FINA Committee Report
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Appendix A: Proposals by 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 submitted either in summer 2021 or in support of their testimony in 2022.
Agriculture
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Équiterre |
Provide direct assistance to farmers to help them accelerate the adoption of practices that promote soil health. |
|
Équiterre |
Develop a Canada-wide soil health strategy. |
|
Équiterre |
Develop a Canada-wide network to share information and resources related to soil health. |
|
Équiterre |
Finance research into cost effectiveness to identify the economic benefits of best soil health practises on various production systems. |
|
Équiterre |
Provide funding for training and hiring 1,000 additional advisory services officers. |
Arts, Culture and Recreation
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
[Abolish] the Mission Cultural Fund. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
End the gun ban and buyback program. |
|
Festivals and Major Events Canada |
[Make] the investments made in 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, [successively] extended [until] 2024 … [permanent, namely] $8 million [per] year for the Canada Arts Presentation Fund and … $7 million [per] year for the Building Communities through Arts and Heritage program. |
|
Festivals and Major Events Canada |
[Allocate an additional] $30 million to [the Canada Arts Presentation Fund and the Building Communities through Arts] ($15 million each) starting in 2022-23. |
|
Festivals and Major Events Canada |
[Provide] an indexation mechanism for the programs for the next five years that takes into account inflation and the growing number of festivals and events to be supported. |
|
News Media Canada |
Pass … legislation [that would, like the Australian approach, require digital platforms that generate revenues from the publication of news content to share a portion of their revenues with Canadian news outlets] by June 2022. … Any legislation to implement the Australian approach in Canada [should] include an exemption from section 45 [of the Competition Act, which precludes collective bargaining], should apply to “qualified Canadian journalism organizations (QCJO)” designated by the [Canada Revenue Agency] under the Income Tax Act, [and where the appointment of is necessary] the Competition Bureau [would be] the appropriate body in Canada to develop a register of experienced arbitrators, and to appoint an arbitrator. |
Children, Families and Social Policy
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Campaign 2000 |
Repeal the section of the Income Tax Act that ties eligibility to [the Canada child benefit (CCB) to] immigration status [and remove] barriers [preventing access to the CCB] for families with … customary care, kinship and families caring for children outside of formal arrangements. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Invest substantially in the base amount [to allow] the [CCB] [to continue] to reduce child poverty rates across the country. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Create a system for income support eligibility determination and benefit distribution for marginalized people outside of the personal income tax system. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Adopt more ambitious poverty reduction targets and invest … with the goal of reducing overall poverty and poverty in marginalized communities by 50% between 2015-2025 based on the [after-tax low income status of census families based on Census Family Low Income Measure] using annual T1 Family File data. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Implement the new suite of income supports as outlined in the [Alternative Federal Budget 2022] (… from Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives), including the Canadian Livable Income for working age individuals who are not parents. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Renew total spending allocations to build [and fund] a universal, accessible and affordable child care system [based on] a sliding scale, zero to ten dollar a day model, that reduces fees through funding of operational costs … [which] must also factor in decent wages for staff [and provincial] and territorial wage spreads. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Speed up the design and implementation of the new federal disability benefit. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
[Create] a federal disability benefit for children. |
|
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives |
[Create] a Canada Livable Income Program that will provide […] a minimum of $5,000 per person or $7,000 a couple per year and the Canada disability benefit [initially proposed in the 2020 Speech from the Throne] as outlined in the Alternative Federal Budget 2022. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
End the government’s national daycare program introduced in Budget 2021. |
Corporate Taxation
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Canadians for Tax Fairness |
Consider ways that the federal government could help reverse the race to the bottom on corporate taxes and make recommendations to ensure that corporations, and especially larger corporations, pay their fair share of taxes, as US President Joe Biden is doing. |
|
Canadians for Tax Fairness |
Implement a general 20% corporate tax increase. |
