Thank you very much.
I'm Bruce Davis with the Toronto District School Board.
I'm going to apologize in advance for being cranky and for being a little testy this morning. We were up into the wee hours of the morning to cut $84 million from our school budget, so we could balance the budget.
I'm here because we pay $10 million a year in GST, and that makes no sense at all. I'm asking the committee to recommend to the Minister of Finance that the excise tax be amended to rebate 100% of the GST to school boards across Canada. As you probably know, because I've written to many of you and spoken with many of you, we pay GST on heat, light, utilities, pencils, software, computers, and construction. If we build a new school in Toronto, we pay $350,000 in GST. If you build a new prison in Toronto, you pay nothing. This makes no sense at all.
Across Canada, school boards pay $195 million a year. This is an area of exclusive provincial jurisdiction that the federal government is taxing. This makes no sense at all. In 2004, the former Liberal government rebated GST for municipalities. They went part of the way. They didn't do it for school boards.
Let's look. We have cities and school boards side by side. If you're a child who commutes to school in a yellow bus, that bus pays GST. If you're an adult who commutes in a TTC bus, that bus doesn't pay GST on its gas and its operating costs.
Swimming pools. The Toronto District School Board owns and operates 85 swimming pools. We own or operate more swimming pools than anyone in North America. It's a legacy of the way we used to fund programs in the old city. You have a city swimming pool that pays no GST on heat, light, utilities, chlorine, and we have a school board swimming pool that pays GST. We get some rebate, but the net at the end of the day—remember, for us, at the end of the day after rebates, we still pay $10 million a year.
Sports equipment. If you are on a high school team and you buy sports sweaters, you pay GST. If it happens to be a parks and recreation program, you don't pay GST.
There are dozens of excellent public policy rationales for why we should get rid of this. It's a tax on a tax; it's a tax on a provincial area of jurisdiction, poor neighbourhoods. When you look at horizontal equity issues, schools in poor neighbourhoods and rich neighbourhoods pay the same GST in those neighbourhoods. There is no Canada child tax benefit equivalent for school boards.
That's why I'm a little testy this morning. I'm a little cranky.
The opportunity is this. Which party wants to take credit for funnelling money back to our children? We all have this opportunity. Which one of you wants to be the one to say, “What a brilliant idea”? I've had thirty members of Parliament across the country support this concept, some of whom are here today. From coast to coast, caucus to caucus, from Mr. Doyle in Newfoundland to Mr. Epp in Alberta, your colleagues are supporting this. I need you to recommend to the Minister of Finance that he rebate 100% of the GST payable to school boards.
I'm happy to answer any questions.
As you may know, we have a website, www.donttaxourschools.ca, and we have some promotional information, if you need more information. We list all the members of Parliament who are coming on board. It's a little bit out of date, but we're listing, so there are lots of opportunities to spread your name, if you support the campaign.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.