Taxation and fiscal federalism

Submission to the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance

Committee: Standing Senate Committee on National Finance
Study: Bill C-15
Date Submitted: March 16, 2026
Submitted By: CanuckDUCK / Daryl Little
Status: Received — translation and distribution in progress

The morning commute for Elena, a social worker in Toronto, begins with a stack of files detailing clients who have secured temporary housing but lack the financial infrastructure to maintain it. She recently assisted a client who, after months of navigating shelters, was finally awarded a rental unit through a government subsidy. However, the client had no bank account, a damaged credit history from past medical debts, and limited understanding of how to manage a monthly budget that included hydro, internet, and rent.

In a small studio in Montreal, a visual artist named Marie carefully calculates the cost of her next exhibition. She is not just thinking about canvas and paint; she is weighing the potential revenue from ticketed opening nights, the sale of limited-edition prints, and the licensing of her imagery for local textile manufacturers. For Marie, the shift toward earned revenue is not merely an accounting exercise but a survival strategy, allowing her to reduce reliance on competitive grant cycles while building a direct relationship with her audience.

The morning commute for Elena, a logistics coordinator in Calgary, begins with a calculation that feels less like driving and more like accounting. She checks the price of diesel, now adjusted for the federal carbon levy, and weighs the cost against the efficiency of her company’s aging fleet. For her, the abstract concept of "putting a price on pollution" translates into a tangible squeeze on her household budget and a pressure to upgrade equipment she cannot yet afford.