Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the elected representative of the constituents of Calgary Southeast and as such I speak for and with them.
Having said that and anticipating this debate, I not only tracked the calls and letters that came to me, but I also conducted a poll in my riding. Of those polled, 58 per cent opposed the government's proposed tax rollback. I am pleased to bring their collective wisdom and opinions to the debate today.
The motion before us has three components. I will speak in particular to the amendments to the Tobacco Sales to Young Persons Act. I do have some personal thoughts and insights I would like to bring to bear as well. Before doing that, it is critical to consider what this legislation is intended to accomplish.
The government alleges it is concerned with the massive smuggling problem facing our country today. Therefore Bill C-11 has been put forward by the government as part of a national action plan to combat smuggling. This legislation and the accompanying plan to combat smuggling tell me four things.
First, the legislation shows that the Government of Canada cannot enforce its own laws. Second, it shows that the influence of the tobacco industry is highly sophisticated and tremendously powerful. Third, Bill C-11 shows us that the deficit is not a concern of the federal government. Fourth, the legislation clearly shows that the federal government has little appreciation for the health and welfare of Canada's youth.
I will deal with the first point, that the Government of Canada shows us it cannot enforce its own laws. The government admits there is a substantial problem with smuggling, that people are going outside the law to maximize their own personal profits. However instead of strictly enforcing the laws as they now exist, the government chooses to change them. This is a vain hope. This legislation may put an end to the high level of tobacco smuggling but it is a half measure and will not stop the smuggling.
I believe in a good challenge to any debate. My first challenge to the government is this: Why was the law so poorly enforced that new measures are now required? Will these make the new law any easier to enforce?
My next challenge questions the influence of the tobacco industry. This highly sophisticated and powerful lobby has finally succeeded in getting the government to backtrack on the largest contributing factor to the decrease in tobacco sales. That was high taxes on tobacco products. The people of Canada are already cynical and have lost faith in the credibility of the government. How will the government restore that faith given that it appears to have bowed to the pressure of the tobacco industry's lobby efforts?
The federal government in proposing Bill C-11 will forgo revenue in an attempt to stop smuggling. In so doing the federal government makes it clear that our deficit and our debt are not priorities.
The Prime Minister admitted that in 1994-95 alone the government expects to lose $300 million in revenue because of the reduction in tobacco taxes. The Prime Minister goes on to suggest the health promotion surtax on profits of tobacco manufacturers will generate some $200 million over three years. The government release on the action plan to combat smuggling suggests this $200 million will fund a range of health promotion activities, including measures to reduce smoking. This sounds fine and good, but who will pay for it?
The government estimates the tax revenue lost to be $300 million in the first year alone. It then asserts it will generate $200 million from taxes on the tobacco industry. These numbers are questionable to me. At best there will be a shortfall of $100 million, not including the further cost of the health promotion programs the government says are a priority. This immediate shortfall of $100 million is substantial but does not compare to the health costs to be incurred under the plan.
By reducing taxes we are encouraging existing smokers to smoke more and we are making it easier for new smokers to get hooked on the habit. Smokers will add further strain to our health care system. They do not require care today, but 10 to 15 years from now the government will regret the day of this decision.
Studies and experience over the past few decades have proven there is a direct correlation between smoking and heart disease and smoking and cancers of the lung, the oesophagus, the mouth, the tongue and the larynx. It has also been shown that smoking has a detrimental effect on unborn children.
What will be the eventual financial cost? The numbers just do not work for this program.
The third challenge to the government is to decide how best to address the problem of the deficit without complex tax alternatives. This is not a solution to cigarette smuggling; quite frankly it is just blowing smoke.
My fourth point is that Bill C-11 shows that the federal government really has very little concern for the health and welfare of the nation's youth. Taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products were high for a reason: they brought the government revenue. More than that statistics showed that high taxes directly correlated to a decrease in tobacco sales especially among our youth. Simply put, cigarettes became too expensive.
Health and Welfare Canada states that when the price of tobacco products rises by 10 per cent, sales to adults drop by 4 to 9 per cent. More significant, sales to teenagers drop by 10 per cent to 14 per cent.
This legislation has some very serious implications for the health of our nation, particularly our youth. Dr. Robert Allen is the Canadian professor of economics who contends that if the tax cut to the price of tobacco in Quebec is implemented in the rest of Canada it will result in 840,000 more smokers and 175,000 of them will be teenagers.
The government contends that it has a plan that will keep our youth from smoking. The idea, as I see it, is to keep cheap cigarettes out of the hands of our young people. The government, however, chooses to change a plan that was working well. Smoking was on the decline in Canada and young people including my daughter were being discouraged from smoking.
My daughter, despite objections and at first unknown to us, began smoking at the age of 12. She would smoke several packages a week and nothing we said or did made any difference. When we travelled in the United States she would buy cheap cartons of American cigarettes and smoke like a chimney until they were gone. However, back home again she was back to her usual habit of a couple of packs a week. She could not afford the high cost of cigarettes.
As these costs have increased, her usage has decreased. It saddens me to think that a government action will now further encourage my daughter's smoking addiction.
The government proposes another idea to reduce the number of young people smoking and that is banning the kiddie pack. I believe this idea to be ridiculous. As a young constituent working in a local gas station confided, mostly it is the older people who buy kiddie packs. The cool kids buy packs of 25 and not kiddie packs.
There will always be a part of our population that tries to beat the rules, and undoubtedly the moral hazard will take its toll on this legislation. If young people want cigarettes, and thanks to Bill C-11 they will be able to afford them, they will be able to get them. They will lie in bed at night thinking about how. This
government has only increased the age of prohibition and even that becomes irrelevant when there is no commensurate will to enforce it.
There has only been one measure that has worked in minimizing the access of our youth to tobacco products, high taxes. I challenge members opposite me and all my colleagues on this side of the House to recognize the wisdom of this measure. As a young adult recently said to me, the government should raise taxes on those things that are bad for us and lower taxes on those things that are good for us.
Governments must recognize their social responsibility to our youth. When this happens, parents like me can say thanks.