FINA Committee Report
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Appendix A: List of Witnesses
The following tables show the proposals made by organizations and individuals who appeared before the committee for this year’s pre-budget consultations, as well as the proposals contained in their briefs.
Agriculture
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Green Budget Coalition |
Use the sustainable agriculture strategy to … help producers in Canada be leaders in sustainable and innovative agriculture, with a resilient and diversified food system. |
|
Union des producteurs agricoles |
Invest … in research, technology transfer and programs to support farming businesses in adopting beneficial management practices and in their efforts to fight climate change. |
|
Union des producteurs agricoles |
Provide a cost-sharing program for organic certification and provide permanent funding for the process of reviewing organic standards every five years. |
|
Union des producteurs agricoles |
Permanently set the interest-free limit for advances under the Advance Payment Program at $350,000. |
|
Union des producteurs agricoles |
improve the AgriRecovery program so that it is more predictable and responsive. |
|
Union des producteurs agricoles |
Expand the AgriStability program by increasing the coverage rate to 85% of the reference margin while keeping the compensation rate of 80% as introduced in the Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership. |
|
Union des producteurs agricoles |
Make no further concessions on supply-managed products in future trade negotiations by supporting Bill C-282, An Act to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act (supply management). |
Arts, Culture and Media
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo |
Secure permanent funding for the Canada Music Fund. |
|
Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo |
[Review the definition of sound recording in the Copyright Act] so that rights holders can receive remuneration when the fruits of their labour are incorporated into an audiovisual work. |
|
Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo |
[Revise] the private copying regime [in the Copyright Act] … so that it is technologically neutral and allows royalties to be collected on media such as electronic tablets or smart phones. |
|
Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo |
Withdraw the exemption [applicable to commercial radio stations under the Copyright Act allowing them to pay only $100 on the first $1.25 million of their annual advertising revenue.] |
|
Canadian Independent Screen Fund for Black and People of Colour Creators |
Provide stable funding for the Canadian Independent Screen Fund for Black and People of Colour Creators. |
|
Canadian Live Music Association |
Permanently allocate at least 1% of overall spending towards arts, culture, and heritage, [by increasing allocations] to the Canada Council for the Arts and … the Department of Canadian Heritage. |
|
Canadian Live Music Association |
Create a tourism-focused program dedicated to the growth and marketability of Canadian festivals and events, managed by the regional development agencies. |
|
Canadian Live Music Association |
Implement a Live Performing Arts Tax Credit [to allow] organizations in the live arts sector to receive a tax rebate proportionate to their labour expenses. |
|
CHIN Radio TV International |
Direct third-party advertising agencies to … allocate a minimum of 15% of the overall yearly advertising budget to ethnic media. |
|
Confédération des syndicats nationaux |
[Support the media and provide predictable, sustainable and sufficient funding for CBC/Radio-Canada.] |
|
Festivals and Major Events Canada |
[Make permanent the top-up amounts to the base budgets of the Communities through Arts and Heritage program and the Canada Arts Presentation Fund, and make the payments predictable.] |
|
Festivals and Major Events Canada |
Create a new program dedicated to the growth and attractiveness of Canadian festivals and events, managed by the regional development agencies. |
|
Toronto Biennal of Art |
[Provide] permanent and stable funding for urban festivals, with particular emphasis on those festivals which provide accessible programming. |
|
Toronto Biennal of Art |
[Provide funding] over two years to the Toronto Biennial of Art for the 2026 Biennial. |
|
Unifor |
Legalize and encourage philanthropic journalism endowments to any qualified news organization. |
|
Unifor |
Explore options to allow employee or citizen news cooperatives to operate as non-profits. |
|
Unifor |
Close the advertising tax loophole by reforming section 19 of the Income Tax Act to extend rules restricting tax deductibility of advertising expenditures to online foreign media. |
|
Unifor |
Enact legislation, regulations and policies to better protect journalists from harassment and abuse. |
Education and Skills Training
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
B'nai Brith Canada |
Dedicate funding to develop a five-year program to enhance the literacy of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism amongst post-secondary aged Canadians. |
|
Business + Higher Education Roundtable |
Make a strategic reinvestment … to support the Business + Higher Education Roundtable’s national work-integrated learning programming. |
|
Canadian Labour Congress |
Restore the … top-up to provincial and territorial labour market transfers withheld from Budget 2024 and take other steps to strengthen training and workforce development. |
|
Canadian Teachers' Federation |
[Allow] teachers … [to] be at the table [when discussing the future of work]. |
|
Canadian Teachers’ Federation |
[Provide] supports for school boards to deal with the influx of new migrants to Canada and those young newcomers who are entering the K-to-12 public education system. |
|
Canadian Teachers’ Federation |
[Provide] proportional official language education funding, both in English and French, to deal with the influx of newcomers to Canada. |
|
Confédération des syndicats nationaux |
Restore funding for the labour market development agreement … and the Workforce Development Agreement. |
|
Extended Healthcare Professionals Coalition |
Continue the expansion of the Canada Student Loan forgiveness program to include audiologists, dietitians, chiropractors, denturists, occupational therapists, optometrists, and speech-language pathologists to help strengthen rural and remote care for Canadians. |
|
Platform Calgary |
Encourage creativity in upskilling and experiential learning. |
|
Unifor |
Expand the student loan forgiveness program to cover all who choose to pursue a career in Early Childhood Education. |
|
Unifor |
Address the workforce crisis [in the health care sector] by expanding student loan forgiveness programs for health care professionals. |
Employment, Labour and Immigration
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC |
Develop an “All of Ministry” approach to immigration that pulls support and funding from different federal [departments] in addition to [Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada]. |
|
Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC |
Implement a holistic, fluid and more flexible funding model for the settlement and integration sector. |
|
Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence |
[Implement the commitment to] a … minimum wage for personal support workers … [and] extend [it] to the other players in the care economy who provide this kind of work and these kinds of services for vulnerable people. |
|
Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions |
Address the nursing shortage by investing in the implementation of the Nursing Retention Toolkit and create tax incentives for nurses. |
|
Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions |
[Create] a health human resource strategy [to] reduce the risk of future shortages in health care. |
|
Canadian Labour Congress |
Restore the Employment Insurance temporary measures including a lower, uniform entrance requirement of 420 hours and other measures to increase access to Employment Insurance benefits and active labour-market programming. |
|
Climate Emergency Unit |
Establish a Youth Climate Corps to provide jobs and training for Canadian youth aged 35 and under to address the climate crisis with an … investment … [that can] accommodate demand. |
|
Climate Emergency Unit |
Commit sufficient initial funding to allow for the hiring of the first wave of nearly 20,000 Youth Climate Corps workers for the summer of 2025. |
|
Community Food Centres Canada |
Enhance Employment Insurance to support all workers. |
|
Confédération des syndicats nationaux |
Reform the Employment Insurance program … [by] adequately and permanently solv[ing] the “black hole” problem; establish[ing] a universal entrance requirement based on a hybrid criterion of hours and insurable weeks; allow [ing] for the stacking of special benefits and regular benefits; and limit[ing] disentitlements from benefits. |
|
Confédération des syndicats nationaux |
Implement a vision of immigration that is more inclusive, more respectful of the dignity of immigrants and more structuring for … society and for workplaces [which includes putting an] end to closed work permits. |
|
Green Budget Coalition |
Create green job opportunities for youth, expand regional workforce development approaches, enable Indigenous clean energy pathfinding and undertake labour market analysis. |
|
Macdonald-Laurier Institute |
Reduce levels of … permanent and, especially, temporary immigration and refocus the system on highly skilled permanent residents. |
|
Platform Calgary |
Return to the two-week guaranteed processing time for the Global Talent Stream. |
|
Platform Calgary |
Expand the use of the H1B Visa pathway to attract additional skilled individuals to Canada … [while taking into account] Canada’s current challenges with the housing market. |
|
Platform Calgary |
Reform the Start-up Visa program … [by capping] costs for applicants at $170,000 CAD and [considering] a “per applicant” fee or a limit of up to three individuals per application … [and adding the] following criteria … to the evaluation process: [e]xisting revenue[;] [i]ntentions to operate their business in Canada after immigration[;] … proven track record of experience and success[;] … growth plan for the business. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Extend the Employment Insurance benefit period to a maximum of 52 weeks for caregivers who temporarily quit their jobs to care for a family member. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Introduce a refundable career extension tax credit. |
|
Unifor |
[Increase in a] comprehensive [manner] … workforce attraction, training and adaptation funding [in the aerospace industry], in partnership with the provincial governments. |
|
Unifor |
Develop a recruitment and retention strategy [in the child care sector] that addresses fair wages, pensions and working conditions coupled with a matching funding commitment. |
|
Unifor |
Increase funding to hire staff focussed on monitoring compliance and enforcing the [Employment Equity Act and Pay Equity Act] to ensure Canada achieves pay and employment equity. |
|
Unifor |
Require provinces and territories to negotiate labour adjustment advisory program … agreements with unions when workers are faced with workplace closures and increase [Labour Market Development Agreements] funding to match. |
|
Unifor |
Establish the proposed tripartite Employment Insurance Council, with representation from labour, employers and government to ensure proper and consistent utilization of federal funding for adjustment centres. |
|
Unifor |
[Reform Employment Insurance (EI) by lowering] the variable entrance requirement and eligibility threshold to 360 hours; [providing] 50 weeks of regular EI benefits in all regions; [eliminating] the 50-week limit on combined special benefits; extending the reference period to 104 weeks; … [increasing] the income replacement rate to 75% and [raising] the ceiling on insurable earnings. |
|
Unifor |
Implement a dedicated Transition Fund that enables a range of transition responses to support workers impacted by decarbonization, technological change, protection of wildlife habitats and biodiversity, and climate change. |
Excise Duties and Carbon Pricing
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Canadian Steel Producers Association |
Protect the competitiveness of the domestic steel sector by maintaining current Output-Based Pricing System stringency and carbon pricing rates for the steel industry until 2040. |
|
Canadian Steel Producers Association |
Develop carbon tariff policy tools to prepare for global [developments regarding carbon border adjustments and tariffs, such as in the European Union and the United States]. |
|
Canadian Trucking Alliance |
Reinstate the federal excise tax refund for trucking idle-reduction technology. |
|
Canadian Trucking Alliance |
Reverse the removal of excise tax refunds for fuel consumed by power take-off units. |
|
Canadian Trucking Alliance |
Examine the potential for a tax exemption for fuel-saving technology. |
|
Canadian Trucking Alliance |
[Eliminate the federal carbon tax or, alternatively] pause it for four years until [the trucking industry determines] … whether … [there are] alternative fuel sources or propulsion power sources in the long term. |
|
Canadian Trucking Alliance |
Address the issue of double taxation [by] federal and provincial carbon pricing systems. |
|
Grain Growers of Canada |
Exempt the on-farm use of propane and natural gas from the carbon tax. |
|
Union québécoise des microdistilleries |
Implement a progressive excise duty tax based on sales volumes, similar to what [exists] in Canada’s brewing industry. |
Federal Departments and Procurement
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC |
Implement … a non-profit unit in federal government … to provide long-term planning and champion the perspectives of non-profits within the federal government. |
|
B'nai Brith Canada |
Create a publicly accessible digital archive of all records of government departments and agencies relating to the Holocaust and … have Library Archives Canada organize and release them as non-redacted copies readily open and accessible to the public. |
|
Canadian Steel Producers Association |
Implement reciprocal procurement policies to generate North American market demand for clean, locally produced materials [and] attach reciprocity conditions to any federally funded projects, [wherever possible.] |
|
