CANADIAN IDEAS: LEVERAGING OUR STRENGTHS Report of the Standing Committee on Finance Honorable Wayne Easter, Chair FEBRUARY 2020 43rd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION Published under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons SPEAKER’S PERMISSION The proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees are hereby made available to provide greater public access. The parliamentary privilege of the House of Commons to control the publication and broadcast of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees is nonetheless reserved. All copyrights therein are also reserved. Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official. This permission does not extend to reproduction, distribution or use for commercial purpose of financial gain. Reproduction or use outside this permission or without authorization may be treated as copyright infringement in accordance with the Copyright Act. Authorization may be obtained on written application to the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons. Reproduction in accordance with this permission does not constitute publication under the authority of the House of Commons. The absolute privilege that applies to the proceedings of the House of Commons does not extend to these permitted reproductions. Where a reproduction includes briefs to a Standing Committee of the House of Commons, authorization for reproduction may be required from the authors in accordance with the Copyright Act. Nothing in this permission abrogates or derogates from the privileges, powers, immunities and rights of the House of Commons and its Committees. For greater certainty, this permission does not affect the prohibition against impeaching or questioning the proceedings of the House of Commons in courts or otherwise. The House of Commons retains the right and privilege to find users in contempt of Parliament if a reproduction or use is not in accordance with this permission. Also available on the House of Commons website at the following address: www.ourcommons.ca CANADIAN IDEAS: LEVERAGING OUR STRENGTHS Report of the Standing Committee on Finance Hon. Wayne Easter Chair FEBRUARY 2020 43rd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION NOTICE TO READER Reports from committee presented to the House of Commons Presenting a report to the House is the way a committee makes public its findings and recommendations on a particular topic. Substantive reports on a subject-matter study usually contain a synopsis of the testimony heard, the recommendations made by the committee, as well as the reasons for those recommendations. STANDING COMMITTEE ON FINANCE CHAIR Hon. Wayne Easter VICE-CHAIRS Hon. Pierre Poilievre Gabriel Ste-Marie MEMBERS Michael Cooper James Cumming Julie Dzerowicz Peter Fragiskatos Sean Fraser Peter Julian Annie Koutrakis Michael V. McLeod Marty Morantz OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO PARTICIPATED Daniel Blaikie Francis Drouin Eric Duncan Ted Falk Andy Fillmore Matthew Green Pat Kelly Stéphane Lauzon Philip Lawrence Sébastien Lemire Ron Liepert Richard Martel Soraya Martinez Ferrada iii Brian Masse Greg McLean Jennifer O’Connell Louis Plamondon Ramesh Sangha Terry Sheehan Francesco Sorbara Hon. Tim Uppal Kate Young CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE David Gagnon LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Information and Research Service Andrew Barton, Analyst Brett Capwell, Analyst Michaël Lambert-Racine, Analyst Sylvain Fleury, Analyst iv THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON FINANCE has the honour to present its FIRST REPORT Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(2), the Committee has studied the pre-budget consultations 2020 and has agreed to report the following: v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................................... 1 CANADIAN IDEAS: LEVERAGING OUR STRENGTHS .............................................................. 17 Chapter 1: Introduction.............................................................................................................. 17 Chapter 2: Environment and Climate Change ................................................................... 18 Chapter 3: People.......................................................................................................................... 21 Health ......................................................................................................................................... 22 Health Research ..................................................................................................................... 23 Mental Health .......................................................................................................................... 23 Pharmacare .............................................................................................................................. 24 Public Health Initiatives ...................................................................................................... 24 Other Health-Related Proposals ...................................................................................... 26 Education and Training Skills ........................................................................................... 26 Employment and Labour .................................................................................................... 28 Personal Finances and Taxation ...................................................................................... 30 Indigenous Priorities............................................................................................................ 32 Childcare and Caregiving .................................................................................................... 35 Poverty, Seniors and Under-Represented Groups .................................................... 35 Chapter 4: Communities ............................................................................................................ 39 Safety and Security ............................................................................................................... 39 Housing and Infrastructure ............................................................................................... 42 Charities, Not-For-Profits and Social Enterprises ..................................................... 45 Chapter 5: Businesses ................................................................................................................. 46 Corporate Taxation ............................................................................................................... 46 Trade and Tourism ............................................................................................................... 50 Natural Resources ................................................................................................................. 53 Agriculture and Fisheries ................................................................................................... 55 vii Innovation ................................................................................................................................ 56 Chapter 6: Federal Fiscal Policy and Regulatory Framework ..................................... 58 Federal Finances and Public Service .............................................................................. 58 Tax Reform and Compliance ............................................................................................. 60 Regulatory Environment .................................................................................................... 62 Chapter 7: Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 63 APPENDIX A: PROPOSALS BY WITNESSES ............................................................................... 65 APPENDIX B: BRIEFS SUBMITTED ONLINE ............................................................................ 129 APPENDIX C: LIST OF WITNESSES ............................................................................................. 153 APPENDIX D: LIST OF BRIEFS ...................................................................................................... 161 MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS ......................................................................................................... 173 DISSENTING OPINION OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA .......................... 175 DISSENTING OPINION OF THE BLOC QUÉBÉCOIS ............................................................... 177 SUPPLEMENTARY OPINION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA ....... 183 viii LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below. The House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance recommends that the Government of Canada, in accordance with the powers of each jurisdiction: Recommendation 1 Adopt the recommendations of the Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance that are within federal jurisdiction and support other jurisdictions and the private sector to do the same. .............................................................................................. 20 Recommendation 2 Adopt a transparent environmental framework with legislated five-year GHG reductions