Mr. Chair, thank you.
I'm the vice-president of public affairs of the new organization formed by the recent merger of the Association of Canadian Academic Healthcare Organizations and the Canadian Healthcare Association. We represent the institutional voice for research hospitals, regional health authorities, their research institutes, community hospitals, and long-term care facilities. For the past four months we have been known under the hyphenated version of our two names, and I invite you to stay tuned for the announcement of our new name on June 1.
The association is pleased to have been invited to appear before the committee to participate in the study of the main estimates and, more specifically, to discuss clauses 56 to 60 of Bill C-31, concerning hospital parking and GST/HST.
In budget 2013, supplies of paid parking were deemed to be taxable, whether provided by the private or public sector, including charities, as it was perceived that all supplying of paid parking was determined to be a commercial activity in order to maintain competitive equity with private sector suppliers. It should be noted that, since the introduction of the GST, paid parking has been excluded from the general exempting provision for supplies made by a public sector body, PSB, for the purposes of the GST/HST. A PSB is a municipality, university, public college, school authority, hospital authority, charity, non-profit organization, or government.
Budget 2013 proposed two measures to clarify that certain special exempting provisions—supplies of the property or service that are made for free, or occasional supplies of paid parking by a PSB such as those made as part of a special fundraising event—would continue to qualify for the exemption.
The Association of Canadian Academic Healthcare Organizations, on behalf of our members and the broader hospital community, immediately brought the implications of such measures to the attention of the Minister of Finance and through him, to the government. To the credit of the minister and the government, implementation of these budget 2013 elements was delayed. Mr. Flaherty and his staff recognized the unintended consequences that they were being apprised of required further analysis. As well, the government recognized that these measures, at the very least, required more consultation. We assisted the government in this consultation process, and we thank them for that opportunity.
A large number of hospitals across the country, although not all, had their foundations or auxiliaries as the operators of their parking facilities. These additional revenues contributed greatly to their donation envelopes for research, medical devices, medical equipment, patient care, and other important items that hospitals and research institutes require, all in the service of better care, better health, better value for the population they serve. In addition, it had been noted that the impact was not just the GST but the full HST where harmonization had taken place.
The late Minister Flaherty's announcement, on January 24, that the proposed amendments to the Excise Tax Act to provide an exemption from the goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax, GST/HST, for hospital parking for patients and visitors was welcome news to the health care community, and for the most part would reverse the budget 2013 proposed measures.
We are very pleased to see these amendments reflected in sections 56 to 60 of Bill C-31, and urge the members of the committee to approve these sections.
I am happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you.