Mr. Speaker, today we are discussing and debating Bill C-102, an act to amend the Customs Act and the customs tariff and make related and consequential amendments to other acts. It is a fairly large bill and there are some pretty good items in here. I would like to address a few of them.
The Reform Party favours and supports Bill C-102. This bill reduces tariffs on a broad range of goods used as inputs in Canadian manufacturing and operations and on certain finished goods. It enacts changes to streamline and consolidate Canada's duty deferral programs and make them more accessible to all manufacturers. It increases the amount of goods that Canadians can bring home from abroad. I will get back to that more specifically later.
Overall, this bill reflects all Canadian tariffs where previously the tariff was higher than the U.S. level. This of course was a requirement in the NAFTA agreement and allows us to compete on an equal footing with the United States.
This bill sets the framework for establishing free trade zones within Canada. By streamlining regulations regarding tariffs, cities or other regions are now able to provide additional incentives to set up a free trade zone. This allows free trade zones to be set up and funded under the auspices of local rather than the federal government, that level of government closest to the people. It is a philosophy and a theory we support. It eliminates the duplication of services among federal, provincial and municipal governments. It even gets communities involved and is something that is headed in the right direction.
Other tariff reductions in the bill are part of a biannual review of Canadian tariffs and are a result of ongoing consultations with various industries and other requests to lower tariffs to increase the competitiveness of Canadian exports.
I would like to say to the taxpayers who are listening to the debate today that this bill gives effect to what they have already been enjoying. It often baffles me how we can be doing things when the law has not yet been passed, but we are out there in the marketplace doing it. I do not know how it works. Nevertheless, this is a measure my party supports.
For those taxpayers who are listening, this is a bill that increases the limits when they go to the United States. If Canadian citizens are out of the country for not less than 24 hours they can bring home $50 worth of product. If they are out for 48 hours it is $200, and if it is not less than seven days it is $500.
Reformers support Bill C-102 because it reduces tariffs and makes Canadian business more internationally competitive. It is in favour of free trade, as our party has been all along. It started that way and it always will be that way, unlike the government.
Government members argued and said that they were against the NAFTA. They argued and said that they would renegotiate the NAFTA. They argued and said that it is not in the best interests of Canadians. Perhaps the hon. member for Kamloops might have a few more words to say on that topic. However, when they formed the government they reneged on that promise. I recall that they indicated in the red book that they would look at the NAFTA. I believe the government made the right decision. It was wise for them to change their minds. It was wise to break that promise. It did Canadians a favour and we will benefit from it in the long term.
Of all the tariff changes, and there are well over 1,500, there is only one increase in tariff; all the others are decreases. In case the finance minister wants to buy a pair to present his next budget, the increase is on rubber boots imported from Great Britain. I think he needs a pair of rubber boots. We all know how he keeps digging our debt hole deeper and deeper every day. He believes in digging deeper. He is committed to digging deeper. He is only adding at the rate of 3 per cent of GDP. That is much less than the Conservative government, but it is still in the billions and billions of dollars. He keeps adding to the problem, not solving the problem. I think a pair of boots rather than a pair of shoes might be ideal for the next budget. Why not, in light of our economic situation?
This is an opportunity for me to put in a plug for something I think has to happen. It has to come about. The time has come. There are members on the other side who agree with this and there are members on this side who agree with this. I believe there are even some members of the Bloc Quebecois who agree with it. Whether they are in this country or in another country, they will probably have to look at this as well.
Why not look at the total reform of our taxation system? Simplify it by redistributing the tax base. Broaden the tax base so that we can introduce the lowest possible rate. This sort of taxation system that is being bandied about is called a flat tax. A flat tax is something that should be debated. It is necessary.
The underground economy is growing. We know how strong the underground economy is in Atlantic Canada. We have just come back from there and we know it is operating. We know that it operates here. I know it operates in Calgary. I know it operates in Edmonton. There is no need for that to happen.
