The Conservative Party release their full platform Monday, August 16, it is centered on a five-part recovery plan which includes: secure jobs: recovering one million jobs lost during pandemic; secure accountability: enacting an Anti-Corruption law; secure mental health: with a Canada mental health action plan; secure the country: by stockpiling essential products and vaccine creation capacity at home; and secure the economy: balancing the budget in the next decade.
The full platform document can be found here: https://www.conservative.ca/plan/
Details Relevant to Credit Unions
The plan includes pandemic recovery supports for small business including:
Rebuild Main Street Tax Credit will provide a 25% tax credit on amounts of up to $100,000 that Canadians personally invest in a small business over the next two years.
Canada Job Surge Plan will pay up to 50% of the salary of new hires for six months following CEWS.
Canada Investment Accelerator will provide a 5% investment tax credit for capital investments made in 2022 and 2023, the first $25,000 will be refundable for small business.
Main Street Business Loan will provide loans of up to $200,000 to small and medium businesses in hospitality, retail, and tourism, with up to 25% forgiven.
The platform promises to bring legislation on open banking, order the Competition Bureau to investigate bank fees, require more transparency for investment management fees including requiring the banks to show investment returns net of fees.
They plan to reform BDC to ensure its loan programs are accessible to small businesses, including broadening BDC’s mandate to have it guarantee a portion of loans that Canada’s banks make to small business, like CMHC’s guarantees on mortgages.
They plan to strengthen the Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry to better protect consumers and small businesses from fraud and things like unwarranted chargebacks.
They would implement comprehensive changes to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, and give FINTRAC, law enforcement, and prosecutors the tools necessary to identify, halt, and prosecute money-laundering in Canadian real estate markets.
They would closely examine the findings and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia and implement recommendations at the federal level.
To make mortgages more affordable, they will: encourage a new market in seven- to ten-year mortgages; remove the requirement to conduct a stress test when a homeowner renews a mortgage with another lender; increase the limit on eligibility for mortgage insurance and index it to home price inflation; and fix the mortgage stress test for those with fluctuating income.
The Conservatives have promised to connect all of Canada to High-Speed Internet by 2025 by speeding up the spectrum auction process to get more spectrum into use and apply use it or lose it provisions to ensure that spectrum is developed, with the auction revenues dedicated to the digital infrastructure plan.
CCUA will continue to monitor campaign developments and announcements and will update this document accordingly.