Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here this afternoon to debate this motion tabled by the member for Mississauga South.
The motion reads:
That, in the opinion of this House, the government should consider amending the Income Tax Act to provide a Care-Giver Tax Credit for those who provide care in the home for pre-school children, the disabled, the chronically-ill or the aged.
It is, of course, a very valid proposal, a step in the right direction, and we can all subscribe to its objective.
The motion proposes that the government augment its existing tax credit system for caregivers. This motion, because it identifies preschool children, the disabled, the chronically ill and the aged is not unlike some of the proposals I have made in the past. I would be hard pressed not to support my colleague and that is what I intend to do philosophically in the direction in which he is going.
I want to review some of the things we have in place today. There are a number of very laudable programs that not everyone is aware of. These were reviewed by the hon. member for St. Paul's but I want to share some of them briefly with my colleagues.
With respect to the disabled and the aged, the disability tax credit is aimed at benefiting those with a severe and prolonged mental or physical impairment. There is also medical expense tax credit which provides assistance to those with exceedingly difficult medical expenses. This credit benefits families helping to care for elderly or disabled relatives. There is the infirm dependant credit which helps to reduce the federal tax for supporting relatives.
With respect to preschool children the child care expense deduction assists parents with modest incomes with child care expenses. The supplement to the child tax benefit assists those who remain at home to raise their children. It is a form of assistance to families with modest incomes who have to stay at home to care for their young children without utilizing child care. There is the working income supplement, a non-taxable benefit which helps low income working families with child care expenses and transportation costs.
I believe we need to offer credits to assist caregivers. In fact as I indicated previously I have suggested motions which deal with tax credits in the past.
I think the purpose of this motion is very commendable and that each of us agrees, at least in principle, on the necessity of providing such assistance. On the other hand, there may be different ways of dealing with this issue.
In the past I proposed a motion to change the child related tax benefits and child care deductions. I felt that they should be based on need irrespective of care. I also proposed a motion that was aimed at assisting single income families. I thought this was particularly important and I still do so today.
Our tax system is continually evolving to meet the changing needs of our population. Let us look at this motion specifically. Some people have suggested that it may not be specific enough and that the motion may not have sufficient details so that we can deal with it appropriately.
I want to share with my colleagues a couple of observations with respect to experiences I have had recently in dialoguing with fellow Canadians and experts of different disciplines who have a great deal of knowledge about our Canadian population.
I had the good fortune to meet with a number of individuals of diverse backgrounds to discuss the future of government in Canada. We wanted to see how government might operate and how it might respond even more sensitively than it does now to changing needs. Clearly that could be done if we had a better picture of how the Canadian population is changing.
I must confess these discussions have been rather fascinating. A number of themes emerged during this exchange, but one of the common threads that came about was the flexibility of government.
Without this great flexibility, whether it be at the federal, provincial or municipal level, we will have serious problems. Why? Because it is obvious that the needs of the population vary greatly from region to region. It is true that there are common needs, but it is also true that, depending on the population, the needs can vary considerably from province to province, from region to region, from territory to territory.
Interestingly, the discussions have identified numerous support mechanisms, some of which are very innovative. We have to stop thinking that it is only the federal, provincial and municipal governments that can assist citizens. There are a number of organizations out that that do laudable work with very little investment from Canadians, that is very little investment relatively speaking. However, I am targeting that which we refer to as community groups. We need to take a look at that and see what else they might provide in services to improve the quality of life of all Canadians who need special assistance.
When I talk about support I am using the term loosely. I do not say that pejoratively, but in a very broad sense because it can mean a lot of things. It can mean flexibility, which I have already mentioned, in the workplace to allow time, for example, away during difficult periods without the threat of a job loss. It can mean the expansion of health care services to provide better, long term care in the community and elsewhere. It can mean flexibility to the CPP. It clearly could mean tax credits, but these are not the only solutions.
I guess where I am at right now, I would argue that a study would need to be carried out to examine exactly what the $1.4 billion in existing assistance means to Canadians. Do they know that this is happening? Are they sufficiently familiar with these programs? Are individuals currently aware of what credits for which they are all eligible? Is the current system being utilized appropriately? We have talked about some people misusing the system but there are a number of people, which I think has been documented, who are not aware of the systems and programs that exist.
When we look at this holistically, we need to ask where the gaps are. Clearly there must be some. There are weaknesses in the system. What measures are required to fill these gaps and be more responsive to Canadians and their needs? Maybe tax credits are required. Perhaps there are other solutions that need to be explored.
Basically, the point I want to make this afternoon is that it is a good idea as such, an idea we all support. However, before going any further, we should look at all the programs I have mentioned and others in order to determine how well they meet the needs for which they were designed. Then we will be able to determine if the system is deficient, if certain programs need to be strengthened, changed, eliminated or replaced.
What my colleague is proposing is simple, but it is something that we should do only after having reviewed all programs, after having gained a better understanding of the needs of Canadians across the country and after having made sure that future changes in the Canadian population are taken into account in the measures we propose.
You certainly know-if I am not mistaken, we are talking about a population over 65 years of age representing 11 or 12 per cent of the total population in Canada-that the senior population is expected to double over the next thirty years or so. Women, who already live longer than men, are expected to live even longer. And even men will also live longer.
What does that means as it relates to health, entertainment, work? What does it means when we look at this new Canadian population which will be different from what it is today?
Incidentally, I should point out that this solution is not so different from what can be found in a number of European countries.
I suggest that we keep in mind the idea put forward by my colleague from Mississauga South until we have an opportunity to thoroughly review all the programs. We can then look at the shortcomings and determine if changes are required, if some of the
programs should be altered or if the solution proposed by the hon. member is the best alternative.
And this concludes my remarks.