FINA Committee Report

BLOC QUÉBÉCOIS DISSENTING REPORT

THE 43RD PARLIAMENT MUST AWAIT THE GOVERNMENT’S VISION

The Bloc Québécois wishes to thank all those who took part in the 2020 intensive pre-budget consultations. A number of witnesses told us that they were eager to participate in the process or update their briefs, given that new issues arose during the election campaign, which took place during the six months between the deadline for submitting briefs in August 2019 and the consultations in February 2020.We wish to reiterate that we intend to work with civil society and organizations to defend and represent Quebec’s interests, for that has been the Bloc Québécois’s guiding principle since the party was created.

On February 28, it will have been 100 days since Cabinet was formed, leaving the government enough time to put forward its priorities and flagship policies. Since then, the government has announced many intentions, but achieved little. Since the election, the Bloc Québécois has made its expectations of the government crystal clear. Our job is not to systematically oppose the government, but rather to ensure that commitments to Quebeckers are respected and to defend the interests of Quebec and its regions. We therefore are asking to be happily surprised by this government. In the Throne Speech, the government showed a certain degree of openness toward addressing some of Quebec’s priorities. However, this openness must result in concrete budget measures. The Bloc Québécois expects no less. 

Acknowledging the results of the 2019 General Election

Quebeckers were clear in the last election: they want the federal government to listen to the National Assembly and the Bloc Québécois. The government must work not only through dialogue, but also through concrete action, in the interest of Quebec’s autonomy and priorities. Accordingly, the Bloc Québécois has identified six priority areas:

• increase Old Age Security benefits for seniors 65 and older;
• increase health transfers;
• guarantee compensation for supply-managed farmers;
• provide potable tap water to Indigenous communities;
• increase EI benefits to 50 weeks for people with serious illnesses; and
• expedite the social housing projects anticipated by Quebec and municipalities.

Our recommendations are neither frivolous nor unrealistic:

• Some will be costly, but clearly respond to issues of significant public concern.
• Others can be incorporated into existing programs by redirecting funding or restructuring programs to meet our priorities.
• And others will be immensely profitable to the government and prevent the erosion of the tax base caused by a lack of clarity.

Year after year, the government has deepened the deficit and has no plan to balance the budget. What is even more concerning is that the deficit has not seemed to result in any benefits for the Quebec economy. Additionally, the government’s investments do not seem to be guided by any vision. In the Supplementary Estimates 2019–20, the government reallocated $4.94 billion (A) and $5.56 billion (B) for Budget 2019 projects. All things considered, $10.5 billion is a lot of money. But it is not much to breathe direction or vision into a government that lacks leadership. The funding must go to people who are in need, to projects that will ensure a successful energy transition, and to our media and artists so that they can go toe to toe with the Internet giants. And we have yet to find a government directive that shows it wants to tackle these issues. The government often delays decisions in favor of consultations, studies and international consensus, but it needs to follow through and take action. The Liberals must prove that they are willing to govern.

The federal government has a lot of latitude, something the Parliamentary Budget Officer regularly reminds us of: «Current fiscal policy at the federal level is sustainable over the long term. PBO estimates that the federal government could permanently increase spending or reduce taxes by 1.8 per cent of GDP ($41 billion in current dollars) while maintaining net debt at its current (2018) level of 28.5 per cent of GDP over the long term[1].»

Furthermore, one topic was notably absent from this year’s pre-budget consultations: the media crisis. There was some discussion about taxing the Internet giants, but the scope of the problem extends far beyond this one issue. We must provide greater support to the media, including local and regional, and encourage journalism. We would like to note that only one group explicated recommendations on that matter.

Another priority topic for the Bloc Québécois is one that should never fall prey to partisan politics: protecting the environment and promising future generations that we are doing everything in our power to preserve their standard of living and healthy environment. Accordingly, we proposed green equalization, the objective of which is twofold: creating additional wealth in the green technology sector and supporting the transition to a cleaner approach to economic development.