|
Canadians for Tax Fairness |
Eliminate the preferential tax treatment for real estate investment trusts. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Modernize the Accelerated Investment Incentive to include advanced technology asset classes such as software, machine learning and artificial intelligence. |
|
Moodys Private Client LLP |
Repeal the [tax measures to support Canadian] journalism. |
Employment and Labour
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Campaign 2000 |
Implement a [Canada Emergency Response Benefit] repayment amnesty for everyone living below or near the low-income measure. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
[Return] … benefits [that were clawed back from recipients and stop pursuing] low and moderate income individuals for repayments of pandemic benefits. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Immediately cease treating [Canada Emergency Response Benefit] and recovery benefits as taxable income for individuals with incomes below the low-income measure. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Ensure all who are unemployed or underemployed have access to income security measures within a revamped Employment Insurance (EI) program that increases access, amount and duration of benefits. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Immediately increase the current [Canada Worker] Lockdown Benefit to $500 a week and maintain that amount until [Employment Insurance] is reformed. |
|
Canada’s Building Trades Unions |
[Create] a skilled trades workforce mobility tax deduction to allow skilled trades workers to deduct work-related travel costs when these costs are not covered by their employer. |
|
Canada’s Building Trades Unions |
Support energy workers impacted by the transition to a green economy – particularly workers in [the] oil and gas [sector] – [by ensuring that] … re-training [opportunities] or relocation supports [are available] … [and by] introducing a sector-specific task force that includes labour, industry stakeholders and government representatives to assess the industry’s needs during this pivotal transition period. |
|
Canada’s Building Trades Unions |
Continue to invest in people through … apprenticeship loans and grants, and … make improvements to the Union Training and Innovation Program (UTIP) to better equip training centres to meet new challenges and demands in the labour market. |
|
Canada’s Building Trades Unions |
Make improvements to the Employment Insurance (EI) program by increasing flexibility in the program and recognizing the uniqueness of the construction labour force. |
|
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives |
[Develop] a comprehensive plan on how to better integrate the self-employed into the [Employment Insurance] system. |
|
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives |
Contribute on an ongoing basis to the Employment Insurance program […] and make improvements such as a higher replacement rate or a [minimum amount] on what the unemployed receive such as the $500 per week provided under the [Canada Emergency Response Benefit] and [Canadian Recovery Benefit] and a lower threshold for hours of entry into the system. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Ensure Canada remains competitive in its ability to recruit, retain, and reward workers in a new post-pandemic economy that is increasingly distributed, global, and digitally dependent by establishing reliable pathways to permanent residency for high-growth company recruitment, accelerating support for upskilling and re-skilling programs in Canada and establishing a fund to support micro-credentials. |
|
Équiterre |
Adopt robust legislation and a fair transition plan that supports workers and communities that depend on fossil fuel development. |
|
Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec |
Modernize the Employment Insurance program to refocus it on its primary mission, to be insurance providing income support that encourages claimants to seek new employment and thereby enhance their skills. |
|
Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec |
[Adopt] measures, including tax measures, that would foster the retention of experienced workers who want to remain employed. |
|
Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec |
The sustainability of the agreement between Ottawa and Quebec on the relief measures for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program … should remain in place for a long time. |
|
Ian Lee (as an Individual) |
[Review all social policies across the government, with the objective of identifying [and addressing] policies that incentivize people [to] remain outside the workforce or retire from the workforce before the age of 67 as recommended by the OECD. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Increase the maximum weekly earnings threshold for caregiving benefits. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Extend the Employment Insurance benefit period to a maximum of 52 weeks for caregivers who must leave work temporarily to care for a family member. |
Environment and Climate Change
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Canada’s Building Trades Unions |
Invest in green energy technologies such as small modular reactors, carbon capture and green infrastructure investments such as industrial and commercial retrofitting. |
|
Canadians for Tax Fairness |
