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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.

2/3/2022

Équiterre

Develop a Canada-wide soil health strategy.

2/3/2022

Équiterre

Develop a Canada-wide network to share information and resources related to soil health.

2/3/2022

Équiterre

Finance research into cost effectiveness to identify the economic benefits of best soil health practises on various production systems.

2/3/2022

Équiterre

Provide funding for training and hiring 1,000 additional advisory services officers.

2/3/2022

Arts, Culture and Recreation

Witness Name

Witness Proposal

Date of Appearance

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

[Abolish] the Mission Cultural Fund.

2/3/2022

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

End the gun ban and buyback program.

2/3/2022

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.

2/7/2022

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.

2/7/2022

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.

2/7/2022

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.

2/14/2022

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.

2/7/2022

Campaign 2000

Invest substantially in the base amount [to allow] the [CCB] [to continue] to reduce child poverty rates across the country.

2/7/2022

Campaign 2000

Create a system for income support eligibility determination and benefit distribution for marginalized people outside of the personal income tax system.

2/7/2022

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.

2/7/2022

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.

2/7/2022

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.

2/7/2022

Campaign 2000

Speed up the design and implementation of the new federal disability benefit.

2/7/2022

Campaign 2000

[Create] a federal disability benefit for children.

2/7/2022

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.

2/3/2022

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

End the government’s national daycare program introduced in Budget 2021.

2/3/2022

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.

2/10/2022

Canadians for Tax Fairness

Implement a general 20% corporate tax increase.

2/10/2022

Canadians for Tax Fairness

Eliminate the preferential tax treatment for real estate investment trusts.

2/10/2022

Council of Canadian Innovators

Modernize the Accelerated Investment Incentive to include advanced technology asset classes such as software, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

2/3/2022

Moodys Private Client LLP

Repeal the [tax measures to support Canadian] journalism.

2/14/2022

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.

2/7/2022

Campaign 2000

[Return] … benefits [that were clawed back from recipients and stop pursuing] low and moderate income individuals for repayments of pandemic benefits.

2/7/2022

Campaign 2000

Immediately cease treating [Canada Emergency Response Benefit] and recovery benefits as taxable income for individuals with incomes below the low-income measure.

2/7/2022

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.

2/7/2022

Campaign 2000

Immediately increase the current [Canada Worker] Lockdown Benefit to $500 a week and maintain that amount until [Employment Insurance] is reformed.

2/7/2022

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.

2/7/2022

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.

2/7/2022

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.

2/7/2022

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.

2/7/2022

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

[Develop] a comprehensive plan on how to better integrate the self-employed into the [Employment Insurance] system.

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

Équiterre

Adopt robust legislation and a fair transition plan that supports workers and communities that depend on fossil fuel development.

2/3/2022

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.

1/31/2022

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.

1/31/2022

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.

1/31/2022

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.

2/7/2022

Réseau FADOQ

Increase the maximum weekly earnings threshold for caregiving benefits.

2/14/2022

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.

2/14/2022

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.

2/7/2022

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.

2/10/2022

Electric Mobility Canada

Develop a Canadian electric mobility strategy to achieve Canada’s climate and electrification targets

2/10/2022

Electric Mobility Canada

Support the development of a Canadian Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) supply chain industry

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

Équiterre

[Develop] a national circular economy strategy by working with the provinces, territories and municipalities.

2/3/2022

Équiterre

[Develop an] action plan to achieve its 100% Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) sales target by 2035.

2/3/2022

Équiterre

Publish a roadmap for eliminating […] fossil fuel subsidies by 2025 to meet Canada’s G20 and G7 commitments.

2/3/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

1/31/2022

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.

1/31/2022

Green Budget Coalition

[Invest] in a Pan-Canadian Approach to Fresh Water with shared responsibility between federal departments and other levels of government.

1/31/2022

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.

1/31/2022

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.

1/31/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/7/2022

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.

2/7/2022

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Increase health transfers [to] 35% of total provincial health care costs.

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

[Cancel] all pandemic tax hikes, including alcohol taxes, payroll taxes, and scrap the carbon tax and second carbon tax.

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

[Remove] all corporate welfare, including direct cash subsidies, niche tax credits, loans and loan guarantees.

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

[Obtain parliamentary approval before granting subsidies to businesses].

2/3/2022

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Reduce immediately the aggregate government funding to federal Crown Corporations by 25 per cent.

2/3/2022

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

[Establish] a plan to remove all government funding to CBC, Via Rail, Marine Atlantic, the National Capital Commission and Telefilm Canada.

2/3/2022

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

End the media subsidies announced in Budget 2019.

2/3/2022

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.]

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

End the campaign reimbursements for political parties and candidates, which includes not reimbursing campaigns for the 2021 election.

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Set a concrete date for the end of all COVID-19 [pandemic] expenditures.

2/3/2022

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Introduce a comprehensive expenditure review similar to that [of] the 1990s.

2/3/2022

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.

1/31/2022

Moodys Private Client LLP

Rein in spending and tighten up … monetary policies for the benefit of all Canadians.

2/14/2022

Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer

Amend the legislation to change the release date of the public accounts.

1/31/2022

Réseau FADOQ

Index the Canada Health Transfer by 6% annually.

2/14/2022

Réseau FADOQ

In the formula for calculating the Canada Health Transfer, factor in population aging in the provinces and territories.

2/14/2022

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.

2/7/2022

Canada’s Building Trades Unions

[Include] Community Benefits Agreements … in all federally procured construction contracts.

2/7/2022

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].

