Mr. Speaker, I also want to make a comment and ask a question of the member for Brant. First I want to offer her my congratulations on her election to this place and for her speech and comments.
I want to get the reaction of the member for Brant on some information released yesterday by the Canadian Life and Health Insurances Association of Canada, which voiced some concern about federal taxation of group health and dental insurance.
The information put forward yesterday was to the effect that the government is seriously considering taxing group health insurance and dental insurance. This insurance is paid by employers in a lot of instances for about nine million working Canadians. It benefits about 20 million Canadians, I understand, according to the information, families across this country who receive these benefits.
My understanding is that this would be a pretty important tax grab. The association has offered some numbers from its research. It indicates that for a worker who has no dependents earning $25,000 per year the impact of this tax measure would be about $275 a year in additional income tax. It goes on to say that a family with one bread winner who earns about $40,000 a year would pay $425 in additional income tax on the same taxable benefit.
I will just finish the quote: "For a two income household with $80,000 a year it would be $700 more in additional taxes a year". That is a pretty big increase, even for retired people.
My question for the member for Brant is the following. If there is going to be a debate in this country about health insurance and how we apply it, and I understand that is what the government intends to do, would it not make more sense to have the people and employers involved in the industry participate in that debate before such a dramatic tax grab takes place that will affect 20 million people and nine million working men and women?