Richard Lehoux

[Business of Supply, February 18th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague for her speech.

I would like to come back to the subject of concrete measures. In her speech, she talked a lot about the various reports saying that the genocide should be acknowledged.

How does my colleague feel about asking the International Olympic Committee to move the 2022 games, which are slated to be held in Beijing?

[Antony Auclair, February 5th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the people of Beauce will be watching Antony Auclair and his team at the Super Bowl. Number 82, born in Notre-Dame-des-Pins, is an irrepressible, passionate player whose determination got him all the way to the NFL. That is the ultimate payoff for Antony's efforts and hard work during his early days with the Notre-Dame-de-la-Trinité Tigers and the Polyvalente Saint-Georges Dragons.

Sunday, Beauce and the entire football community will be proud, as will all the organizers who watched Antony grow up: his coaches, his teammates, who were there for all the ups and downs, his teachers and especially his family, who made sacrifices to be able to guide and motivate him to achieve his goals.

Antony, if you only knew how much you inspire so many young and not-so-young people. Enjoy the moment. You have the privilege of playing with a future legend like Tom Brady. I hope you win the Super Bowl. Just remember, Beauce is rooting for you.

I wish him a good game. As one of my more enthusiastic colleagues would say, Go Tampa Bay, go Antony!

[Canada Revenue Agency, December 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, identity theft is a real problem in our society, especially since the CERB was brought in.

Lately my team has been getting calls from people who may have been victims of fraud. When they try to notify the Canada Revenue Agency, they end up being put on hold for ages only to have the call dropped. My assistants make attempts on their end, but they get no response, only a message that the CRA is experiencing technical difficulties. Even by email, the wait is very long. This keeps people stressed and worried. The government promised to fight fraud.

How can it do that if it does not listen to the public?

[Government Programs, November 30th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, people like Mr. Poirier from Saint-Georges are under stress because their Canada Revenue Agency files are frozen.

These individuals want to co-operate with the CRA, but they cannot reach the agency. One of my staffers spoke with an agent, who was very friendly by the way, who said the CRA is currently processing claims from November 4. That is nearly a month of delay.

People do not want any trouble with the CRA. They are already under stress because of COVID-19. When will the government bring in the human resources needed to respond effectively to Canadians?

[Income Tax Act, November 25th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak in support of Bill C-208, an act to amend the Income Tax Act with regard to the transfer of a small business or family farm or fishing corporation, which was introduced by my colleague, the member for Brandon—Souris.

The amendments made by this bill are necessary to standardize the process for selling family businesses. These amendments would considerably improve the Income Tax Act with respect to the transfer of a small business or family farm to a family member.

In the current state of affairs, the sad reality faced by business owners is that they must pay more taxes if they sell to a family member than if they sell to a third party. The current act puts operators who want to transfer their family business to their son or daughter at an unfair disadvantage. This forces owners to decide whether they want to keep their life's work in the family or sell it to the highest bidder.

If this bill were adopted, it would facilitate many more family business successions. It would also guarantee the retirement savings that business owners worked so hard to earn and enable more local businesses to prosper, which would strengthen the Canadian economy and local economies. We must never lose sight of the fact that SMEs are the cornerstone of our economy.

Everyone in the House knows a factory, a family restaurant, a corner store or a farm in their riding that has been around for generations. These family businesses are well liked and extremely important to the local economy. These small businesses are the backbone of our society. Some of these businesses not only help feed our communities, but they also provide important jobs for the people in our ridings.

The dynamic of keeping a family business in the family is unprecedented. The idea that an owner could be forced to sell their business to a third party simply because of overtaxation is simply shocking. When a third-party purchaser buys a business, many unknowns come into play. Will the new owner cut jobs? Will they move the business to a different region or even a different country? These are the questions the seller must keep in mind, but also their employees and family members.

We know that Beauce is a haven for SMEs. I will provide two real-life examples from my riding.

My first example is Eddy Berthiaume, the owner of Les escaliers de Beauce, located in my hometown of Saint-Elzéar, who was forced to make the difficult decision that I just explained to the House. He owned 50% of this business for many years. He is a good, hard-working man who spent years building his business. When he was ready to retire, he decided to sell his shares in the family business to his children, but unfortunately, he was unfairly forced to pay thousands of dollars in transfer fees. The worst part of this story is that his business partner was able to sell his 50% stake to a third party and pay a pittance in taxes. He paid essentially nothing.

Some may wonder how this is unfair. There are other examples like this one that show how the government is letting down business owners across the country. We need a government that is prepared to grant exemptions to Canadians and that does not penalize tenacious families like the Berthiaumes.

My second example is Estampro, a business in Saint-Évariste-de-Forsyth owned by the Fortin family, who dealt with the same rules for transferring the business to a family member. The business, which was founded in 1984, is already run by the third generation of Fortins. The family had to work extremely hard to get there, however. The time and money they spent on filling out forms for the transfer certainly could have been used to hire extra machinists or to make more progress on automation. Instead, the family was trapped in all of the red tape required by the existing legislation, and we cannot underestimate the impact this has had on the family. I spoke with them this week, and I know that they are seriously wondering what problems they will encounter if the business is transferred to the next generation.