Canadian Steel Producers Association |
Implement and optimize [“buy clean”] policies to reduce emissions from public infrastructure and prepare the industrial and construction sectors for a net-zero future. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Reform government procurement [to make it less] risk-averse, [and] rigid and [to ensure that it has] the flexibility to adopt new, innovative solutions. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Create a dedicated fund for technology procurement … [for] quick, innovative solutions … [in] key areas that are strategic both for Canadians and for the government … [such as] energy, health care, clean tech and cybersecurity. |
|
Green Budget Coalition |
Establish a permanent, high-level office of environmental justice to ensure that environmental protection programs, policies, investments and laws account for community and population inequities. |
|
Green Budget Coalition |
[Dedicate] existing funding … to restoration programs across Canada. |
|
National Council of Canadian Muslims |
[Create an independent civilian oversight body to review decisions of the Canada Revenue Agency’s Review and Analysis Division and provide timely decisions on appeals and commit a budget line for its operations.] |
|
National Council of Canadian Muslims |
Strengthen [and increase transparency of] Canada’s weapons [export] permit and procurement policies to ensure that [Canada] does not support war crimes. |
|
Platform Calgary |
Leverage government buying power … [by creating] a specialized stream for invitations to apply for government purchasing opportunities catered to startups[;] [incentivizing] larger corporations to include startups in their procurement proposals[;] [developing] simplified procurement processes with clear points of entry, guidelines and timelines … [and assisting] domestic firms to navigate the government procurement process by providing support throughout the sales cycle to facilitate introductions and help founders understand the requirements and opportunities within the public sector. |
|
Qikiqtani Inuit Association |
Invest in the development of additional Nauttiqsuqtiit Conservation Centres. |
|
Raven Indigenous Impact Foundation |
Study global examples of Outcomes Finance … to [assist in building] a successful outcomes funding model to support federal and community priorities across Canada. |
|
Raven Indigenous Impact Foundation |
Mandate federal departments, Crown Corporations, and agencies to utilize outcomes procurement methodologies to achieve priority social and environmental outcomes in a cost-effective manner. |
|
Raven Indigenous Impact Foundation |
Create [and invest in] an Indigenous Outcomes Procurement Fund … as a demonstration vehicle for a National Indigenous Outcomes Procurement Strategy …, to support outcomes purchases related to community-generated solutions to long-standing challenges in a responsive, cost-effective manner and reduce risk for taxpayers. |
|
Unifor |
Maximize Canadian content in all aerospace-related government procurements. |
Financial Institutions and Payment Systems
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Canadian Credit Union Association |
[Ensure] sufficient and meaningful engagement between the [Department of Finance Canada] and its provincial counterparts and provincial credit union regulators to ensure fair access for all entities wishing to participate in the [open banking] framework regardless of the jurisdiction that regulates them. |
|
Canadian Credit Union Association |
[Ensure that the] Financial Consumer Agency of Canada … has the expertise and budget necessary to successfully execute its new mandate of overseeing the [open banking] framework. |
|
Canadian Credit Union Association |
Establish an industry advisory committee, including credit unions, to ensure the needs of the sector are communicated and taken into account as the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada takes on [its new mandate]. |
|
Canadian Credit Union Association |
Address barriers to the combination of federal credit unions and provincial credit unions. |
|
Canadian Credit Union Association |
[Undertake] a larger-scale review [of the federal financial sector statutes] that takes into account more of the changes that have taken place in the sector since the last time federal statutes were overhauled. |
|
Canadian Credit Union Association |
[Ensure that credit unions and cooperatives can receive the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses.] |
|
Canadian Credit Union Association |
[Implement] a more streamlined regime for credit unions to go federal … [and reduce the time the transition process takes to allow them to] grow beyond their own provinces … [and contribute] to [improving] competition. |
|
Convenience Industry Council of Canada |
[Remove] credit card interchange fees on the tax portion of sales made by credit card. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Finalize and implement Canada’s consumer-driven banking framework in 2025. |
|
TMX Group Limited |
Encourage Canada’s large public pension funds to increase their domestic investments. |
|
TMX Group Limited |
Adopt a transition taxonomy … that provides clear criteria for green, transition and non-eligible investment activities. |
|
Platform Calgary |
Implement the recommendations [of the working group on domestic investment opportunities for Canadian pension funds quickly]. |
Health
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions |
Create the conditions for patient safety in all sectors through implementing nurse-patient ratios, and regulatory limits on consecutive work hours for nurses, and a federal Patient Bill of Rights. |
|
Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions |
Establish a universal, comprehensive and single-payer pharmacare program [by] promptly negotiating bilateral agreements with the provinces and ensuring adequate funding for the program. |
|
Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions |
Work toward phasing out the use of private, for-profit [nurse] staffing agencies. |
|
Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions |
Regulate the [private, for-profit nurse staffing] agencies. |
|
Canadian Labour Congress |
Take decisive steps to defend patient care, reverse health care privatization, and solve the health human resources [and] staffing crisis. |
|
Canadian Labour Congress |
Deliver and expand universal pharmacare. |
|
Canadian Labour Congress |
Introduce the … safe long-term care act with the funding needed to achieve its goals. |
|
Confédération des syndicats nationaux |
Expand … pharmacare … to all medication classes and … [do not allow provinces to withdraw unconditionally] with full financial compensation. |
|
Diabetes Canada |
Increase the baseline funding of pharmacare. |
|
Diabetes Canada |
[Re-examine pharmacare program’s] formulary … to ensure more comprehensive coverage, including new medicines as well as support adaptable, and individualized care through a substantial and accelerated increase in the budget allocation. |
|
Diabetes Canada |
Expedite the launch of the device access program and ease the cost of access and services for those living with diabetes. |
|
Diabetes Canada |
