Mr. Speaker, it gives me pleasure to once again speak on Bill C-70, a bill which obviously is being pushed and driven by the Liberal government to become law, irrespective of a lot of things.
I was looking at a list of items that have been submitted regarding this bill from people who have some expertise and have studied this matter. The Retail Council of Canada said that by forcing stores to bury the new tax in prices, the harmonized tax regime will cost retailers at least $100 million. If that is true, why would a government impose it on businesses that are there to provide jobs?
Another study by the accounting firm Ernst & Young said that a mid-sized national chain with 50 stores in the Atlantic provinces would pay up to $3 million in one-time costs and up to $1.1 million a year to comply with a regional tax in price sales system.
A tax is being imposed on a chain of 50 stores and it will take millions of dollars to implement the program. The Halifax Chamber of Commerce predicts that the harmonized sales tax will push up new house prices by 5.5 per cent and as well will force municipalities to raise property taxes. The Canadian Real Estate Association says harmonization will increase the cost of a new house by $4,000 in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and $3,374 in New Brunswick.
There is the chain Greenberg Stores. Five of them are closing and jobs are being lost. The GST harmonization is responsible for the closure of those stores. One of the Liberal government members said earlier that those stores were in trouble anyway, that it was not the GST harmonization. Part of the reason so many retail stores are in trouble across this land is because of the tax laws we have and this was probably the icing on the cake. There have been so many bankruptcies throughout the country, even in my riding. A lot of them are because of tax laws and tax problems. The GST is certainly one of them. The management of this chain said there was a 50-50 chance that further stores will be closed and that there will be more job losses.
What I cannot understand is that sitting in this House are members of Parliament from the Liberal Party from the Atlantic provinces. They represent those provinces and they sit silently. There is no outcry from them whatsoever. Nothing is being said. I would like to know why. The provinces are speaking. The province of P.E.I. evidently is not very supportive of this idea. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have spoken loud and clear.
I look at the number of names on petitions. I am talking about thousands of names of individuals, consumers from these provinces. And the government still insists that this is really an acceptable way of dealing with the GST, that harmonization is really acceptable. I have to wonder.
Looking further into this whole idea we see that consumers will pay more for certain things, like children's clothing, books, auto repairs, electricity, gasoline, home heating fuel, and haircuts among other things. Liberal Party members will get up and say that when averaged out over the whole spectrum, consumers will find that they are actually saving money. That is not so.
Most of the items, which were GST exempt at one time, are the types of items used by young families who are struggling and trying to make ends meet, trying to keep the heat on in their homes, trying to pay their rent. They are the ones who all of a sudden will be paying this additional money on different items that never were taxed before. I do not see any benefit in taking more money from those who need it the most.
We must ask, what in the world are we doing? Businesses are closing and there is a good prospect that others will be closing. There are thousands of signatures on petitions by people who are absolutely opposed to this whole thing, and I am talking about petitions from the Atlantic provinces. Yet the government continues to push because this is the way it is going to do it. Why? Do we not believe in listening to the people in this place?
I only have to back up a few years. Mr. Speaker, you will well remember when the GST was brought in what would happen to those who dared to speak the voice of the people.
When someone does speak for the people, when someone goes against the party, they are out. They will be kicked out. They will be punished. They will wish they had not done it, et cetera.
Now we have Bill C-70 and I see the same thing happening on that side of the House. The finance minister, the Prime Minister and all the rest of the chief executive in the dictatorship that exists said to the members of the Liberal Party: "This will be passed. You will vote yes. If you do not, you will be booted out. You will be punished. You will be sorry".
It is a shame. We live in a democracy, but a person from Prince Edward Island or Nova Scotia or New Brunswick cannot stand in his place with a petition that has been signed by thousands of people and say: "I am going to represent my people in my riding in the Atlantic provinces and vote against this bill". They will not do it and it is an absolute shame.
However, we are carrying on. Is this thing going to be implemented simply to cover the backsides of members of the Liberal government when they reneged on killing or scrapping the GST which they campaigned on so vigorously in the last election? Is that what it is for? Is it simply to implement page 22 of the dead book which most of the members obviously were not aware of, not in the way they campaigned? It certainly was not harmonization they were campaigning on. It certainly was not a replacement they were campaigning on. It was scrapping it. That is what they were campaigning on and they were doing it vigorously. Looking at this whole bill, I suggest the real reason is it is another way to get more revenue to spend because spending is a favourite pastime of this government.
Spending for such things as all these patronage appointments. Commissioner of the National Film Board. Boy, what a salary. He must work twice as hard as any member of Parliament because he makes twice as much money. Then there is the Canadian Labour Relations Board, other commissioners, and the Immigration and Refugee Board. They have to keep top dollars up there. We have to really pay out on these patronage appointment positions, plus we have to give them a tax free allowance. Judging from what I see from the public accounts, with these kinds of salaries, members of
Parliament had better not stand in line at the bank with any of these fellows because we will look like we are on welfare.
We go through this list and here is Health Canada spending a whole bunch of money on age and opportunity. Oh yes, here is another thing we are spending it on: lunchtime radio planning committee by Health Canada. A network of older women. Positive straight men, we will spend $47,000 for this. I have no idea what that is about. Listen to this one: seniors and sexuality, $116,000. Boy, am I glad I turned 60. Now that I am 60 years old I bet I can really benefit from that $116,000.
It is absolutely ridiculous when we go through this entire list of spending. If that is what it is all about, then this government needs to be doubly ashamed of itself for trying to bring this kind of legislation forward. It ought to be ashamed.