Review [how to] improve and strengthen its carbon tax framework, ensuring that large emitters pay an appropriately higher share while maintaining international competitiveness with border carbon adjustments, and finally eliminating fossil fuel subsidies. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Develop a Canadian electric mobility strategy to achieve Canada’s climate and electrification targets |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Support the development of a Canadian Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) supply chain industry |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Renew and expand passenger ZEV purchase incentive program eligibility for individual consumers, businesses and fleets, by re-funding the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) program and expanding eligibility to address high-polluting vehicles like pickup trucks and SUVs by increasing the base MSRP cut-off for the iZEV program for eligible light-duty vehicles from the current $45,000 threshold with a $54,999 ceiling to a new $60,000 threshold with a $69,999 ceiling. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Remove the federal rebate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) with less than 50 km of electric range or make the rebates proportional to their official range: $2,000 from 40 to 59 km, $3,000 from 60 to 79 km, and $4,000 from 80 km or more. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Offer an incentive of up to $2,000 for low speed, off-road and micro-ZEVs (e.g., snowmobiles, ice cleaner, personal watercraft, rider mowers, micro cars, micro trucks, small tractors, e-bikes, e-scooters, etc.) to support better rural and urban air and water quality while supporting Canada’s emerging manufacturers. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Incentivize lower- and modest-income Canadians to transition to ZEVs by offering a dedicated rebate for a new or used ZEV via a program like the California Income Eligibility program. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Offer a "Green cash for clunkers" / “Green SCRAP-IT” style incentive… focused on Canada’s long-term climate objectives, meaning funds should be only available for the purchase of new or used ZEVs, transit passes or active transportation tools (e.g., bikes or e-bikes). This program should be stackable with other incentive programs. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Implement a GST/HST exemption for both new and used light-duty ZEVs to support equitable access to the benefits of driving electric. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Provide a four-year federal guarantee on ZEV financing contracts for ZEV loans via the Canada Infrastructure Bank to ensure that all Canadians have access to ZEV financing since their initial purchase price is higher than that of comparable gas vehicles. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Increase economies of scale in the ZEV supply chain to accelerate the reduction in battery prices and ZEV technologies by leveraging R&D, Strategic Innovation Fund, resource exploration and other economic development funding. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Expand funding for ZEV education targeted at Canadian citizens, businesses, fleet owners, dealers, elected officials and governments to increase awareness of the reality and advantages of ZEVs and ZEV infrastructure. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Fund ZEV education, training and retraining programs to help current and future electric mobility sector workers and companies make the transition as efficiently and seamlessly as possible. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Significantly increase electrification of government and Crown corporation fleets with clear binding targets, education and training and adequate financial support vehicle for purchases and the associated charging infrastructure. We encourage the federal government, its agencies and other levels of government to update their whole-of-government procurement approach to focus on purchasing near-zero and zero-emission public vehicles and associated infrastructure and services. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Support the electrified transportation sector by investing in Electric Mobility Canada’s mission to develop an innovative Canadian electric mobility strategy and help develop a vibrant ZEV supply chain industry, from mining to mobility and from British Columbia to the Maritimes and the Canadian North. |
|
Équiterre |
[Develop] a national circular economy strategy by working with the provinces, territories and municipalities. |
|
Équiterre |
[Develop an] action plan to achieve its 100% Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) sales target by 2035. |
|
Équiterre |
Publish a roadmap for eliminating […] fossil fuel subsidies by 2025 to meet Canada’s G20 and G7 commitments. |
|
Great Lakes Fishery Commission |
Comply with our bi-lateral treaties with the United States regarding the Great Lakes and honour these commitments by funding the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, through Global Affairs Canada, at a rate of $19.44 million in fiscal year 2022-2023 and every year thereafter. |
|
Green Budget Coalition |
[Enable] an energy-efficient renovation wave, in partnership with the provinces, with annual investments of $10 billion to $15 billion per year for 10 years. |
|