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

[Renounce] the proposed increase in the Senate’s budget and return spending to the inflation-adjusted spending levels of 2015-16.

2/3/2022

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Cancel all salary increases given [to federal employees] since the beginning of the [COVID‑19] pandemic.

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

[Reduce] government labour costs through a combination of attrition, job cuts and wage reductions.

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

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].

2/3/2022

Tahinis Restaurants

Offer financial incentives to energy producers to mine Bitcoin with … excess energy.

1/31/2022

Tahinis Restaurants

Integrate all of our banks, fintech companies, insurance companies and tech companies into [Bitcoin].

1/31/2022

Tahinis Restaurants

[Provide] clear regulations to the Bitcoin industry and better accounting rules that would help nourish innovation, not stifle it.

1/31/2022

Tahinis Restaurants

Make Bitcoin legal tender here in Canada alongside our proud Canadian dollar.

1/31/2022

Tahinis Restaurants

Borrow $10 billion from the Bank of Canada and buy Bitcoin with it.

1/31/2022

Health

Witness Name

Witness Proposal

Date of Appearance

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

[Establish] a federal workplace strategy for health care workers.

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

Canadian Mental Health Association

Invest $57 million in core community mental health services and programs.

1/31/2022

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.

1/31/2022

Canadian Mental Health Association

[Increase] funding for Indigenous-led mental health initiatives, including doubling the budget of the Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative.

1/31/2022

Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec

[Review] the changes proposed to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board … with industry partners.

1/31/2022

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.]

2/3/2022

Campaign 2000

Enhance commitments in the National Housing Strategy (NHS) to end core housing need and homelessness.

2/7/2022

Campaign 2000

Double the federal investment in the Canada housing benefit to $8 billion.

2/7/2022

Campaign 2000

Implement a Tenant Support Benefit for low-income renters who have accrued arrears during the pandemic.

2/7/2022

Campaign 2000

Create a new, $100 million housing fund to help keep all [seniors] victim [of clawed back benefits] housed.

2/7/2022

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.

2/7/2022

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.

2/7/2022

Campaign 2000

Commit to a fourth urban and rural Indigenous housing strategy.

2/7/2022

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.

2/14/2022

Carol Anne Hilton (as an individual)

Look at investing into structures, investing into systems, tools, and convening economic space particularly for Indigenous leadership.

2/14/2022

First Nations Tax Commission

Amend the First Nations Fiscal Management Act [FMA] to create a First Nations Infrastructure Institute (FNII) this year.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/7/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

Electric Mobility Canada

Accelerate timelines for Measurement Canada to enable energy-based billing for charging services.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

1/31/2022

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].

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

Council of Canadian Innovators

Reform the Workforce, Research and Development, and Cybersecurity Export [Advancement] Working Groups convened between 2017 and 2019.

2/3/2022

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

2/3/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/3/2022

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.

2/3/2022

Personal and Consumption Taxation

Witness Name

Witness Proposal

Date of Appearance

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

[End] the political contribution tax credit.

2/3/2022

Canadians for Affordable Energy

Provide [an energy] rebate for Canadians … in the form of a GST rebate or other means.

2/7/2022

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.

2/7/2022

MNP LLP

The ability to divide a family business amongst siblings granted in [Bill C-208] is necessary and … should be maintained.

2/14/2022

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.

2/14/2022

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.

2/14/2022

Moodys Private Client LLP

Do not increase personal tax rates.

2/14/2022

Moodys Private Client LLP

Do not increase the capital gains inclusion rate.

2/14/2022

Moodys Private Client LLP

Amend the [tax on split income] regime.

2/14/2022

Moodys Private Client LLP

Release the amendments to Bill C-208.

2/14/2022

Moodys Private Client LLP

Abandon the … [proposed] luxury tax on automobiles, airplanes and boats.

2/14/2022

Réseau FADOQ

Make the caregiver tax credit refundable.

2/14/2022

Réseau FADOQ

Introduce a tax credit for experienced workers.

2/14/2022

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].

2/7/2022

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].

2/7/2022

Campaign 2000

[Immediately] pay an emergency $2,500 to … seniors [who lost the GIS]

2/7/2022

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].

2/7/2022

Réseau FADOQ

Increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement by at least $50 per month for all seniors.

2/14/2022

Réseau FADOQ

Increase Old Age Security benefits by 10% for all seniors eligible for the program.

2/14/2022

Réseau FADOQ

Extend the Old Age Security benefits of deceased individuals by three months for the surviving spouse.

2/14/2022

Réseau FADOQ

Revise the Old Age Security indexing method to account for wage growth in Canada.

2/14/2022

Réseau FADOQ

Set up a pension fund insurance plan for federally regulated retirement plans.

2/14/2022

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.

2/3/2022

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.

1/31/2022

Festivals and Major Events Canada

[Defer] the end of the [Major Festivals and Events Support Initiative] … from March 31, 2023, to March 31, 2024.

2/7/2022

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.

2/7/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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%.

2/10/2022

Tourism Industry Association of Canada

Modify the [Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program] to allow all seasonable businesses to access the program.

2/10/2022

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.

2/14/2022

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.

2/14/2022

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.

2/7/2022

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Remove the requirement to report the sale of your home with the Canada Revenue Agency.

2/3/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/7/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

Tourism Industry Association of Canada

Provide a clear timeline for removing travel restrictions, including removing all testing and isolation requirements and blanket travel advisories.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

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.

2/10/2022

Tourism Industry Association of Canada

Develop a comprehensive pan-Canadian tourism workforce strategy that complements new investments in marketing and other recovery efforts.

2/10/2022