I am sure many of my colleagues are aware of cases like these. There are many others throughout my riding. If the House does not act now, then wonderful, healthy, viable, proudly Canadian companies will end up in the hands of people other than the families that built them or, even worse, in the hands of foreign countries.

This bill will also help Canadian business owners by advancing women's entrepreneurship. Only 16% of businesses and 29% of family farms are majority female-owned. If the government stopped penalizing owners of small businesses and family farms who sell their businesses to their daughters, it would help foster entrepreneurship among women and increase their participation in the Canadian economy.

It is very unfortunate that our party is obliged to introduce bills like this one when we have a government that claims to always be there for women and small businesses. We need the government to get involved and quickly examine the issues raised by bills like this one.

This bill is not partisan in any way. I think that the amendments to this private member's bill are not only a matter of fairness, as many of my colleagues mentioned, but also a matter of common sense.

I cannot believe that this government has not already introduced amendments to the Income Tax Act in this area.

We need to treat business owners fairly. These tax policies are unfair when the time comes for them to step down from their family business. Leaving a family business can be a positive thing if they know they are leaving it in the hands of someone they love and, more importantly, someone who will love and honour the values and culture of the business, as the owner did for many years.

Business owners should not feel like they have to sell their business to a third party simply because it will cost them less. Business owners must also obey the law. We would not want them to make concessions or act fraudulently in order to save the hard-earned pension or retirement savings they would otherwise lose in taxes. That is why it is important that Bill C-208 pass in the House as quickly as possible.

I heard some of my colleagues say that changes to this bill could lead to more fraud and tax evasion. That is why our party wrote protection mechanisms into the bill. To forestall those potential problems, the bill provides that the family member purchasing the business must keep their shares for at least five years to avoid the penalty. This will thwart attempts to exploit the system.

Right now, and especially during this global pandemic, Canadian businesses need our help, to stay afloat not just while we fight the pandemic together, but also in the future when the time comes to sell and buy their family businesses. Canadians want to remain self-sufficient. They want to support their local businesses. Most of all, they want their local businesses to succeed from one generation to the next.

I hope the Conservative Party can count on all parties to vote for this bill, which is so important to our family businesses. I speak from experience, because I myself was part of the fourth generation of a family business.

[Government Programs, November 19th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, has the government used its own tools to get any kind of federal help?

I highly doubt it, because if it had, the government would realize how much paperwork is involved in doing so: one form here, another there, sorry, application denied because such and such form was forgotten, please start over.

For example, Richard Savoie of Sainte-Marie had to apply for his daughter's social insurance number three times because, for one thing, he forgot to include a copy of the back of a document.

Does the government not see the appeal of simplifying things?

[Telecommunications, November 16th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, many students in my riding have to do online learning at home during this pandemic.

These students are at a disadvantage simply because they live in a rural area. Chantal Bédard, from Sainte-Hénédine, contacted me to tell me how hard it has been for her children to connect to their online classes. From Sainte-Hénédine to Saint-Gédéon in my riding, I keep hearing the same stories.

This government loves to keep announcing its funding commitments for high-speed Internet, but when will it unveil a real plan to successfully connect people like Ms. Bédard?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, November 6th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, supply-managed-producers, including dairy producers, do everything they can to ensure that Canadians' food is safe. They expect the government to honour its own commitment to pay the compensation promised more than a year ago.

Last week, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food assured producers that they would receive a payment before the end of the year. We know that this government likes to bend the truth.

Will this payment really be made before December 31, 2020?

[Telecommunications, October 30th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, as I often say, Beauce is a launch pad for SMEs. I want to talk specifically about one local business, and that is Garage Robert Carrier in Saint-Hénédine.

Despite its sincere desire to keep its head above water during the pandemic, this small business faces one major obstacle. It is located in a rural area where Internet access is unreliable. Dozens of other SMEs in my region are in the same predicament. This business cannot grow the way it would like to.

Will the government wake up and come up with a real plan to get rural areas connected? When will that happen?

[Nicole Jacques, October 28th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to recognize the outstanding work of Nicole Jacques, the executive director of Moisson Beauce.

This regional food bank, which has been spreading joy for over 25 years, collected nearly 12 million kilograms of food with a market value of $63 million, which was then distributed to some 60 organizations throughout the Chaudière-Appalaches region.

Ms. Jacques is a fighter and she has devoted herself to this organization for 12 years. She was able to very calmly meet the challenge of feeding those affected by the historic flooding in Beauce in 2019, as well as those affected by the current pandemic. She has also helped the food bank to succeed even though three times as many people are coming through its doors as when she first began working there.

I thank Ms. Jacques for all the work she has done to help the people of Beauce who need it most. I thank her for bringing together valued partners and a dedicated team. I wish her all the best in the future.

Happy retirement, Nicole.