Mr. Speaker, I am very happy today to rise in support of the motions of the member for Gander-Grand Falls. I have always been impressed by him. He is one of those rare individuals who inevitably speaks his mind. He does his homework, analyses legislation and makes up his own mind about whether it is good or bad. For some members that seems to be a rare piece of behaviour.
What is the bill all about? What are the motions all about? I have to go back to Kamloops at the end of this week. Whenever I do that I go to Main Street and have coffee with a few of the folks who ask what has been going on in Ottawa. What has the government been up to? What legislation is before the House? What is the government dealing with? What are the priorities of Parliament and so on and so forth? Part of my responsibility is to reflect as accurately as I can what the priority is. They will be perplexed when I tell them about all of the challenges that confront us as a great nation.
Here we are almost on the eve of a major referendum about the future of the country and there are horrendous economic, social, cultural and environmental problems confronting us from coast to coast. I have to tell my constituents the government's priority at this time is to bring forth a piece of legislation that will benefit only the very wealthiest families in the country in terms of their tax returns.
Just the other day a major report in newspapers across Canada indicated that 75 per cent of Canadians willfully carry out their business transactions in cash to avoid paying income tax or sales tax or whatever. In other words, 75 per cent of Canadians are participating knowingly and up front in the underground economy. Are they doing that because they are tax cheats and because they participate in illegal and unethical activities? No. They have lost faith in the integrity of the tax system of the country. They see all kinds of people who do not pay their fair share.
There are small business investors and small business entrepreneurs who are struggling and who see all kinds of tax breaks going to large corporations but none to them. They are working 60 and 70 hours a week and are struggling to get by, and they see tax breaks going to certain firms, not to small firms, and to certain Canadians but not to the ordinary Canadian.
What does this tax provision do? Let anybody in the House stand up and argue after I sit down, but this is designed for the wealthiest families in the country.
I wish my friend for Broadview-Greenwood were going to vote differently, but at least he is speaking up for what he believes in, which is more than most people in the House are doing on this particular occasion. Why are Canadian taxpayers being now asked to subsidize those families that want to educate their sons and daughters and family members in the United States? That is what this does. That is what the member for Gander-Grand Falls is saying. That is what the provision is.
Those people who are sending their sons, daughters and other family members to American universities will not even have to be on the short list any more. For any college or any university in the United States, tax credits are available for any donations made to the foreign university or college.
Why should struggling Canadian taxpayers and small business operators in the country be subsidizing American colleges and universities? Why should hard working men and women be subsidizing American colleges and universities? It does not even matter what their credentials are. They could be colleges that simply hand out PhDs or masters degrees for the price of a few dollars. Any American college or university is eligible to receive donations from Canadians and they will receive a tax credit for that.
How can my friends in the Reform Party support this kind of provision, which is so unbalanced in terms of fairness? This will cost us money. It will cost the taxpayers of Canada hundreds of millions of dollars every year from now on. If we were a wealthy nation and had all kinds of extra coinage, perhaps we could consider this. I ask my friends in the Reform Party, who remind us regularly about their concern for the deficit and debt of the country, why they are supporting a piece of legislation that will drain hundreds of millions of dollars out of the treasury every single year.
I have been listening carefully to the debate. I could not listen too carefully when the bill was in the Senate because it went so quickly. Quite frankly, it is going awfully fast in the House. It is a tax provision, tax reform for the wealthiest people in the country, for the elite of Canada. Is this our priority? Yes, it is. Is comprehensive tax reform taking place at this time? No, it is not. Is it called for by every single Canadian man, woman, and child in the country? Yes, it is. What are we doing? What is the government doing? The government brings forward a piece of tax reform via the Senate that will harmonize certain corporate tax structures with the United States and bring in provisions that are absolutely astounding.
I would like to hear from my friends opposite before the debate ends why we are subsidizing American colleges. Why are Canadian taxpayers subsidizing American universities? Why do we consider it a priority at this time to give tax breaks of hundreds of millions of dollars to the wealthiest families in Canada?
My friend from Broadview-Greenwood, an individual for whom I have much respect, asks whether it is really a priority at this time to be passing tax legislation that will benefit people who have investments in the United States in excess of $600,000. I
suppose we could feel sorry for these folks. If you have investments over $600,000, the tax system could be more to your advantage. How many Canadians do we know with investments in the United States in excess of $600,000? A lot of people might have a cottage, an apartment in Florida or in California or someplace. How many people are worried today in terms of their financial realities who own $600,000 worth of real estate in the United States or have $600,000 worth of investments in the United States?
I say to my friends opposite in the Liberal Party, is this your priority? Are these the Canadians you want to go to bat for today? What about the people at the food banks who are lining up this afternoon? What about the single parents who are struggling simply to make ends meet? What about the small business operators in this country struggling daily to simply put food on the table for their families? Why are you not bringing in legislation for them?
I am referring to the second amendment which tries to bring at least a shred of credibility to this debate. As my hon. friend from Newfoundland has indicated, it is not perfect; it is sort of half a loaf because it says we are to limit this tax break to the year 2000. I see this as a bit odd, but I think it is at least going to end this particular tax buffoonery that is going to benefit a handful of very wealthy Canadians, at least to the year 2000.
When I go back to Kamloops later this week and I have to explain to the people on Main Street in Kamloops, struggling business people, people who are struggling simply to put food on the table and unfortunately an increasing number who find themselves out of work, jobless, that this somehow is a priority of this Parliament and this government, they will shake their heads in disbelief and say that this place has lost touch with reality, that this place somehow deals in some Walt Disney version of the real world.
I look forward to hearing other participants in the debate explain why on earth this is a priority.
I say in conclusion to my hon. friend from Gander-Grand Falls, thank you for standing up and putting forward two amendments today that will bring at least some sanity to this legislation and indicate on your behalf and a handful of your colleagues your disgust with this legislation as well.