Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.
REAL Women of Canada is a national organization of women from all walks of life and from different backgrounds. Since our incorporation in 1983, we have supported the equality of women and recognize them as interdependent members of society, whether in the family, workplace, or community. We have been united in our concerns for the family, the basic unit of society.
The federal Conservative government is to be commended for recently eliminating some forms of discrimination against the family. Positive developments from a family perspective include pension splitting for retired Canadians, making the spousal tax deduction equal to that of the principal earner, the $2,000 tax credit for parents with children under 18 years of age, raising the basic personal deduction in personal income tax, and the universal child care benefit.
Our first recommendation is to end tax discrimination against the single-income family by income splitting. Federal tax policies still discriminate against the career choice made by women who choose the career of full-time homemaker. The child care expenses deduction program provides $7,000 per year for children under 7 and $4,000 for children 7 to 16 years of age in tax deductions to the double-income family, and it makes no similar provision available to parents living on the salary of one parent and caring for children at home. Day care, such as exists in Quebec, provides institutions with about $10,000 per child for two working parents, with no equivalent amount directed towards the one-income family that cares for children at home. These inequities are based on the false assumption that parent-based child care has no expenses, but in reality all forms of child care have associated expenses.
Public policy should equally assist parents if they choose to care for their own children in the home environment. Child care costs exist because children exist, not because both parents work outside the home. One way to correct inequality in family taxation would be to recognize the family unit rather than the individual for tax purposes. Income splitting would address the preferential treatment given to double-income families.
Our second recommendation is that the universal child care benefit should be increased as it funds parents directly rather than costly institutions. It is essential that child care legislation support a flexible system so that Canadian families can make their own decisions in balancing work and family, including having one parent care full time for family needs.
Our third recommendation is to convert special interest funding to tax relief. Status of Women, for example, has an objective that states equality and “the full participation of women in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada”. This is their objective. Unfortunately, this is interpreted to exclude the contribution made by women who offer care and formation at home for their children, family members with health problems, and elderly relatives. This is a serious bias. We have called for the disbanding of this agency for many years. No single government agency or ideology can represent the views of all Canadian women, as no single agency or ideology can represent Canadian men. In order to provide a level playing field for all groups, to avoid government-initiated discrimination, and to decrease unnecessary government spending and duplication of provincial services, the federal government should end all special interest funding.
We have provided ample background information in our brief in support of all these recommendations.
In conclusion, we believe that the family, which is the foundation of a nation, should be central to the formation of all public policy. Government decisions, especially regarding tax and social policy, must be fair and equally beneficial to all Canadians.
In light of recent general awareness of a demographic deficit combined with an aging population, it is important that the government give prime consideration to the family unit and its invaluable contribution to the well-being of all segments of society. We have many references in our brief to studies that support our position.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.