Green Budget Coalition |
Permanent funding is required to reach Canada’s protected areas targets, [to] effectively manage terrestrial and marine protected areas, and [to] support Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship, as well as [to support] local conservation-focused economies. This would include support for protected areas established and/or managed by the federal government as well as by Indigenous, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, and other partners. |
|
Green Budget Coalition |
[Invest] in a Pan-Canadian Approach to Fresh Water with shared responsibility between federal departments and other levels of government. |
|
Green Budget Coalition |
[Establish] a new high-level office of environmental justice, learning from a model already in place in the United States since the early 1990s. |
|
Green Budget Coalition |
[Act promptly] to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, with a robust definition, and to reorient public finance in line with Canada's climate change commitments. |
|
Macdonald-Laurier Institute |
Include Indigenous peoples in climate initiatives, such as working towards net zero, carbon capture in the agriculture sector, and liquified natural gas projects. |
Federal Finances
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Campaign 2000 |
Invest $3.5 billion in annual federal transfers to provinces and territories as part of the federal COVID-19 recovery plan and as a first step to full implementation of a universal medicare system. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
[Use] the Canada Social Transfer to ensure the adequacy of income programs by increasing investment by $4 billion and tying funds to adequacy standards [to ensure] that provincial and territorial programs are meeting human rights obligations. |
|
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives |
Increase health transfers [to] 35% of total provincial health care costs. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
Balance the budget in 2023-24 by reducing program spending to match levels of 2018–2019 [fiscal year], adjusted upward for inflation and population growth. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
[Cancel] all pandemic tax hikes, including alcohol taxes, payroll taxes, and scrap the carbon tax and second carbon tax. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
Reject future tax hikes, such as (but not limited to) a home equity tax, annual surtax on homes, wealth tax, excess profits tax, luxury taxes, fat, sugar and meat taxes and taxes on the unvaccinated. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
[Remove] all corporate welfare, including direct cash subsidies, niche tax credits, loans and loan guarantees. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
End the federal subsidies to businesses through Crown Corporations and regional development agencies and return any remaining federal funds within those corporations to taxpayers. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
[Establish] minimum transparency requirements for business grants, such as the amounts disbursed or guaranteed, repayment schedule, amounts paid back, interest rates on loans, and frequent reporting on repayment. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
[Obtain parliamentary approval before granting subsidies to businesses]. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
Reduce immediately the aggregate government funding to federal Crown Corporations by 25 per cent. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
[Establish] a plan to remove all government funding to CBC, Via Rail, Marine Atlantic, the National Capital Commission and Telefilm Canada. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
End the media subsidies announced in Budget 2019. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
[Reduce the burden of Equalization with the goal of ending the program by implementing the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s proposed 20-year Equalization phase-out plan.] |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
Consult with the provinces on equalization. In addition, the federal government should pass a bill that requires the federal government to publish all documents from provincial negotiations on the Department of Finance’s website. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
Freeze the Canada Health Transfer and the Canada Social Transfer [at their current levels] and set a maximum transfer cap to the annual rate of inflation for future years. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
End the campaign reimbursements for political parties and candidates, which includes not reimbursing campaigns for the 2021 election. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
Implement a rule where any increase in pandemic federal government spending must be [matched] with proportional savings […] in the budget so the overall level of federal spending remains unchanged. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
Set a concrete date for the end of all COVID-19 [pandemic] expenditures. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
Introduce a comprehensive expenditure review similar to that [of] the 1990s. |
|
Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec |
Continue [focusing on] the gross debt‑to‑[gross domestic product] ratio to ensure the long-term sustainability of public finances and of the Canadian business environment. |