Additional recommendations of the Bloc Québécois

We would have liked the committee to recommend that the federal government:

• Increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement;
• Enable employee pension funds to be priority creditors in business bankruptcies;
• Enhance the Old Age Security pension for seniors age 65 and over to 15% of the average industrial wage;
• Increase the Canada Health Transfer by 5.2% per year, as requested by the provinces and Quebec;
• Unconditionally transfer the full amounts provided by the federal National Housing Strategy to Quebec programs;
• Convert the tax credits for family caregivers into refundable tax credits;
• Establish a tax credit for the North Shore similar to the Atlantic investment tax credit;
• Compensate artisanal cheesemakers and processors for the impact of CETA;
• Develop a strategy for the aerospace industry;
• Establish an investment fund for cutting-edge industries such as multimedia and video games, green technology, aluminum, advanced transportation, new materials, aerospace and pharmaceuticals;
• Exempt book purchases from the GST;
• Increase funding for research at post-secondary institutions;
• Increase the budget of Telefilm Canada to foster the creation of online drama series;
• Maintain and index the budget of the Canada Council for the Arts, and provide it with an international promotion budget;
• Announce multi-year ongoing funding for the Canada Arts Presentation Fund and the Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage program;
• Guarantee the amounts and terms of compensation to farmers in supply-managed industries for losses caused by CETA, CPTPP and CUSMA;
• Establish a tax credit for businesses to modernize their production processes;
• Commit to alleviating labor shortages;
• Develop a strategy to improve business productivity;
• Make the Tax-Deferred Co-operative Share Program (TDCS) a permanent fiscal measure for agricultural co-operatives;
• Ensure the program for zero-emission vehicles continues with the incentive program, improve it in:
  • Providing additional rebates for low-income households;
  • Providing additional rebates when an eco-friendly vehicle takes a particularly polluting vehicle off the road;
  • Providing incentives for purchases of and research into heavy and commercial vehicles;
  • Replacing the entire federal vehicle fleet with green vehicles;
  • Exempting purchases of new and used electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging equipment from the GST; and
  • Exempting new and used vehicles from the excise tax.
• Help reduce emissions by creating an incentive fund to promote zero-emission buses for public transit;
• End fossil fuel subsidies;
• Establish legal constraints to achieve the environmental targets under the Paris Agreement;
• Tax the profits that businesses, including banks, bring back from tax havens;
• Review all of Canada’s tax treaties with tax havens;
• Apply the GST to online services and advertising, regardless of the platform;
• Establish a print media fund using revenue from advertising taxes;
• Tax the Internet giants at a rate of 3% of their Canadian revenues.

Respect for jurisdictions

While Quebec may benefit from some of the recommendations, the government has once again committed to further interfere in areas of jurisdiction that belong to Quebec and the provinces. The Bloc Québécois is of the opinion that the government should give Quebec and the provinces the right to opt out unconditionally and with full compensation from all federal programs in areas of provincial jurisdiction.

Without this guarantee to stop intruding on Quebec’s areas of jurisdiction, we may find ourselves in the same dangerous situation as in 2016, when the Canada Health Transfer was being renegotiated. At the time, Quebec’s Minister of Health used the phrase “predatory federalism” to describe the Trudeau government’s approach. Here are three examples of federal interference for which a right to opt out with compensation would be appropriate:

• [that the federal government] implement a universal national public pharmacare program;
• invest in comprehensive home care for people who cannot stay in their homes [without it]; and
• create a special fund to help municipalities purchase electric public transit vehicles in partnership with the federal government.

The House of Commons recognized Quebec as a nation in 2005, but this recognition means little without any concrete action to support it. Quebeckers know what is right for them, and their representatives in the National Assembly should have the last word when it comes to investments in Quebec that fall under their constitutional prerogatives.

We believe that national independence is the best way for Quebec to achieve full autonomy and development, in keeping with its values. Until such time as the Quebec nation decides that this is the solution, we believe that our recommendations in this dissenting opinion are the most effective means of preserving Quebec’s national status.