FINA Committee Report

Bloc Québécois Dissenting Report

Since the 2019 election, we have gone through several unprecedented situations. The global pandemic, similar to the Spanish flu pandemic of nearly 100 years ago, is something we do not want to experience again in our lifetime. Too many people have suffered, either directly or indirectly. COVID-19 has resulted in many deaths, but collateral damages must not be overlooked. They include victims of delayed surgeries or treatments and of the lockdowns imposed to contain the pandemic. Aside from the death statistics, some survivors of the virus are still dealing with after-effects, despite their recovery. Pandemic has many consequences, on the economic situation or mental health among others, that needs to be considered.

Centralizing Decision-making and Delayed Governance

However, the pandemic has also accelerated a growing trend within the federal government. The power of parliamentarians has quietly eroded and become concentrated in Cabinet instead. Various federal political analysts now refer to “governing from the center.” Decision-making authority appears to lie with the Prime Minister’s inner circle, including the Privy Council, and key government ministers. This has been in evidence since last March.

Omnibus bills, including multiple program implementation, have been introduced without allowing amendments and are often hastily passed. Because the government failed to work with parliamentarians, its response to the pandemic—and therefore government assistance—was slower, as its bills did not undergo a comprehensive and rigorous review by Parliament.

The government has taken away some of the members of Parliament’s power—granted by voters—to do its job of analyzing, improving and clarifying the grey areas of bills. We concede that the urgency of the pandemic required the government to be more flexible, but we realized that the Trudeau government was hardly acknowledging its mistakes. Once it did, we had lost valuable weeks. The government did not earn the increased flexibility it requested from Parliament:

• Lack of transparency to the public, parliamentarians, the Parliamentary Budget Officer and the Office of the Auditor General;
• A number of scandals and serious shortcomings in dealing with the health crisis;
• A Parliament reduced to fast-tracking bills without an in-depth review;
• The resignation of the Minister of Finance for reasons unclear; and
• A six-week prorogation to muzzle Parliament, which prevented the government from introducing new bills on matters such as wage subsidies and rent.

A Long-Awaited Budget

We are pleased to see that the recommendations of the 2020 pre-budget consultations have been added to this document. It is inconceivable that the government has not tabled a budget for almost two years, even as Quebec and the other provinces have done so. Transparency from Liberal leaders has been sorely lacking: they had the numbers, they had the forecasts. It is perfectly normal not to be accurate to the nearest billion in a time of crisis, when the situation is ever changing.

Yet, with the Minister of Finance Bill Morneau’s July economic snapshot, the government was not too far off the amounts presented in December’s economic statement. So, the government could have—and should have—tabled a budget, presented measures or provided direction on future policies. Not tabling a budget did not prevent them from increasing spending or creating new programs, nor tabling a budget would not have prevented them from increasing spending or creating new programs.

A Centralizing Drive That Harms Quebec

We strongly disapprove of the vague desire for centralization underpinning these recommendations. Once again, the federal parties have demonstrated that respecting areas of jurisdiction matters less to them than putting the maple leaf on a cheque and imposing their conditions on Quebec and the other provinces. Each jurisdiction is unique, and those that provide service on the field are best placed to know what they need. Quebec should not be given lessons from the federal government on program enhancements. Accordingly, if these proposals move forward, we ask for the ability to opt out, with full compensation for Quebec:

• Develop and implement a long-term mental health COVID-19 recovery plan to ensure all Canadians —especially the most vulnerable —can access the care they need, no matter where they live.
• Set national standards for Long Term Care facilities and make investments in both long term care and in-home that will allow provinces to achieve a standard of care that will provide dignity for seniors requiring such care in Canada.
• Lead the development of pan-Canadian standards for the long-term care sector, including home, community, and institutional settings, with proper accountability measures.
• Make targeted investments in health care that will improve access to primary care, mental health supports, and virtual care in provincial health care systems.
• Implement strategies that increase the resiliency and address inequalities of the health-care system to safeguard Canada’s social and economic security.
• Work in collaboration with the provinces and territories to assist those jurisdictions in accelerating the deployment of technology and ensure the availability of health human resources with appropriate training in culturally competent virtual care.
• Work with provinces to adequately fund palliative care.
• Make home care and palliative care more available across the country.
• Move forward on its commitment to implement an equitable, national and universal pharmacare program, beginning with the development of a preliminary common formulary of essential medicines by January 2022 that would be comprehensively expanded by 2027.
• Establish national standards for child-care, a nationalized childcare system or increase funding for childcare.
• In partnership with Provincial /Territorial and Indigenous governments, implement a National Early Learning and Child Care System,  including at least 2 billion in budget 2021, to address the early childhood educator labour shortage, and provide funding to increase access to childcare spaces as well as supports to ensure new childcare services are affordable for families.
• Invest in infrastructure, particularly into those that promote walking and cycling.
• Invest directly in long-term care infrastructure by allowing the provinces to use their shares of federal infrastructure money for long-term care.
• Developing more opportunities to partner with municipalities directly through programs, including scaling up proven federal programs that support municipalities.