|
Moodys Private Client LLP |
Rein in spending and tighten up … monetary policies for the benefit of all Canadians. |
|
Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer |
Amend the legislation to change the release date of the public accounts. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Index the Canada Health Transfer by 6% annually. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
In the formula for calculating the Canada Health Transfer, factor in population aging in the provinces and territories. |
Federal Government
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Canada’s Building Trades Unions |
Implement Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) or Workforce Development Agreements (WDAs) on federally procured infrastructure projects. |
|
Canada’s Building Trades Unions |
[Include] Community Benefits Agreements … in all federally procured construction contracts. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
[Cancel] the salary increases given to the Governor General and [parliamentarians] due to Covid‑19 pandemic and reduce the size of the [Ministry to its 2015 level]. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
[Replace] the annual lifetime pension for governors general with [a defined contribution pension plan] based on years of service and eliminate the expense account when a governor general retires. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
[Renounce] the proposed increase in the Senate’s budget and return spending to the inflation-adjusted spending levels of 2015-16. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
Cancel all salary increases given [to federal employees] since the beginning of the [COVID‑19] pandemic. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
Implement a sunshine list to disclose the salary of all federal employees who receive an annual salary that’s more than $100,000. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
[Reduce] government labour costs through a combination of attrition, job cuts and wage reductions. |
Financial and Payment Systems
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
C.D. Howe Institute |
Move forward with open banking and implement the recommendations that came out of the Advisory Committee on Open Banking. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Action the results of Finance Canada’s 2020 consultations on Consumer-Directed Finance and set a clear timeline towards legislation implementation accompanied by the designation of a government lead to shepherd the [project]. |
|
Tahinis Restaurants |
Offer financial incentives to energy producers to mine Bitcoin with … excess energy. |
|
Tahinis Restaurants |
Integrate all of our banks, fintech companies, insurance companies and tech companies into [Bitcoin]. |
|
Tahinis Restaurants |
[Provide] clear regulations to the Bitcoin industry and better accounting rules that would help nourish innovation, not stifle it. |
|
Tahinis Restaurants |
Make Bitcoin legal tender here in Canada alongside our proud Canadian dollar. |
|
Tahinis Restaurants |
Borrow $10 billion from the Bank of Canada and buy Bitcoin with it. |
Health
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives |
[Establish] a federal workplace strategy for health care workers. |
|
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives |
Establish new national standards to ensure that seniors receive universal, public, comprehensive and portable health care, and ensure that new federal funding to provinces is subject to these conditions. |
|
Canadian Mental Health Association |
Invest $57 million in core community mental health services and programs. |
|
Canadian Mental Health Association |
Invest in 50,000 supportive housing units and 300,000 deeply affordable non-market, co-op and non-profit housing to make sure people with mental illness and substance use problems have safe places to live as they recover. |
|
Canadian Mental Health Association |
[Increase] funding for Indigenous-led mental health initiatives, including doubling the budget of the Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative. |
|
Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec |
[Review] the changes proposed to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board … with industry partners. |
Housing
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
C.D. Howe Institute |
[Encourage different levels of government to improve their approval processes, their housing density rules and the way they charge development fees.] |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Enhance commitments in the National Housing Strategy (NHS) to end core housing need and homelessness. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Double the federal investment in the Canada housing benefit to $8 billion. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Implement a Tenant Support Benefit for low-income renters who have accrued arrears during the pandemic. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Create a new, $100 million housing fund to help keep all [seniors] victim [of clawed back benefits] housed. |
Indigenous Peoples
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Campaign 2000 |