Provide sufficient funding to achieve the Framework for Diabetes in Canada’s goals by committing the necessary financial and human resources needed to fully implement and operationalize it. |
|
Diabetes Canada |
Implement [Bill C-72, Connected Care for Canadians Act] and associated initiatives to improve the accessibility of Canadians’ medical records and digitized information. |
|
Diabetes Canada |
Advance Diabetes Research and Support in Canada … [by] prioritiz[ing] research funding, support[ing] collaborative efforts, and moderniz[ing] the federal research support system. |
|
Extended Healthcare Professionals Coalition |
Ensure the ongoing collection of pan-Canadian health sector workforce data across the public and private sectors. |
|
Extended Healthcare Professionals Coalition |
Introduce a sliding-scale tax credit for eligible small and medium employers to help them expand their coverage for extended health care benefits for their employees. |
|
Extended Healthcare Professionals Coalition |
Establish a primary health care transition fund to improve access to interdisciplinary community team-based primary care that integrates services provided by extended healthcare professionals. |
|
Unifor |
Immediately bring Revera under public ownership. |
|
Unifor |
Establish the framework for a comprehensive pharmacare program [that follows the principle of universality, and provides for a single-payer system that is publicly funded and administered] and begin implementation as soon as possible. |
Housing
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Butler Mortgage Inc. |
[Implement] major structural changes [to lower the high] costs layered into municipalities and at the provincial level to get a new home built [and help young people buy a home]. |
|
Canadian Gas Association |
Ensure federal building policies and programs preserve energy choice and remain fuel [and] technology neutral. |
|
Canadian Labour Congress |
Increase the stock of non-market housing and address the needs of tenants. |
|
Confédération des syndicats nationaux |
[Focus on investments] in non-market housing, co‑operatives and not-for-profit organizations [as part of the Canada’s Housing Plan], [to] provide low rents in the long term [that meet the needs of low-income households]. |
|
Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada |
Build significantly more co-op homes … [and non-profit housing by], at minimum, doubl[ing] the proportion of non-market community housing. |
|
Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada |
Protect existing affordable rental homes and the tenants who live there … [by] accelerat[ing] … [the announced] Canada rental protection fund [and ensuring that it is sector-led]. |
|
Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada |
Invest in long-term rental assistance for low-income households … [by] commi[tting] to extending [the Federal Community Housing Initiative] past 2028. |
|
Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada |
Advance Indigenous housing rights by fully implementing the urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing strategy. |
|
Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain |
Establish a multi-year objective for the development of social housing, including public, cooperative and non-profit housing. |
|
Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain |
Reallocate all funding for the construction, maintenance and renovation of housing in Canada’s Housing Plan to significantly expand social housing. |
|
Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain |
Earmark the Affordable Housing Fund to the non-profit sector, increase funding for the Rapid Housing Stream and enhance its “subsidy” stream with the expectation that government funding will be sufficient to complete project financing packages. |
|
Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain |
Reserve surplus public land and buildings for housing exclusively for social and community housing, [ensure] that lands transferred to social housing project holders [are] transferred at no or very low cost, and [provide] new, recurring and predictable funding for the Federal Lands Initiative for this purpose. |
|
Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain |
[Ensure] that all additional funds invested in the construction, maintenance or renovation of housing units [is] invested exclusively in the development of social housing units in the form of [low-cost housing], cooperative and non-profit housing units. |
|
Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain |
[Increase and reserve] the funding under the new Canada Rental Protection Fund … exclusively for various forms of social housing. |
|
Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain |
[Ensure] that the eligibility criteria for the new Co-op Housing Development Program require that affordability thresholds be met to ensure low- and modest-income renter households have adequate housing. |
|
Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain |
[Enhance] the Tenant Protection Fund. |
|
Green Budget Coalition |
Expand and coordinate retrofit programs that integrate health, affordability and adaptation targets, and that accommodate the unique needs of low-income households and Indigenous, northern and remote communities. |
|
HEC Montréal |
Create a tax framework that levies a new tax on anyone with more than 50 m2 of housing per person [and allocate] the revenues from this tax … toward funding the construction of affordable housing. |
|
Italian Canadian Savings and Credit Union Limited |
Consider a punitive capital gains tax on speculative investments of non-principal residence, single family homes, if not held for at least two years. |
|
Mortgage Professionals Canada |
Combine the Home Buyers’ Plan withdrawal allowance with the First Home Savings Account, creating a single account for first-time homebuyers to withdraw from for their down payment without tax penalties or repayment requirements. |
|
Mortgage Professionals Canada |
Create a permanent roundtable on housing that brings together all orders of government, industry and civil society to develop harmonized solutions to the housing supply and affordability crisis. |
|
Nathan Hume (as an individual) |
Support for new financial instruments that [would] absorb speculative housing demand, study the [proposal] to identify and resolve technical issues like defining the reference price for these instruments, and mandate the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to provide specific financial support [for these instruments]. |
|
Unifor |
Ensure funding to address encampments is earmarked for municipalities that adhere to a “rights-based” approach. |
|
Unifor |
Increase investments in non-market housing, including not-for-profit and co-op housing, with a goal of creating more deeply affordable units. |
Income Security, Food Security and Social Policy
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Basic Income Canada Network |
[Allocate] financial and human resources … to … developing a national framework for a basic income that will accommodate provincial and territorial interests. |
|
Basic Income Canada Network |
[Use existing unconditional partial basic income programs, such as the GST/HST credit and the Guaranteed Income Supplement, to immediately increase security and adequacy for struggling Canadians, through an increase of the benefits they provide and the payment of a low-income supplement as part of the Canada Child Benefit.] |