A missed opportunity to meet Quebeckers’ needs

In its proposals, the Bloc Québécois has been the voice not only for the priorities of the National Assembly of Quebec, but also for the issues that matter to our constituents. These include the right balance between economic development and environmental protection and the improvement of our social contract, providing tax fairness and fair redistribution. On multiple occasions, however, these proposals—most of which enjoy a consensus in Quebec—were rejected by most of the federal parties:

• Increase the federal contribution to federal transfers to 35% of health costs, without conditions.
• That the government announcement of charging sale taxes and imposing the benefits of Web Giant take effects with the implementation of 2021 Budget.
• Avoid the temptation to pay off the debt and deficits by cutting transfers to Quebec and the other provinces, which must instead be increased.
• Expand the possibility of using an RRSP, as can be done for the Home Buyer’s Plan (HBP), particularly in the event of job loss, serious illness or to undertake energy efficient or urgent renovations.
• Invest in research and development at Quebec research centers, particularly in the regions, at colleges and universities to promote the acquisition and adaptation of green technologies to the benefit of our unique network of Quebec-owned SMEs.
• Permanently increase old age security by $110 per month from age 65 and adapt the Guaranteed Income Supplement so that it does not result in a penalty for recipients.
• Make the caregiver tax credit partially refundable.
• Establish a tax credit for the construction and adaptation of intergenerational and multi-generational housing so seniors can stay in their homes longer.
• Automatically grant the home-care tax credit rather than requiring receipts, as it is done in Quebec.
• Grant non-fraudulent CERB recipients an eight-month amnesty on penalties and interest on taxes owing.
• Stop investing directly, through grants and tax incentives, in Western Canadian fossil fuels in favor of energy transition.
• Eliminate the tax deduction for development costs in Canada for oil, gas and coal companies.
• Reverse the various forms of environmental deregulation carried out by the federal government using COVID-19 as a cover.
• Redirect unused funds from the Trans Mountain pipeline project to renewable energy projects that create jobs, much of which could be reserved for Alberta to support its green transition.
• Integrate Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) as an environmental assessment method in procurement policy.
• Offer loan guarantees for innovative clean technology projects for SMEs.
• Implement a five-year plan to build 8,000 housing units for First Nations in Quebec.
• Deploy resources to perpetuate the daily use of Indigenous languages, culture and traditions.
• Correct the funding of Indigenous schools that creates an education crisis in communities.
• Fund the planned review of the National Museum Policy, including the resumption of the Museums Assistance Program (MAP), to address to important new realities in the museum sector (particularly visual arts).
• Increase the bump-up of the amount received from OAS when it is drawn after the age of 65.
• That the budget provides the funds needed for the immediate rehabilitation and rental of all social housing for which the agreement with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has ended or is about to end.
• Adopt the OECD’s unified approach to address the tax inequity associated with cross-border e-commerce transactions.
• That the Government create a program to pay fair value for environmental goods and services provided by producers.
• Increase Canada Social Transfer funding and expand access to Employment Insurance.
• That the Government of Canada implement an Entrepreneurship Plan similar to the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) to provide another tool for entrepreneurs who want to purchase a first business.
• Introduce a refundable tax credit to help reduce the financial burden of protecting consumers and retail employees from COVID-19.
• That the Government facilitates infrastructure automation and robotics to address the labor shortage.
• That the Government establish an agri-food innovation zone to ensure food self-sufficiency.
• That the Government establish agricultural streams, from production to processing, to promote the creation of redistributable wealth.
• That the principles of intergenerational equity, fighting the climate crisis, preserving biodiversity and effective youth participation guide the development of measures set out in the 2021 federal budget.
• Extend the use of flow-through shares to stimulate private-sector investment in clean technology and renewable energy.
• Extend the application of the Canadian journalism labor tax credit to broadcasting undertakings—as defined in the Broadcasting Act—that hire eligible press room employees who produce original information content.
• That the Government reorient the activities of the Canada Infrastructure Bank to a fully public model.
• End direct subsidies to the oil industry and develop support for workers to ensure a fair transition.
• That the Government provides financial support to Mitacs to expand programs that support innovation and skills.
• Do not reduce transfers to the provinces as a strategy for reducing the budget deficit, as was done in the 1990s.
• That the Government double the current amount of official development assistance (ODA) from $6.4 billion to $12.8 billion over five years to meet Canada’s international commitments.

In conclusion, this health and governance crisis has reminded us of the important role Parliament plays and the influence of the opposition parties, which is especially true in a minority government. Until Quebec gains its independence, the Bloc Québécois will do the necessary work of ensuring that its interests are not betrayed by the federal government.