Bill C-463 (Historical)

Discover Your Canada Act

An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (travel expenses)

This bill is from the 41st Parliament, 1st session, which ended in September 2013.

Sponsor

Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)

Status

Outside the Order of Precedence (a private member's bill that hasn't yet won the draw that determines which private member's bills can be debated), as of May 22, 2013
(This bill did not become law.)

Summary

This is from the published bill.

This enactment amends the Income Tax Act to provide that a deduction from a taxpayer’s income may be made in respect of the expense of purchasing tickets for the taxpayer or a child of the taxpayer for non-business travel by airplane, train or bus if the travel involves crossing at least three different provincial boundaries.

Similar bills

C-303 (40th Parliament, 3rd session) An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (travel expenses)

C-303 (40th Parliament, 2nd session) An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (travel expenses)

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-463s:

C-463 (2019) Putting Victims First Act

C-463 (2010) Prohibition on Importing Goods Produced by Sweatshop Labour Act

C-463 (2009) Prohibition on Importing Goods Produced by Sweatshop Labour Act

C-463 (2007) Pierre Elliott Trudeau Day Act

C-463 (2005) An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act (rebate on goods and services tax on new homes)

C-463 (2004) An Act to amend the Income Tax Act

Votes

May 22, 2013 Failed That the Bill be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

Discover Your Canada ActRoutine Proceedings

November 6th, 2012 / 10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-463, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (travel expenses).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise here today to introduce my private member's bill, the discover your Canada act. The bill seeks to amend the Income Tax Act in order to make travel within Canada more affordable for Canadians by providing income tax deductions on the expense of purchasing tickets for the taxpayer or a dependent child of the taxpayer for non-business travel by airplane, train or bus, if the travel involves crossing at least three different provincial boundaries.

Travellers would receive a 100% deduction for the cost of bus tickets, a 75% deduction for train tickets and a 40% deduction for plane tickets up to a maximum of $1,000 per year, per person.

At almost 10 million square kilometres, Canada is the second largest country in the world. As such, we face challenges trying to foster a sense of connection between our people, since some Canadians live more than 9,000 kilometres apart. The costs of travelling such long distances are often prohibitive, especially due to the fact that travelling a similar distance to either the U.S., Europe or the Caribbean can often be significantly less expensive.

I believe that facilitating travel within Canada is an ideal way to promote Canada's rich cultural diversity and that if it were easier for Canadians to visit distant provinces, it would not only foster a stronger knowledge of our shared history but would also promote a sense of unity and understanding among Canadians who would otherwise seldom interact.

Being a member of Parliament has allowed me to discover my country as I have travelled across Canada by road, sea and rail for various reasons. This has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my job. I would like to make it easier for Canadians to go where I have gone, see what I have seen and meet who I have met. I am sure that if more Canadians have a chance to discover Canada, as I have been fortunate enough to do, our country would be more united than ever.

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