Thanks very much.

Good afternoon, Chair and members of the committee.

My name is Angelo DiCaro. I'm the director of research for Unifor, which is Canada's largest labour union in the private sector, representing 320,000 workers across the country.

I'll be sharing my time with my colleague Kaylie Tiessen, an economist who leads the union's budgetary analysis work.

We want to thank the committee for the invitation to participate in this review of the budget implementation bill.

Unifor recognized the federal government for presenting what was, by many measures, a social progress budget in 2024. It's one that responded to persistent economic inequities, affordability pressures and stubbornly high interest rates. Over consecutive budgets, the government has established durable public goods programs, including first-phase pharmacare, as well as dental care, child care and student nutrition programs that will serve Canadians now and for generations to come.

Nevertheless, the absence of promised employment insurance reform, a program that will serve as the core economic stabilizer for unemployed workers on the path to net zero, is a glaring hole in budget 2024.

Our commentary today will focus on curated elements of Bill C-69, but it by no means constitutes Unifor's full or comprehensive assessment of the legislation.

Unifor supports the proposed Income Tax Act amendments that increase maximum labour expenditures for newsroom employees from $55,000 to $85,000, as well as the proposed increase to the Canadian journalism labour tax credit rate to 35%.

That support extends also to the $10-million capital gains exemption on the sale of a business to an employee ownership trust. These measures provide opportunity for local and national media outlets, keeping them viable and delivering the journalism Canadians need.

In the clean energy and advanced manufacturing sectors, Unifor supports the proposed investment tax credits, including the clean technology manufacturing credit, which already appears to have been instrumental in securing significant future investments in the auto sector.

However, Unifor has stated publicly its desire to see these tax credits developed in a manner that ensures good-quality union jobs. This includes explicit requirements that companies receiving public funds commit to union neutrality covenants. Such a covenant would allow workers to exercise their constitutional right to join a union and collectively bargain free of employer intimidation, threats, harassment and reprisal.