating gas and grocery bills. We can strengthen our supply chains by ensuring Canadian warehouses, ports and trucking companies have the staff to meet their needs. We can address the increasing debt that small businesses are currently carrying, with an average of $170,000 in new debt. We can address rising costs for small businesses by halting federal payroll tax increases.
I urge the government to take note of these and the many more ideas expressed by my colleagues across partisan divides. Rushed legislation like Bill C-2 will not solve staffing shortages. I ask the government to work collaboratively in the House to tackle the growing labour shortage threats that are crippling small business and impeding our economic recovery.
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- Dec/3/21 11:30:56 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the government says the January 1 payroll tax hikes are necessary, but a payroll tax needs a payroll to tax. Statistics Canada's most recent survey of business conditions says that one in four businesses expects their profitability to be down by the end of the year. There have been many times this year when more businesses have closed than opened.
Is the government not concerned that a higher tax in this country's current economic conditions could cause further small businesses to fold?
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- Dec/3/21 11:29:46 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, small businesses have struggled through an enormously challenging year. On December 31, they will be ready to toast a more prosperous and brighter new year. However, who will be knocking on their doors when the clock strikes midnight? It will be the Liberal tax collector. The New Year's hangover this year will be the CPP increase.
After such a difficult 2021, why are the Liberals increasing CPP taxes on businesses?
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