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QUESTION PERIOD — Finance

Transfer of Small Business

May 17, 2022


Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition)

Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate.

Leader, in June 2021, during the debate on Bill C-208 by Manitoba Conservative Member of Parliament Larry Maguire, you stated:

Bill C-208 would provide considerable benefits to some taxpayers in the form of tax-free distributions of corporate surplus without adequately ensuring that a genuine intergenerational business transfer has occurred.

In the recent NDP-Liberal budget, the Minister of Finance announced that her government will consult on changes to be made to the Income Tax Act concerning this legislation that received Royal Assent last June.

Leader, after you urged the Senate not to adopt Bill C-208 last year, your government is now of the opinion that there is no urgency, the consequences are not that important and that a consultation with no set date will be sufficient.

Senator Gold, do you stand by your remarks of last June, and if so, how do you explain that your government doesn’t share your view that it’s urgent to correct this situation? Also, did you overstate the dangers of Bill C-208, or is the NDP-Liberal government leaving a loophole in place? Which is it, Senator Gold?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) [ + ]

Thank you for your questions.

I stand by what I said. I think the government’s decision to consult is an appropriate one, given the complexity of the issues that the bill raised, which I tried to underscore in my remarks.

I forget the third question, but I suspect you’ll repeat it if you have a chance.

Did you overstate of dangers of Bill C-208, yes or no? It’s actually four questions.

Leader, during the debate on Bill C-208, our colleague Senator Harder, who was defending the position of your government, stated, “. . . the bill becomes a substantial fiscal cost to the Government of Canada.”

One year later, Senator Gold, what has been the estimated cost of Bill C-208 to the federal government?

Senator Gold [ + ]

Thank you for reminding me of the question.

The answer to the first part of the question is no, I did not overstate it. Second, I do not know the figures, but I will make inquiries and report back.

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