Thank you. Good morning and bonjour.
The Fraser Valley KAIROS group represents a group of committed people from the faith community. We are not experts in the field of economics and competitive international business, but merely deeply concerned citizens. Like most Canadians, we believe in the values of family, community, true justice, equity, and fairness.
There are some issues that weigh heavily on our hearts. You are interested in what Canadians have to say about keeping Canada competitive in today's economy. No doubt you've heard from many more learned than I on these issues, but we wonder what your plans are for tomorrow's economy and how you plan to measure its success.
There are two points here: one, how do we, as a nation, measure the well-being of our citizens in an all-inclusive way, beyond the indices of the GDP; and two, is our current economic model truly sustainable for our long-terms needs? When I say long-term, I mean well beyond the next general election, and forward-thinking for the next several generations of Canadians. Perhaps we can enhance our national stature even more by being a nation that can lead in new and innovative ways. We must find another way to measure success than by just how much money we generate. Surely you'll all agree that there is more to life than just how much money you make.
There are many wonderful aspects to life in Canada; however, there are also deeply troubling conditions. The fact that it is necessary for our little church, Langley United, to feed hungry children at a local elementary school is unacceptable to us. These types of activities go on across our country every day, and honestly, we sometimes feel overwhelmed by all of this.
But we have hope. There is a project so inspiring it involves some federal agencies already, and both the private and non-profit sectors, and it has already finished its first round of public consultations to determine how Canadians want to see their well-being reflected in a set of indices. It is known as the Canadian Index of Wellbeing, and details about this new tool to measure what counts are outlined in our brief.
Our primary focus is on policy reforms in the following areas: a streamlining of national standards for professional services to enable new immigrants to participate at their skill level sooner rather than later; banning the new coal-fired power station that B.C. is planning, including a federal ban on the building of all carbon-emitting power generation systems.
Add to that a tax on all existing carbon-emitting power generation systems, with all tax revenues going directly toward R and D of green energy production; a cash or tax incentive of $1,500 for every person who purchases a new vehicle that gets an increase of 5 kilometres per litre over their previous one; broadening the federal child fitness tax credit to include participation in drama, music, and the arts; increasing the basic personal exemption to $15,000 and changing the highest tax bracket so that it begins for those earning over $100,000; removing bureaucratic red tape so that one government agency can oversee grants and subsidies for housing.
Commit to giving back to poorer Canadians 1% of our prosperity towards housing grants, interest-free mortgages, or some such hand-up.
Withhold funding for any aspect of the Pacific Gateway project that funds the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge or increases the lanes of Highway 1.
Federal funding must be tied to public transit. Ten years ago Environment Canada reported that nearly 100 people died prematurely as a result of air pollution in the Fraser Valley. This is unacceptable. The federal environment act states: “projects are considered in a careful and precautionary manner in order to ensure that such projects do not cause significant adverse environmental effects.”
Finally, we believe water is a sacred gift to all. While we live in a boreal forest here, we have recently undergone a long drought, which culminated in the mayor of Tofino, on Vancouver Island, closing the town's business over the Labour Day weekend for lack of water, causing significant financial losses.
Global weather patterns are changing, and that is a reality. This government must put resources into developing long-term water strategies that ensure that Canadians have access to this life-giving resource for all the generations that will follow. Water is too valuable to be commodified and must remain in the public trust.
Thank you for your time and attention.