|
Basic Income Canada Network |
[Provide financial and technical support to innovation in basic income occurring in provinces and territories] … and offer communication and coordination. |
|
Basic Income Canada Network |
[Allocate] financial and human resources … to … developing … a responsibility centre within the federal government for all income support programs and … [related interests and goals], like health, that are affected by income. |
|
Basic Income Canada Network |
Simplify, improve adequacy and broaden access to the Canada Disability Benefit. |
|
Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence |
Fund the … [announced] national caregiving strategy by converting the Canada caregiver credit from a non-refundable tax credit to a refundable credit. |
|
Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence |
Allocate sufficient resources to the national caregiving strategy, including multi-year funding for ongoing priorities and initiatives. |
|
Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence |
[Adjust the calculation underlying the Canada Pension Plan benefits to factor out time taken out of the labour market to be a caregiver.] |
|
Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence |
Make the disability tax credit easier to access. |
|
Canadian Labour Congress |
Increase the Canada Disability Benefit and detach eligibility from the disability tax credit. |
|
Canadian Teachers’ Federation |
[Continue and extend funding for the National School Food Program.] |
|
Community Food Centres Canada |
Commit to reducing food insecurity by 50% and eliminating severe food insecurity by 2030, relative to 2021 levels. |
|
Community Food Centres Canada |
Create dignified income support programs to support people aged 18 to 64 living in households experiencing food insecurity and poverty. |
|
Community Food Centres Canada |
Transform the GST/HST credit into a Groceries and Essentials Benefit. |
|
Community Food Centres Canada |
Transform the Canada Workers Benefit into an enhanced Canada Working-Age Supplement. |
|
Community Food Centres Canada |
Ensure equitable access to federal income and social programs. |
|
Community Food Centres Canada |
Enhance equitable access to all federal benefits and … strengthen Indigenous and Black food sovereignty. |
|
Community Food Centres Canada |
Expand the Canada Disability Benefit to reduce food insecurity and poverty among all people with disabilities [by raising] the income threshold for eligibility above the poverty line [to account] for the additional cost of living with a disability [and increasing] the benefit amount. |
|
HEC Montréal |
Create a tax framework that penalizes foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt, phase in carbon pricing for agriculture [and] invest these new [revenues] into food security to ensure that all households have access to affordable food. |
|
Native Child and Family Services of Toronto |
[Provide] renewable annual funding … to Native Child and Family Services of Toronto … [so that it can] continue providing the care and support [to] community members. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Modify the Canada Caregiver Credit by making it a refundable tax-free benefit. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement … for all seniors. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Increase Old Age Security benefits by 10% for seniors aged 65 to 74. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Review the method for indexing Old Age Security to account for wage growth in Canada. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Increase … the … exemption on income from employment or self-employment [earnings] … in [the computation of] the Guaranteed Income Supplement. |
|
Unifor |
Maintain limits on the number of child care spaces in for-profit centres, enabling growth in the not-for-profit child care sector. |
|
Unifor |
Improve the design and increase funding for various income supports, including revising the new Canada Disability Benefit … to prevent clawbacks from other vital supports. |
|
Union des producteurs agricoles |
Improve tax assistance for food donations made by an agricultural producer to align it with what is granted by the Government of Quebec. |
Income Tax
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Canadian Labour Congress |
Tax the ultrawealthy … through a higher corporate tax rate, an excess profit tax, additional top tax brackets and a wealth tax. |
|
Canadian Teachers' Federation |
Help casual teachers, or substitute teachers, with the cost of living … [by] allow[ing] … [them]to deduct travel expenses when they're travelling to work. |
|
Canadian Trucking Alliance |
Raise the small business deduction limit. |
|
Canadian Trucking Alliance |
[Expand] the Accelerated Investment Incentive [and make it permanent]. |
|
Canadian Trucking Alliance |
Review the current tax system with an eye towards promoting economic growth for businesses and workers [in the trucking sector]. |
|
Grain Growers of Canada |
Reverse the [increase in the] capital gains [inclusion rate in relation to] … family farms for intergenerational transfers. |
|
Grain Growers of Canada |
[Stop the phase-out, enhance and make permanent the accelerated investment incentive.] |
|
Jack Mintz (as an individual) |
[Change capital gains taxation through] a more general tax reform [that would examine] … a number of complex issues that are involved with capital gains taxation, such as inflation, the locked-in effect [and] the balance between dividend taxation and capital gains taxation. |
|
C.D. Howe Institute |
[Use the tax system] simply to raise revenue in the most acceptable and economically non-distorting way [rather than to pursue other objectives.] |
|
Kim Moody (as an individual) |
[Reverse the increase in the capital gains inclusion rate.] |
|
Kim Moody (as an individual) |
[Reform both the corporate and personal income tax system to] incentivize and reward Canadians to work harder and take risks. |
|
Platform Calgary |
[Reverse the increase in the capital gains inclusion rate.] |
|
Platform Calgary |
Harmonize the Canadian Entrepreneurs Incentive with the Qualified Small Business Stock in the [United States] by increasing [the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption to $13.5M, ensuring] all Canadian-controlled private corporations …, employees, founders, and investors are eligible [and removing] sector restrictions and the phase-in period. |
|
TMX Group Limited |
Do not increase the capital gains inclusion rate on Canadian investments. |
|
TMX Group Limited |
Promote an increase in Canadian-based investments under qualified investment rules . |
|
TMX Group Limited |
[Maintain the] eligibility [of] crypto-backed assets as qualified investments for registered savings plans. |
|
Unifor |
Expand the windfall profits tax, make it retroactive to 2021-22 and make it permanent. |
|
Unifor |
Require large multi-national corporations to [file a country-by-country report] [to support] international cooperation [around the prevention of tax avoidance]. |
|
Unifor |
End the Real Estate Investment Trust … income tax exemption. |
