Mr. Speaker, there are close to 1 million small and medium sized businesses in Canada. Many of them are manufacturers; others are exporters or importers.
To stimulate the economy and promote job creation, the government has considered the demands and needs of small business and introduced Bill C-102, an act to amend the Customs Act and the Customs Tariff and to make related and consequential amendments to other acts.
I am pleased to support this bill. In summary, the bill before us would reduce tariffs on a broad range of goods used as inputs in Canadian manufacturing operations, which would bring our tariffs closer to those of the U.S. It would also reduce tariffs on certain finished goods, as requested by Canadian manufacturers. In addition, this bill would enact changes to streamline and consolidate Canada's duty deferral programs-duty drawback, bonded warehousing and inward processing-and to make them more accessible to all manufacturers. These changes are aimed at making Canadian industry more competitive by reducing input and administrative costs and easing the pressure on business cash flow.
The changes to duty deferral programs will allow the regions to market more effectively the programs competing with U.S. free trade zones in order to bring investors to Canada and keep them here.
This enactment also increases the value of goods travellers can bring back to Canada with them after an absence abroad. This will bring Canadian travellers' exemptions into line with those of our major trading partners and, for administrative purposes, ease border congestion so that customs is able to focus on smuggling and the growing number of commercial importations. It is also a positive step toward the recently signed Canada-U.S. accord on our shared border.
Other amendments to the customs tariff and the Customs Act contained in the bill are aimed at clarifying the intent of certain legislation or involve changes to make the tariff framework clearer and more predictable for Canadian companies and the importing community. These changes should improve efficiency and reduce the cost of doing business in Canada. One change will result in higher tariffs and the withdrawal of the duty free British preferential tariff rate on rubber footwear to protect Canadian production and jobs.
The bill would also amend the Access to Information Act in order to protect the confidentiality of information on taxpayers provided by importers pursuant to the Customs Act, the Customs Tariff, and the Special Import Measures Act.
Some of the provisions in Bill C-102 result from the government's review of Canada's tariff system, as announced in the 1994 budget. Their purpose is to ensure that Canada remains a good place for producing goods and that Canadian investors and businesses, including small businesses, are in a better position to benefit from the free trade agreements between Canada and other countries.
Some changes such as the improvement of duty deferral programs and the reduction of tariffs on manufacturing inputs are designed to lower the cost of inputs for business and to maintain and increase the competitiveness of Canadian business on domestic and international markets.
Bill C-102 contains some technical changes to simplify, clarify and update the Customs Tariff and its administration and to make tariff reduction programs more accessible to and cheaper for business.
The changes to facilitate the processing of travellers at border crossings will allow Revenue Canada, Customs to focus on other important border issues such as smuggling and the need to process an increasing volume of Canadian imports.
Several of the amendments in Bill C-102 were made following consultations with business and meet their demand for help in facing the competition.
The measures adopted in the bill will provide $60 million in import tariff relief to Canadian manufacturers to level the playing field with NAFTA trading partners in tariff reductions.
They will position Canadian businesses with the duty deferral program to more easily attract investment and compete in expanding world markets with a minimum of custom overhead. They will provide opportunities for provincial and municipal governments to enrich the duty deferral program with local incentives.
They will improve service to travellers through the simplification of customs procedures and allow customs to focus on smuggling and commercial importations.
In the current economic context and given the value of the Canadian dollar at this time, we have here a tremendous opportunity to encourage our industries, our small and medium sized businesses, and our people as workers and consumers. Everyone would benefit from this bill and I am pleased to see that on this day, the day after the referendum, all the parties sitting in this House support this bill.
This bill will benefit all Canadians, including small businesses and manufacturers in my riding of Carleton-Gloucester, and I commend all those who worked on it in committee. I will gladly vote in favour of this bill.