Bill C-529 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Income Tax Act (extra-energy-efficient products)

This enactment promotes greater energy efficiency among Canadian households and businesses by removing the Excise Tax Act requirement for consumers to pay the goods and services tax and harmonized sales tax on the purchase of eligible energy-efficient products and by providing a tax credit under the Income Tax Act for the purchase of those products.

Excise Tax Act

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-529, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Income Tax Act (extra-energy-efficient products).

Mr. Speaker, I rise again to introduce a bill inspired by the second winner of the Vancouver Kingsway Create Your Canada contest, Hansel Fung, from Eric Hamber Secondary School. Hansel's winning entry proposed a system of tax incentives to encourage Canadian families to lower their energy consumption.

This bill would provide financial incentives for individual families to take action to lower their carbon footprint by reducing their energy consumption and use. It would create a GST exemption to lower the price on household appliances deemed by regulation to be extra energy efficient. The existing energy star program helps consumers make informed choices by highlighting energy efficient products, but this bill would go one step further by exempting such products from the GST.

Families would be rewarded for making green choices when they purchase low-energy household appliances and products such as compact fluorescent light bulbs. This bill would also create a tax credit to be claimed at the end of the year, where families could deduct 10% of the cost of the purchase of low-energy appliances.

In his submission, Hansel stated:

With this Bill, I am trying to encourage Canadians to think “green”. This is just an encouragement to think about the environment. This Bill would make Canada “greener”, but not just Canada, the entire world as well. This would give Canada a very good image and set an example for other countries to follow.

I commend Hansel Fung from Eric Hamber Secondary School for his innovative idea and his concern for the future of our planet. I also want to acknowledge the head of the social studies department, Mr. David Smith, for his help and collaboration in promoting the Create Your Canada contest at Eric Hamber Secondary. I ask my hon. colleagues to give Hansel's idea and this bill the support they both deserve.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)