|
Union des producteurs agricoles |
Amend the accessibility criteria for the new Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive to reflect the reality of farming businesses. |
|
Union des producteurs agricoles |
Provide a 40% tax credit to small-scale agricultural businesses that purchase equipment to ensure growth and profitability. |
|
Union des producteurs agricoles |
Eliminate or limit taxable capital gains on the gifting or low-cost sale of certain farm assets to a nephew or niece. |
Industry and Innovation
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Canadian Labour Congress |
Develop a green industrial strategy to transform [Canada’s] production systems [and] guide [the country’s] responses to the entangled sources of uncertainty, making sure they [are in line with] shared goals. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
[Implement a] modern industrial strategy … that places innovation, productivity and the intangible assets at the core of [Canada’s] economic framework. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Reform key programs like the scientific research and experimental development tax credit [to commercialize intellectual property]. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Avoid policies that inadequately punish innovators and entrepreneurs [such as the] changes to the [capital gains inclusion rate]. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Prioritize domestic artificial intelligence commercialization and data sovereignty strategies. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Implement a national innovation box (patent box) regime. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Implement an economic spillover lens to foreign direct investment policy. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Evaluate the economic benefits of innovation granting councils and refocus their mandates towards [intellectual property] and [research and development]. |
|
École de technologie supérieure |
Increase investments to support deep-tech incubators to stimulate innovation and the Canadian economy. |
|
École de technologie supérieure |
Strengthen support for innovation and commercialization to foster Canadian innovation and support SMEs. |
|
Ian Lee (as an individual) |
[Repudiate the assumption concerning capital and competition that] decentralized, market-driven, privately funded and privately determined economic decision-making [is inferior to the economic vision promoting the centralized, top-down, state-directed, command and control, relying on taxation, subsidies and protectionism]. |
|
Platform Calgary |
Launch a BDC fund-of-funds that invests in micro-venture funds in secondary tech ecosystems outside of primary hubs. |
|
Platform Calgary |
Reduce barriers for entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities [including Black, Indigenous and women] by providing additional financial support. |
|
Platform Calgary |
Formalize [the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service’s] collaboration with Canada’s Tech Network. |
|
Platform Calgary |
Enhance financial support for Canadian startups to enter new markets. |
|
Platform Calgary |
Help small companies participate in international missions. |
|
Platform Calgary |
[Offer] specialized support for companies that are in high-priority sectors for Canada … such as: [artificial intelligence], semiconductors, biomanufacturing, health innovation and clean energy. |
|
Platform Calgary |
Harmonize due diligence among all relevant departments, agencies and institutions to expedite approvals [of government support] for high potential, high growth companies with a proven track record [and] streamline the process for claiming Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credits [for start-ups]. |
|
Platform Calgary |
[Consider] ways to attract new angel investors into the capital ecosystem, [such as] working with the provinces to harmonize angel tax credits across jurisdictions. |
|
Platform Calgary |
Look to other jurisdictions for models to unlock capital [such as] the United Kingdom’s model of setting aside five percent of pension assets for investment in domestic firms [and] the Small Business Innovation Research program in the United States. |
|
Platform Calgary |
Encourage greater risk tolerance … [by] creating loan guarantee programs [to] mitigate risk for lenders, [and] mak[e] them more willing to provide loans to startups with limited credit history … [and] by making small-scale investments … in specific regions. |
|
TMX Group Limited |
Give all Canadian companies doing research and development in Canada equal access to [the scientific research and experimental development program]. |
Infrastructure and Transportation
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Canadian Trucking Alliance |
Combat gross noncompliance in the trucking sector, which includes widespread labour abuse and tax evasion |
|
Canadian Trucking Alliance |
Better support the risk-free testing of green and other emerging [trucking] technologies in real-world conditions. |
|
Canadian Urban Transit Association |
Accelerate the rollout of the Canada Public Transit Fund’s baseline stream to budget 2025. |
|
Canadian Urban Transit Association |
Protect the Canada Public Transit Fund by enshrining it in legislation and including an annual funding escalator tied to the cost of construction to ensure the fund maintains its value over time. |
|
Canadian Urban Transit Association |
[Establish] a national task force that brings together federal, provincial and local governments as well as transit agencies to develop a comprehensive national public transit strategy … [that includes] a new funding model that supports transit agencies' evolving needs. |
|
Canadian Urban Transit Association |
Streamline the application process and remove barriers to the Canada Public Transit Fund to maximize participation. |
|
Confédération des syndicats nationaux |
[Provide adequate funding to public transit companies.] |
|
École de technologie supérieure |
Fund the AdapT Institute to promote resilient infrastructure and a sustainable economy in Canada. |
|
Grain Growers of Canada |
Increase the extended interswitching pilot project by 30 months with a pathway to permanency, expand the distance from 160km to 500km, and include British Columbia’s Peace Country region. |
|
HEC Montréal |
Introduce a kilometric rate to make vehicle users aware of the cost of their travel, … recover the costs of roadway infrastructure and internalize various externalities (congestion, pollution, indirect health costs), [and] invest the additional revenue in active transportation and public transit. |
|
Jack Mintz (as an individual) |
[Examine] the Australian system [for transportation corridors and supply chains and] the northern corridor concept [to improve Canada’s ability] to [ship] goods and services out to the rest of the world. |
|
Qikiqtani Inuit Association |
Continue to invest in a distinctions-based Inuit-led fund for Nunavut infrastructure. |
|
Unifor |
Immediately commit funding for the Toronto Transit Commission Line 2 replacement subway cars [and require] made-in-Canada content commitments. |
|
Unifor |
Expand infrastructure supports to ensure that public operators retain full public ownership over transit [and ensure] infrastructure grants … target deferred maintenance and planned upgrades. |
