Video: Mulcair vows to cut small business taxes if he's PM

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair was in Sudbury on Monday promoting his plan to cut small business taxes from 11 per cent to nine per cent.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair was in Sudbury on Monday promoting his plan to cut small business taxes from 11 per cent to nine per cent.



Mulcair is leading in opinion polls and would likely form a minority government if the election were held today rather than Oct. 19. He made his announcement at the Outside Store on Long Lake Road before heading for another engagement in Sturgeon Falls.



"Here in Sudbury, there are 8,300 small- and medium-sized businesses, like (owner) Don Longarini's shop here,” Mulcair said. "These are the types of businesses that we're targeting. You know that 80 per cent of new jobs in Canada are created by Canada's small- and medium-sized businesses. That's why we're proposing to drop their tax rate."



That cut will be offset by a “slight increase” in taxes to larger corporations, he said.



“As we head into the election, we'll be providing more details on that," Mulcair said. "We want small businesses to know that the NDP is serious about giving them a break."



Flanked by Nickel Belt MP Claude Gravelle, Sudbury candidate Paul Loewenberg, Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP Carol Hughes and Sault Ste. Marie candidate Skip Morrison, Mulcair said his plan to cut small business taxes was rejected by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's ruling Conservatives. But then a version of it appeared in the most recent federal budget.



"So we said, this is a good idea, better to have your idea taken and put into reality – imitation is the highest form of flattery,” he said. "But there was a little rider, as there often is with Mr. Harper. He had his fingers crossed. Because he said you would only get that tax break maybe three or four years later."



"I say this to small- and medium-sized business owners in the Sudbury area: the NDP knows where they stand and you're not going to have to wait three years. We'll be starting those tax breaks right away."



The last time Mulcair was in town, it was in the middle of the February byelection, which featured former NDP MP Glenn Thibeault, who took the riding for the provincial Liberals. The NDP leader said Monday keeping Sudbury orange was a priority.



"There's no question that for the NDP, maintaining a strong voice in Ottawa for Sudbury is crucial,” Mulcair said. “Paul Loewenberg represents that type of strong voice in Sudbury.”



He criticized the ruling Tories as taking a top down approach, and ridiculed the muzzle Harper puts on MPs and cabinet ministers when it comes to dealing with the media.



"When was the last time you had a free-ranging discussion with a member of the Conservative cabinet or even a Member of Parliament?” Mulcair said. “That's the control that they've had. That's why they're not responsive. That's why they don't listen to you.



"What we hear most when we go coast to coast to coast, is that Canadians want change. They're tired of what they've been seeing."



Mulcair also took time to offer cautious support for Toronto bidding for the 2024 Olympic Games. After the success of the Pan Am Games, Mulcair said most of the infrastructure is already in place, so making a bid makes sense.



"I think it has to be costed very carefully, having seen what's happened in the case of other Olympics in the past,” he said. “I'm optimistic that Toronto would be able to put together a bid for the 2024 Olympics, using a lot of the infrastructure that's already there. It would be a real shot in the arm for Toronto and Canada as a whole -- if it's done correctly."