Businesses are losing out to American companies. Bills like Bill C-102 help to restore faith in imports and exports. It helps to bring us back to competitiveness. However, because of our complicated income tax system investors are investing outside of Canada at a faster pace than ever before. I hope the government listens and does something about it.
The United States is also looking. The United States initiated the free trade discussions and is looking at ways and means to improve their tax system. The United States already has a lower tax regime than we do. It already has governments that spend less than we do. Our problem is still high spending in this country, and the government will not reduce it fast enough. Eventually, when we get over on the other side, we will be able to solve that problem.
If the United States is going to be looking at a flat tax, we should be doing the same. If we are not working in parallel, if we are not working in unison, we will become uncompetitive and our businesses will not be able to compete. If we do not address this and soon, it will hurt an awful lot of Canadians and this country.
We encourage the government to continue further down the road established by this bill and continue to reduce tariffs to facilitate international trade. The federal government has extensive powers to reduce tariffs further and should continue to do so.
There is one item I just remembered. When the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Finance addressed Bill C-102 he indicated that this bill and also Bill S-9 would help the customs people do a good job and represent us well. When he made that point he gave the impression that our customs officials are right on top of it and doing a good job.
I would like to point out to him two issues and two stories. We read about the spray story in the media where Bob and Ramona Edgerton got rapped on the knuckles for bringing that in. This is another one that sadly distresses me. This happened to a couple who came to Canada on a holiday. It happened at the Huntington-Sumas border crossing. They are in their sixties. They were driving through customs. The official asked if they had anything to declare. As Mr. Edgerton says in his own words:
The sin was, of course, honesty. While files of cars with Canadian plates streamed north unimpeded, I told the customs agent that we had a bottle of wine and a six-pack of beer in the trunk.
He asked what kind of bottle and I told him a "jug". This immediately excited him and he was out of his border hut in a flash-well more like a waddle. Sitting for hours and harassing geriatric tourists doesn't keep one physically fit.
Anyway, he seemed puzzled by the word "jug" (perhaps the term is unknown in Canada) and demanded to see it. I opened the trunk and pointed to a paper sack; therein was a jug of cheap white wine. The agent examined it at length. It was as if it was the Holy Grail had fallen into his hands.
The man replaced the jug and started to scribble on a pad. I started to close the trunk, but he stayed my hand, demanding to examine the six-pack of beer. This he did with the bedazzled look of a person who is viewing a six-pack for the first time.
Then he announced that I could pay duty or abandon these items. I foolishly opted for duty. Inside the office, I encountered another agent who examined the first one's citation and asked if I had a receipt for the wine and beer.
Back I went to the car and after some rummaging actually found a grocery receipt. All this time scores of cars with Canadian plates were streaming northward at a mighty clip. Not a truck was opened, hardly did they pause at the checkpoint.
We know that smuggling of guns and liquor is also a big item with these trucks, so we should have been checking a few of them.
I took the receipt inside, handed it over. The beer and wine had cost just under $12. The agent inside said the duty would be $18. I couldn't believe it! A duty of 150 per cent.
It was then I decided to abandon the potables to the customs people, who next asked me-demanded, actually-that I sign a receipt. I signed something that was written partially in French. I don't read French. I may have agreed to give up my possessions and spend my few remaining years in a penal colony outside Yellowknife. I know not, nor do I care.
What I do know is I shall never willingly return to Canada, which will no doubt please most Canadians. The question then is how to recoup my $12. I thought of poaching a few salmon from the mighty Fraser or spray-painting a police cruiser.
But no. Instead, my plan is to avoid all western Canadian games events, cancel a trip to Vancouver, begin dieting and get out of Canada post haste.
Actually, the customs people-who even now are drinking cheap white wine and quaffing economy beer-have not cost me $12, but saved me hundreds. Oh, Canada.
Doug Walker has gratefully returned to his home in Asheville, North Carolina.
I would not want this government to think that everything it has done, the way it has done it, and how it has done it is perfect. It is not a perfect world. There is work out there to be done. To gloss over events like this hurts Canada and its reputation. I see no need for that kind of action and activity. That division and that department should be looked at.