|
Unifor |
Provide direct financial support to smaller municipalities for grant writing and developing public procurements [for public transit]. |
|
Unifor |
Develop federally led procurement processes for public transit vehicles to enable public transit agencies to leverage collective procurement and focus on maximizing economic benefits from made-in-Canada transit vehicles. |
|
Unifor |
Establish a federal working group including unions to develop regulations to guide the [rail] industry’s rapid technological transitions ensuring that technology augments employment instead of attempting to replace workers, and fund the enforcement of these regulations. |
|
Unifor |
Develop a comprehensive funding program for VIA Rail to support expanded public passenger rail services in Canada, owned and operated by public entities and governed under a VIA Rail Act. |
|
Unifor |
Require airport authorities, in coordination with unions, to establish a “living wage” as the income floor for all workers at airports. |
|
Unifor |
Address the escalating harassment and violence faced by front-line [air transportation] workers through targeted regulations, protocols and procedures. |
|
Unifor |
Explicitly prohibit further profitization of Canada’s airports. |
|
Unifor |
Require the federal transportation minister work with provincial transport ministers to support investment in additional safe rest stops and parking areas for regional long-haul truck drivers. |
|
Unifor |
Support and fund a low-cost insurance alternative in the private road transport sector including taxicabs. |
|
Unifor |
Conduct a study on expanding inspections and enforcement, currently focussed on the “driver inc.” model in trucking, to misclassified gig economy workers in logistics and supply chains [and assess] the benefits of accessing collective bargaining for these workers. |
|
Unifor |
Implement legislation requiring telecommunications companies that receive federal funding to publicly report any operations that are contracted out, domestically or overseas. |
|
Unifor |
Ensure universal access to affordable wireless and broadband internet plans. |
Manufacturing
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Aerospace Industries Association of Canada |
[Repeal the luxury tax on the sale or importation of aircrafts.] |
|
Aerospace Industries Association of Canada |
Support an aerospace industry strategy … that prioritizes Transport Canada’s certification process, sustainable aviation fuels and programs like the [scientific research and experimental] tax incentive program. |
|
Canadian Steel Producers Association |
Enhance protection [from unfair steel imports] through improved trade tools and enforcement, [including a better alignment with] anti-circumvention standards [in] the United States. |
|
Canadian Steel Producers Association |
Invoke section 53 of the Custom Tariff …to impose at least a 25% tariff on all melted and poured Chinese steel entering Canada. |
|
Canadian Steel Producers Association |
Update section 53 of the Custom Tariff Act to include labour, environmental and national security provisions. |
|
Canadian Steel Producers Association |
Provide sustained financial supports to ensure continued investments [to] enable the steel industry to achieve net-zero emissions through innovative decarbonization solutions. |
|
École de technologie supérieure |
Support innovation and research infrastructure in aerospace technologies developed by the École de technologie supérieure and its industrial partners. |
|
Unifor |
[Create] a national industrial strategy for the aerospace industry. |
|
Unifor |
[Create] a fund devoted exclusively to the aerospace industry, a flexible funding program, and made-to-measure tools that … [could] include taking an equity stake on [certain terms and conditions]. |
|
Unifor |
[Create] an aerospace development council … [to] bring together the main stakeholders in the sector, including the unions, to put the [national industrial strategy for the aerospace industry] into effect over time. |
|
Unifor |
Recapitalize and reorient the Strategic Innovation Fund to support transition-focused investments in the automotive parts supply industry. |
|
Unifor |
Increase the maximum rebate of the iZEV program to $10,000, extend the program until at least March 31, 2030 and establish a charging network benchmark of at least one charger for every ten on-road electric vehicles. |
National Finances
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
C.D. Howe Institute |
[Improve the transparency of government financial documents.] |
|
C.D. Howe Institute |
[Publish the budget and estimates documents simultaneously well before the start of the fiscal year, and public accounts and annual reports shortly after the end of the fiscal year.] |
|
Canadian Labour Congress |
Tie health fund transfers to improvements in pay and work conditions for frontline health care workers. |
|
Canadian Teachers' Federation |
Commit to permanent and ongoing funding for mental health services under the Canada mental health transfer. |
|
Confédération des syndicats nationaux |
Continue with [the] implementation of a progressive fiscal and budgetary policy [by] running low deficits, as a share of GDP. |
|
Macdonald-Laurier Institute |
Reduce the size of government so that taxes can be lowered and the federal budget brought back to balance [including by reducing spending on subsidies to businesses and] areas where the federal government is intruding into provincial jurisdiction. |
|
Unifor |
Provide conditional transfers to provinces to achieve a number [of] goals including: minimum care standards, expansion of non-profit and government-owned facilities, phase out of for-profit long-term care homes, and development of comprehensive workforce strategies in consultation with labour organizations. |
|
Unifor |
Uphold the principle of universality outlined in the Canada Health Act and monitor provincial health spending. |
|
Unifor |
Ensure federal transfers contribute to expanding capacity within the existing public framework. |
|
Green Budget Coalition |
Renew and expand existing funding to continue Canada's leadership on nature protection and deliver on Canada’s 2030 nature strategy and the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework obligations. |
|
National Council of Canadian Muslims |
Continue to commit international humanitarian assistance to wherever there is the most need as quickly as possible … [s]pecifically, … increas[e] Canada’s support for UNRWA. |
Natural Resources
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Canadian Gas Association |
Include the energy security trilemma of affordability, reliability and acceptability as a mandate letter priority for the Ministers of Global Affairs Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. |
|
Canadian Gas Association |
Require energy and environmental legislation/regulation to pass an energy security trilemma screen and improve energy modeling to consider all trilemma priorities. |
|
Canadian Gas Association |
Create an energy security parliamentary caucus. |
|
Canadian Gas Association |
Introduce a new Canadian Centre of Energy Excellence, a joint industry platform for innovative research aimed at making energy more affordable, reliable, and acceptable. |
