Hello. My name is Jackie MacDonald. I'm from the social responsibility committee of the Capital Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Victoria.
I would like to thank the chair and all the members of the Standing Committee on Finance for this opportunity to address you.
The points that follow are highlights from our written submission.
The criteria that should guide changes to government revenue should be fairness, ability to pay, environmental sustainability, and social impacts. Future tax policy based on these criteria will do more to create prosperity than the current tax policy, which has not addressed the growing gap between the rich and the poor.
Studies by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the OECD, show that prosperity is achieved by providing adequate income, housing, health care, education, and other infrastructure. Federal tax cuts in recent decades have created negative impacts in all of these areas.
We believe that corporate taxation should be based on activity in Canada, particularly with respect to multinationals, to prevent the shifting of tax responsibility to other countries or jurisdictions that may have lower rates. If you assume that corporations are ultimately owned by individuals, then they have a responsibility to contribute to the economic, social, and environmental objectives of Canada and should not be able to delay this indefinitely by sheltering income within a corporation.
Grants or subsidies should be based on assessments of a corporation's environmental and social impact, as well as its economic impact, as is the case with the environmental assessments that are currently required for major capital projects. This would eliminate subsidies to the fossil fuel sector and would provide more tax dollars for such appropriate uses as renewable energy.
The level of corporate taxation should not be based on what is competitive with other countries if this means that an inappropriate contribution is made toward Canada's environmental, social, and economic objectives; Canadian society should not be driven to the lowest common denominator of other jurisdictions. A fair level of taxation should be based on the economic, social, and environmental policies agreed to by the electorate through genuine consultation. To that end, tax cuts should not be used as a vote-buying mechanism when there is obvious need, based on consultation.
Accounting rules should be changed so that all financial statements include a triple bottom line; in other words, if a corporation had a negative environmental or social impact, they would pay more tax.
In addition, we believe in creating a carbon tax in order to encourage the reduction of greenhouse gases. One way or another, the true cost of goods and services needs to be reflected in their price. Failing to implement a system with true costs will delay the changes needed to avoid disastrous climate change until it is too late.
This is an urgent challenge that demands immediate action. We need leaders who have the courage to step up, who care for their children's future more than short-term economic growth or the next election. We can't afford to wait for others to lead the way; we must lead the way. What legacy will you leave? How will you be remembered?
I deeply appreciate the opportunity to make this presentation. Thank you for listening.