Allocate funding toward immediate compliance with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) ruling to a) provide equitable funding for child welfare services on reserve and b) ensure the full application of Jordan’s Principle and the Spirit Bear Plan. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Fund full implementation of both the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the 231 Calls to Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Commit to a fourth urban and rural Indigenous housing strategy. |
|
Carol Anne Hilton (as an individual) |
Look at [the 12] levers of Indigenous economic design and invest into those structures, moving outside of the emphasis particularly on programs and services. |
|
Carol Anne Hilton (as an individual) |
Look at investing into structures, investing into systems, tools, and convening economic space particularly for Indigenous leadership. |
|
First Nations Tax Commission |
Amend the First Nations Fiscal Management Act [FMA] to create a First Nations Infrastructure Institute (FNII) this year. |
|
First Nations Tax Commission |
Amend the FMA to enhance the mandates of the FMA institutions created by that act, support the publication of more FMA statistical information, and provide statutory funding for these institutions. |
|
First Nations Tax Commission |
Support the inclusion of the sales tax on fuel, alcohol, cannabis and tobacco … as a new fiscal power under the FMA. |
|
First Nations Tax Commission |
Utilize the enhanced FMA framework with the inclusion of FNII to support the monetization of major capital transfers and an improved risk management framework to lower insurance premiums for interested Indigenous nations. |
|
First Nations Tax Commission |
Support amendments [to the FMA] that will increase [First Nations’] access to capital, improve our implementation of First Nation jurisdictions and expand our capacity and resources to implement innovations - putting decision-making power into our own hands. |
|
First Nations Tax Commission |
Continue to support the evolution of a revenue-based federal-provincial fiscal relationship by expanding the First Nations fiscal powers within the FMA for First Nations goods and services sales tax; and other cannabis, tobacco, fuel and alcohol taxes. |
|
First Nations Tax Commission |
Support the development of an Indigenous land title and registry system framework for additions to reserve as advanced by the First Nations Lands Management Board. |
|
Macdonald-Laurier Institute |
Reduce poverty in Indigenous communities by investing in those communities in a manner that allows them to direct how those funds are used. |
Infrastructure
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Canada’s Building Trades Unions |
Maintain investments in infrastructure … and [remove barriers that exist between the different levels of government] to [ensure funding] for infrastructure projects flows more smoothly and quickly. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Establish a greater focus on charging infrastructure investment needs by: a. Setting and funding higher one and five-year targets for EV charging station deployment sufficient to meet Canada’s ZEVS sales targets. b. Setting a goal to make 1-million existing apartment and condominium/strata parking stalls EV-ready by 2030 and establishing new funding programs to achieve this goal. c. Focusing dedicated charging investments on cities’ downtown areas where millions of Canadians cannot charge their ZEVs at home, as well as rural, remote and Northern communities where charging deployment may be less developed. d. Focusing on highway side charging investments to close the gaps in Canada’s charging infrastructure along long distance travel corridors, and on increasing density of charging in high-travel areas where charging demand is growing fastest. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Incorporate EV-ready requirements into the Model National Building Code and Energy Code for Buildings and/or support EV ready municipal zoning bylaws. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Put underutilized government lands to work by facilitating multi-service provider “charging hubs,” particularly in high density and high-cost real estate markets. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Accelerate timelines for Measurement Canada to enable energy-based billing for charging services. |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Include EV charger installation or EV-readiness as part of energy efficiency programs to help Canadians who live in older houses retrofit to the electric infrastructure requirements for EV charging. |
|
Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec |
Help regional businesses move forward on issues of particular interest to them, [such as with] needs in sustainable mobility, public transit and transportation electrification, the implementation, sooner rather than later, of extremely growth-generating programs such as Via Rail's high-frequency train …, and the very pressing need for investments in a number of regional airports in Canada. |
Industry and Innovation
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Bolster intellectual property generation in Canada by allowing IP-related costs to be recognized as eligible Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) expenses [for income tax purposes]. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Maximize the benefits of COVID related research and development and address leakage of publicly funded intellectual property by expanding Canada’s Intellectual Property Strategy. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Improve Canada’s cyber readiness and digital resiliency by ensuring that high-growth cyber security-related companies in Canada receive appropriate talent, capital, procurement, export, and research and development incentives. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Reform the Workforce, Research and Development, and Cybersecurity Export [Advancement] Working Groups convened between 2017 and 2019. |
