Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to take part in this opposition day, which we have set aside to consider an issue that, in my opinion, is extremely important and should concern all parliamentarians who still believe in social justice and reject the status quo.
May I remind you that what we are discussing is an in-depth review of the tax system. We will not be satisfied with half-measures in light of three basic facts.
The first basic fact-which I would like to dedicate to my good friend, the hon. member for Longueuil-is that, as we speak, only 11.8 per cent of federal taxes, not the GDP but the government's tax revenue, comes from businesses. On the other hand, 60 per cent of federal tax revenue comes from individual Canadians like you and me.
So it is fair to say that corporate Canada does not contribute to the public purse as much as it could.
The second and probably most important fact is that-as strange as this may seem, as this would not be tolerated at the individual level although it is possible at the corporate level-there are now 40,000 profitable businesses that do not pay any taxes. I am not talking about the little convenience store where you go buy a candy bar before going to bed, but about profitable businesses. There are 40,000 companies that do not pay taxes and we know them.
If a member really wants to raise a point of order later on to ask me to table these figures, I am prepared to do so, because it is professor Lauzon, from the Université du Québec, in Montreal, who examined this whole issue.
We now get to the third variable-and I sense that some members are getting a little worked up-which is just as important. We are discussing taxation in a context where some individuals and some corporations make excessive profits. When we rise in this
House, we should never forget that some businesses are making excessive profits. I will, of course, use the example of the major banks.
Would you believe that, in the 1994-95 fiscal year alone, the six major chartered banks in Canada made profits of $5.8 billion? These unprecedented profits were made by very important corporate citizens that are getting richer. However, that does not stop them from laying off large numbers of employees.
These are the three premises that have convinced the opposition that we raised a real issue by asking Parliament to look into this matter.
Let me be clear: I do believe that it is legitimate to make profits. I do not agree, for instance, with the philosophy of the British Labour Party after the second world war, which wanted banks to be nationalized.
I admit that in our system it is desirable and legitimate for individuals to invest and make profits. But I believe we have reached the point of no return, where the people of Canada and Quebec are truly convinced that something illegitimate is taking root. There is a feeling that some people are not doing their part, that they are not contributing their fair share to the public coffers.
I would like to throw out a challenge to the government. I am strongly tempted to throw it to the hon. member for Outremont. Just imagine, the member for Outremont, a lawyer, is shamelessly courting the business community. To the member for Outremont, who at this period in his life is discovering the business community through the responsibilities entrusted to him by the Prime Minister-and I take this opportunity to congratulate him-I would throw the following challenge: Just imagine, the United States, a rather fertile ground for business, has a law, passed by Congress in 1977, called the Community Reinvestment Act. This law is really quite extraordinary and should inspire us as parliamentarians, because it lets regulatory bodies evaluate banks.
There are four bodies, which I will enumerate for the edification of the hon. member for Outremont. There is the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the director of the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Comptroller of the Currency.
In the United States, there is a law under which the four supervisory agencies I have just mentioned evaluate banks contemplating interstate expansions or mergers. An evaluation is made of the degree to which these banks have made credit available in their immediate community.
I represent a relatively disadvantaged community. There are people in my community without enough money to open a bank account. Could we not, as parliamentarians in Canada, give some thought to the effort that banks must make in the communities of which they are a part?
The effort that could be required of them would be to review the availability of credit. Not only could the availability of credit be reviewed-I do not hear the hon. member for Outremont, but I know he is anxious to ask me a question and I am already dying to answer him-but partnerships could be established between the banks and disadvantaged sectors. This is something that is within our reach.
Occasionally, the hon. member for Outremont attends the committee on industry, although not with his past attendance record, and from time to time he has been known to make contributions that are always noteworthy. The paradox lies in the fact that, for two years in committee, we studied the connections between banks and small business, without every questioning the concept of profit, and without ever looking at how the six major chartered banks in Canada could manage to take a more active role in the communities in which they are located. By so doing, they would contribute to a more equitable taxation system.
I truly believe that, if we want to address this seriously, there is something very, very important that must be examined. I could even give the hon. member for Outremont a piece of news by saying that, if the opportunity permits, it is very tempting to introduce a private bill, one which he might very well support in his capacity as a member, and even as a minister.
Allow me to give you an example of what happened with the Community Reinvestment Act in the U.S. In 1985, an agreement was signed between the Boatmen's National Bank of St. Louis and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, in which the bank in question agreed to provide mechanisms for mortgages and home improvement loans.
Mr. Speaker, that meant lower administration fees for disadvantaged communities. When I think of taxation, this is the type of approach that interests me. You will never see me here attacking those who make profits, but I can always be counted on to speak out in debate to encourage them not to forget that they are part of a community and that it is very important for them to make an effort to plough as much as possible back into that community.