Finance committee  —you can put it across to them. I think the principle is if you give the money to charity, that money won't be taxed. If you achieve that, then you make it much easier.

Finance committee  It's a question of motivation. If you want to do some tax planning, some work with charitable donations, and the person with the money, let's say an elderly entrepreneur who's run a mill or a small business in a community, if that person's eyes glaze over and he goes “Oh, my head's going to explode”—

Finance committee  Yes. Campaigns don't have to cost one trillion dollars. As we saw with the success of the NDP in Quebec, many of these members didn't spend a dime to be elected, but that's what the people of Quebec wanted. Maybe we don't need to spend money on robo-calls and polling.

Finance committee  I don't—

Finance committee  Yes. Absolutely you shouldn't treat yourselves better than the Cancer Society.

Finance committee  There's no question that lower taxes will have a salutary effect on charitable giving. It already has. There's no question that the tax regime in Canada, the tax reductions that have been implemented already, have done a tremendous amount to support employment and the ability of Canadians and Canadian companies to support charity, especially when you compare it with other countries in the G-7 and with the United States.

Finance committee  Recently we've done some work on employment insurance. There's a study out from the Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation graduate school, at the University of Toronto. They make the point that the most popular things the Government of Canada does are things from which all Canadians benefit equally.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. On behalf of our 70,000 supporters from coast to coast, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation would like to thank you for inviting us to today's discussion on tax incentives for charitable donations. We're the largest and oldest taxpayers advocacy group in the nation.

Human Resources committee  Yes. In practical terms, it sounds as if we're going to save the federal government about a million dollars in employment insurance benefits. As you've mentioned, the provinces are not well equipped to provide training or income support for these individuals when they get out. By the same token, individuals who are in the correctional system, we must remember that they have the same opinions as the victims.

Human Resources committee  That is true, but we feel that the women are not in the correctional system just because they're poor. There are other causes, notably drug and substance abuse. We also have systemic issues in our prisons. That is a fact. We all know very well, for instance, that the aboriginal population is quite high and that aboriginal women are part of this group.

Human Resources committee  Bill C-316 is a private member's bill, standing in the name of Mr. Harris, with government support. My studies on the subject demonstrate that the maternal support system certainly has a better reputation in the developed world than the employment insurance system does. I was unaware that mothers were not entitled to receive benefits, as you stated.

Human Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is Gregory Thomas. I'm the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. We are Canada's largest and oldest taxpayers advocacy group. We've been around for over 20 years. We have over 70,000 supporters across Canada. Periodically you may get e-mails or phone calls from some of our supporters on different issues.

Transport committee  Thank you, sir.

Transport committee  We believe that as long as the feds continue to collect excise tax on motor fuels those revenues should only go to roads and bridges and transportation infrastructure, or else for sure it'll go into CUPE pay raises and half-million dollar salaries for city executives, and the rest of it will get siphoned off into the black hole which is city governance in this country.

Transport committee  Well, I think if you put yourself in the shoes of someone who's not an expert in government and is standing outside that community centre, or that facility in Mississauga, you will find they have no idea who built it. They have no idea who's responsible. There's no direct responsibility.