|
Council of Canadian Innovators |
Ensure Canada has a competitive personal and corporate tax regime that encourages high-growth domestic innovators to stay and build businesses in Canada |
|
Electric Mobility Canada |
Champion Canada’s mining advantage by supporting electrification at mining locations across the country and promoting sustainable mining development and operations, particularly in connection with those metals and minerals necessary for the ZEV supply chain in Canada and in other jurisdictions. |
|
Société d'aide au développement des collectivités et Centre d'aide aux entreprises |
[Promote] the proactivity nature of the communities and [use] the instincts developed during the [COVID-19] pandemic. For example, promote short consumption cycles, [local purchasing] and ensure that entrepreneurs can develop other types of practices and clienteles, while developing other daily practices. |
|
Société d'aide au développement des collectivités et Centre d'aide aux entreprises |
Consider some decentralization [through the Department of Finance] in terms of interventions so that the agencies and organizations represented by [la Société d'aide au développement des collectivités et Centre d'aide aux entreprises] could play a more significant and obvious role in our communities. |
Personal and Consumption Taxation
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
[End] the political contribution tax credit. |
|
Canadians for Affordable Energy |
Provide [an energy] rebate for Canadians … in the form of a GST rebate or other means. |
|
Canadians for Affordable Energy |
Consider … a moratorium on any future taxes on energy [including electricity, natural gas, propane, diesel, and gasoline] … [as well as] a moratorium … on [the increase in] carbon taxes. |
|
MNP LLP |
The ability to divide a family business amongst siblings granted in [Bill C-208] is necessary and … should be maintained. |
|
MNP LLP |
Intergenerational transfers [should] be broadened to include, for example, the sale of businesses between siblings. In addition, the capital gain treatment on the sale of shares should be maintained where the lifetime capital gains exemption is not available. |
|
Moodys Private Client LLP |
The introduction of [an anti-flipping housing tax] will result in no meaningful reduction of [principal residence exemption] claims, and it should be abandoned. |
|
Moodys Private Client LLP |
Do not increase personal tax rates. |
|
Moodys Private Client LLP |
Do not increase the capital gains inclusion rate. |
|
Moodys Private Client LLP |
Amend the [tax on split income] regime. |
|
Moodys Private Client LLP |
Release the amendments to Bill C-208. |
|
Moodys Private Client LLP |
Abandon the … [proposed] luxury tax on automobiles, airplanes and boats. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Make the caregiver tax credit refundable. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Introduce a tax credit for experienced workers. |
Retirement Income and Seniors
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Campaign 2000 |
Reverse [Guaranteed Income Supplement] reductions for low-income seniors as a result of receiving [Canada Emergency Recovery Benefit]. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
[Release the funds] that have been earmarked in the [Economic and Fiscal Update 2021] to repay seniors who lost [the Guaranteed Income Supplement]. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
[Immediately] pay an emergency $2,500 to … seniors [who lost the GIS] |
|
Etobicoke Services for Seniors |
Support a public education campaign to raise the awareness of all Canadians about the home and community care sector, specifically what [the community care agencies] do … why [they] do it [and how to access them]. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement by at least $50 per month for all seniors. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Increase Old Age Security benefits by 10% for all seniors eligible for the program. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Extend the Old Age Security benefits of deceased individuals by three months for the surviving spouse. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Revise the Old Age Security indexing method to account for wage growth in Canada. |
|
Réseau FADOQ |
Set up a pension fund insurance plan for federally regulated retirement plans. |
Temporary Support for Organizations
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
Require all political parties to pay back the federal wage subsidy. |
|
Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec |
Implement the conditions needed for a robust economic recovery of businesses by avoiding any tax increases in the coming years and by continuing to financially support businesses in sectors that are still struggling to recover. |
|
Festivals and Major Events Canada |
[Defer] the end of the [Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative] … from March 31, 2023, to March 31, 2024. |
|