|
Canadian Gas Association |
Promote investment in energy technology by extending investment tax credits (ITC) for innovations that enhance affordability, reliability, and acceptability, including the existing hydrogen ITC and introducing a new renewable natural gas ITC. |
|
Canadian Gas Association |
Prioritize funding for codes and standards for gas energy, including those for hydrogen blending in natural gas distribution networks and end-use equipment. |
|
Canadian Gas Association |
Introduce a federal program to extend gas infrastructure to rural and Indigenous communities, which includes recapitalizing the Natural Resources Canada off-diesel funding program to cover natural gas and other gas energy for remote areas. |
|
Green Budget Coalition |
[Implement a] windfall profits tax on oil and gas companies. |
|
Green Budget Coalition |
Make better progress on removing subsidies to fossil fuels and on reducing subsidies that are harmful to nature. |
|
Qikiqtani Inuit Association |
Invest … into the Iqaluit Nukkiksautiit Hydro Project. |
|
TMX Group Limited |
Make the Mineral Exploration Tax Credit permanent. |
|
TMX Group Limited |
Address the capital gap for Canadian critical mineral companies. |
|
Unifor |
Develop a comprehensive industrial strategy focussed on building a sustainable, value-added forestry sector and create a multi-stakeholder forestry sector council to ensure necessary dialogue and adjustments. |
|
Unifor |
Expand funding and coordinated interdepartmental initiatives that support [forestry] workers and forest communities [that have been impacted by disruptions such as forest fires, uncertain resource access and plant closures]. |
|
Unifor |
Increase incentives to facilitate the [forestry] industry’s transition to sustainable practices and accelerate its conversion to diversified, value-added production. |
|
Unifor |
Promote infrastructure maintenance and upgrades to reduce methane leaks and other emissions across oil, gas, and chemical supply chains and [continue investing] in carbon capture and storage technologies to mitigate emissions from existing infrastructure. |
|
Unifor |
Build a nationally secured nuclear supply chain, ensuring that any new nuclear power generation uses Canadian technology and materials and grows jobs in Canada in technical, oversight, development, and safety fields. |
|
Unifor |
Build new partnerships between Canadian industrial research councils and industry to create jobs in chemical and gas projects including hydrogen, ammonia, biofuels, and plastics production using low carbon processes. |
|
Unifor |
Directly fund the adoption of renewable energy sources for off-grid mines, while supporting research and development into alternative fuel sources. |
|
Unifor |
Address key infrastructure gaps, such as transportation and energy supply, to support sustainable critical minerals production. |
|
Unifor |
Modernize [mining] regulatory processes to reduce unnecessary project approval delays and support key projects. |
|
Union des producteurs agricoles |
Establish a personal silvicultural savings and investment plan for Canadian forest owners. |
Regulatory Environment
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
C.D. Howe Institute |
[Take the lead in compiling and sharing information about interprovincial trade barriers.] |
|
Convenience Industry Council of Canada |
Reinstate the ability for [convenience] stores to sell nicotine replacement therapies to adult consumers. |
|
Jack Mintz (as an individual) |
Take a leadership role in [encouraging] the provinces to reduce [interprovincial trade barriers]. |
|
Macdonald-Laurier Institute |
Require that new regulations be less onerous than the regulations they replace, make greater use of mutual recognition so that products approved in other jurisdictions are automatically approved in Canada and streamline the environmental assessment process to be more efficient and less vulnerable to legal challenges. |
Safety and Security
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
B'nai Brith Canada |
Make new investments to support and strengthen Canada’s ability to monitor and prevent terrorism, [including] funding … to enhance the capacity and expand the capabilities of Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams. |
|
B'nai Brith Canada |
Review all federal grant programs to ensure that only projects that align with Canada's anti-racism strategy … receive federal funding. |
|
Butler Mortgage Inc. |
Duplicate … the [United States’ approach] of direct digital linkage [through which] the Internal Revenue Service confirms tax documents that have been provided by the borrower [to prevent mortgage fraud through false income documents]. |
|
Canadian Gas Association |
Improve information sharing between industry and government via a Canadian Cyber Security Ecosystem Strategy. |
|
Convenience Industry Council of Canada |
[Allocate] additional … funding [and work with the provinces] to address the sale of illegal contraband tobacco. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
[Support domestic capacity in innovation and leverage it to strengthen cybersecurity and meet NATO’s defence spending target.] |
|
Macdonald-Laurier Institute |
[Adopt] a credible plan to meet [NATO’s target of 2% of GDP defence spending] by 2028 and ensure that the increased spending is directed towards promoting innovation in Canada’s defence industry. |
|
Mortgage Professionals Canada |
Grant a digital income verification tool to the mortgage industry to help crack down on fraud. |
|
National Council of Canadian Muslims |
Invest in a dedicated national anti-Islamophobia strategy … [that includes] increased funding both to [Canada’s] Special Representative Office on Islamophobia, as well as to the York University Islamophobia Research Hub … [and an] invest[ment] into public education campaigns to drive down anti-Muslim sentiment. |
|
Toronto Police Association |
Prioritize setting up a comprehensive strategy aimed at enhancing police recruitment nationwide. |
|
Toronto Police Association |
End the handgun ban and [the Firearms Buyback Program] and redirect those resources to all police agencies … to address the influx of illegally smuggled firearms. |
|
Toronto Police Association |
[Reform the bail system or, alternatively,] invest in the enforcement … need[ed] to keep tabs on those who have been released into [the community]. |
|
Jeffrey Simser (as an individual) |
Repeal the structured financial transactions offense recently added to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and instead make it a designated offence under the Criminal Code. |
|
Jeffrey Simser (as an individual) |
Amend the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to provide clarity on how FINTRAC's voluntary information and civil forfeiture information records operate in order to ensure that the information does not cause a derivative use problem. |
|
Jeffrey Simser (as an individual) |
Change RCMP protocols within their operational manual to make civil forfeiture part of the early planning on cases. |
|
Jeffrey Simser (as an individual) |
Amend section 461 of the Bank Act so that, for the purpose of a civil forfeiture proceedings, bank accounts may be located wherever associated transactions take place. |