Madam Speaker, after that last speech, I am not sure if we are here talking about the Queen and the monarchy or debating the motion that is presented to us about the Income Tax Act and the Governor General's salary. Either way, I am here to stand and speak in favour of Motion No. 313, which calls on the government to change the Income Tax Act so that the Governor General's salary becomes subject to the general tax regime.
Let us give some background to this motion. It is worth pointing out why the Governor General does not currently pay income tax. The tax exemption dates back to an old understanding that the British government was not able to tax the Crown. This tradition was passed on to the Commonwealth countries, such as Canada. However, in recent years this tradition has been challenged. In 1993, the Queen agreed to voluntarily opt in to the income tax regime in Britain. In 2001, the Australian governor general became subject to the Australian income tax regime. New Zealand followed suit just last year.
The private income of the Governor General, such as pension and income investments, is already subject to income tax. As such, the argument that the government should not tax the Governor General is tenuous at best. Similarly, the lieutenant-governors of all the provinces are subject to the Canadian income tax regime. As such, taxing the salary of the Governor General would meet national and international precedents.
I would like to take a quick opportunity here to pay tribute to the great work of our current Governor General, David Johnston. Mr. Johnston was born in my hometown of Sudbury. I know that people in Sudbury are very proud of Mr. Johnston's achievements. Prior to being named as the Governor General, Mr. Johnston served as the dean of the University of Western Ontario Law School, as the principal and vice-chancellor of McGill University, and then as the president of the University of Waterloo. Like many Sudburians, Mr. Johnston is a hockey fan. He is a very talented hockey player who captained the Harvard varsity hockey team and who was twice named to the all-American hockey team.
The Governor General has in recent weeks been a strong proponent for further investigating concussions in hockey. This is an issue very near and dear to my heart in my role as NDP sport critic. When great Canadian athletes, like Sidney Crosby, spend months on the sidelines and when sport headlines are dominated by who is not playing rather than who is, something is amiss. Sports concussions are a serious issue, not only for superstars, but for amateur and young athletes from coast to coast to coast. I am glad that inspiring Canadians like the Governor General are happy to go on the record about this important issue, which our government seems too happy to ignore.
The point I wish to make here is that it is not incompatible to hold positive views of the Governor General and to believe that his or her income should be subject to income tax. This is not about the Governor General, per se. Rather, at the heart of the matter, this is a question about fairness.
The revenue that the government would receive from taxing the Governor General's income, in terms of the federal budget, is very small. We know that taxing the Governor General's income is not an answer to paying down the government debt. However, what this revenue represents is worth far more than the dollar value. It represents making sure that all Canadians pay their fair share.
I believe in a progressive tax structure, as do all members of the official opposition. In my model of a progressive tax system there is no room for an individual to make $138,000 a year tax free.
This is not a new idea. Since the 35th Parliament convened in 1994, and following the Queen's opt-in to the British income tax system, a number of bills and motions dealing with this exact topic have been introduced in Parliament. However, neither the Liberal nor the Conservative government since that time has seen fit to implement the simple amendment to the Income Tax Act which would close the loophole.
Canada needs a progressive tax system. That has been undermined by both Liberals of the past and the Conservatives. Far too many breaks go to the well off and the influential. Unfortunately, I feel that this Thursday's budget will only continue this trend.
The government's failure to address the concerns of average, hard-working Canadians needs to be addressed. While this motion in itself will not change the government's misdirection, by passing this motion, Parliament can send a message to the government that it is time for an economic strategy that puts hard-working Canadian families first.
Ultimately, in my mind this motion is symbolic. It is a symbol that, during hard economic times, when Canadians are struggling to make ends meet, when young Canadians are finding it increasingly hard to find jobs, when big businesses are getting big tax breaks and families cannot get a break on their bills, we as parliamentarians are here for them and we will do something to help them.
We believe in a tax system that is fair and focused on improving equality and giving a break to people who deserve it, not to people with friends in the right places.
In December of last year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development released a report which stated that since the mid-1990s inequality in Canada has been on the rise.