Festivals and Major Events Canada |
[Extend] all programs, including the Reopening Fund for Heritage Organizations and the Recovery Fund for Arts, Culture, Heritage and Sport Sectors at Canadian Heritage, the Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative, and measures included in An Act to provide further support in response to COVID-19 until the restrictions of COVID‑19 can be safely lifted], with pro-rated envelopes and adjustments … [and] add $100 million … while expanding the program to smaller events. |
|
Tourism Industry Association of Canada |
Provide qualified and limited financial support to tourism and events businesses with revenue losses greater than 40% from September 2021 to May 2022. |
|
Tourism Industry Association of Canada |
Maintain the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program (THRP) rates at their current levels and extend the program until September of 2022, as well as decrease the THRP's current month revenue loss requirements from 40% to 25%. |
|
Tourism Industry Association of Canada |
Modify the [Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program] to allow all seasonable businesses to access the program. |
Tax Reform and Compliance
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Brian J. Arnold (as an individual) |
Cancel the [General Anti-Avoidance Rule] consultation and simply move to amend the [General Anti-Avoidance Rule] to make it more effective. |
|
Brian J. Arnold (as an individual) |
If the Department of Finance insists on going ahead with its [General Anti-Avoidance Rule] consultation, then I would suggest … that it do so immediately. |
|
Campaign 2000 |
Address growing income inequality and generate revenue for poverty reduction programing by eliminating tax loopholes, closing tax havens, taxing extreme wealth, and implementing excess profit tax focused on corporate pandemic windfalls. |
|
Canadian Taxpayers Federation |
Remove the requirement to report the sale of your home with the Canada Revenue Agency. |
|
Canadians for Tax Fairness |
Undertake a public review to identify federal tax expenditures, loopholes and other tax avoidance mechanisms that particularly benefit high incomes, wealthy individuals and large corporations and make recommendations to eliminate or restrict these. |
|
Canadians for Tax Fairness |
Examine additional ways for the federal government to reduce wealth and income inequality through the tax system, while generating additional revenues to pay for improved public services. |
|
Canadians for Tax Fairness |
Consider how federal and provincial governments could, in a post-pandemic world, more effectively deliver the many benefits that are delivered through the Canada Revenue Agency’s tax and benefit system infrastructure, including with the introduction of free automatic tax filing. |
|
Canadians for Tax Fairness |
Undertake a broad review of how the federal government could significantly increase the amount, detail, quality and timeliness of information publicly available on the financial conditions of individuals, corporations and trusts, including ownership, assets, income and taxes paid. |
|
Canadians for Tax Fairness |
Continue to improve corporate transparency. …[A] public beneficial ownership registry is an important step. The next step is to publicly disclose country by country financial reporting for the largest transnational corporations. |
Tourism
Witness Name |
Witness Proposal |
Date of Appearance |
Festivals and Major Events Canada |
[Create] a new “complementary” program within Economic Development (and the agencies) that will support festivals and events by virtue of their contribution to tourism and the economy, particularly [those] that are not “cultural” and are not supported by Canadian Heritage, and allocating $25 million per year to this program. |
|
Tourism Industry Association of Canada |
In consultation with Tourism HR Canada, conduct a comprehensive review of all current Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) programs to identify opportunities and align policies that will work for tourism, and to create a dedicated immigration pathway for the sector. |
|
Tourism Industry Association of Canada |
Provide a tax incentive to Canadians for the 2022/2023 tax year to travel locally or within Canada, invest in reinstating consumer confidence. |
|
Tourism Industry Association of Canada |
Provide a clear timeline for removing travel restrictions, including removing all testing and isolation requirements and blanket travel advisories. |
|
Tourism Industry Association of Canada |
Ensure the [Canada Border Services Agency] has enough resources to effectively accommodate the COVID requirements of travellers crossing the Alaska-Yukon border. |
|
Tourism Industry Association of Canada |
[Ensure] travellers have access to the Internet in remote locations so the requirement ArriveCAN app can be accessed, such as the Skagway-Fraser border. |
|
Tourism Industry Association of Canada |
Rebuild consumer confidence and brand Canada as a premier travel destination by increasing efforts to market and promote Canada's exceptional offerings to the world. This includes investments to create new initiatives that support the building of destination infrastructure and the development of new products. |
|
Tourism Industry Association of Canada |
Develop a comprehensive pan-Canadian tourism workforce strategy that complements new investments in marketing and other recovery efforts. |