QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Temporary Tax Measures
December 5, 2024
Leader, this time last year, I asked you about Opération Père Noël. It is a charity in your province that provides presents to children in need. As was the case last year, they received a record-breaking number of requests — over 33,000 so far. The charity has received around 50 requests for new lunch boxes for school, 114 children have asked for mittens and 500 have asked for a winter coat.
Leader, it is absolutely heartbreaking that these children are asking Santa for basic needs as gifts. This is where we find ourselves as a country, and it is terrible.
Leader, how does taking a few cents off of a bag of chips for two months help these children?
This is the holiday season, and I am pleased that, in my province and in all provinces and territories, there are organizations helping families in need. I am personally proud and pleased to support such efforts, both in my home province and in my electoral division of Stadacona.
Senator, you are referring, as you have been recently, to Bill C-78 for which clause-by-clause consideration was just completed at committee. That two-month break on GST applies to many goods including children’s clothing. We hope that all families, children and adults have a healthy, warm, loving and safe holiday season.
But not the government’s problem.
A teenager wrote to the charity asking for a gift card to buy themselves something to eat at the Tim Hortons near their school. It is heartbreaking. Today, we learned that families will have to pay $800 more to feed themselves next year.
Leader, it’s time for the carbon tax to end, isn’t it? How much more are families expected to take?
How regrettable, but predictable, it is that you would use this question to make another false claim. The story to which you referred, senator, talked about projected increases in food prices. What did they indicate the causes were? Climate change, not the carbon tax. Shame on you, senator, for using this — I’m “clutching my pearls” out of disbelieve that you would once again promulgate misinformation on the backs of children and teenagers —
Senator Martin, go ahead.
Leader, my question concerns the temporary GST holiday involving an extremely complicated list of items and its impact on small businesses. During second reading debate on Bill C-78 on Tuesday, I asked the bill’s sponsor about an issue raised by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, or CFIB. The CFIB is justifiably concerned about how the Canada Revenue Agency will handle good-faith errors made by small businesses rushing to implement the changes under Bill C-78. Yesterday, a Canada Revenue Agency official admitted to our Finance Committee, “. . . we’re still finalizing our compliance approach . . . .”
Leader, why hasn’t your government thought that far ahead?
Thank you for your question. I was at all committee meetings, including yesterday’s, so if I may elaborate on what was said, the representative from the CRA, which is working assiduously to provide information to inquiring Canadians and businesses, made it very clear that their intention with regard to compliance for good-faith errors that may be made — and some errors are inevitably made, such as in the coding of products — is to focus on those who deliberately and fraudulently try to avoid or game the system, not on honest businesses, small, medium or large, who may have inadvertently and in good faith made a mistake.
That’s what the CRA said. They’ve been working hard at redirecting resources to provide information to Canadians to ensure that this is done in a fair and equitable way.
Yes, but I predict that it will be complicated and create a bit of a mess.
The Prime Minister didn’t consult with small businesses or the provinces before his announcement, and media reports say he didn’t consult with his caucus or his cabinet either. So the Prime Minister didn’t take — or want — anyone’s input. Isn’t that why this is a mess, leader?
Senator Martin, this bill was studied intensively this week by the committee. It heard from the witnesses and many others. There was broad support amongst witnesses. But yes, indeed, there are going to be challenges and complications, and this has been acknowledged not only in testimony but by this committee in observations that will be before this chamber soon. Nonetheless, there is broad-based support for this as a targeted short-term measure to help Canadians, and that’s why the bill passed without amendment.
