Mr. Speaker, once again, I am pleased-it is not everyday that we get to start over the same speech-to speak to Bill C-92 to amend the Income Tax Act.
The subject of income tax raises the spectre of government digging into the pockets of individual and corporate taxpayers in order to cover its expenditures.
I cannot help but notice that our finance minister's insatiable appetite is caused by the fact that, for many years, government spending has exceeded government revenues. The Minister of Finance spends more than he earns. In fact, he is like the captain of a boat that is taking on water. Because the Minister of Finance has failed to plug the holes, the ship is sinking.
The finance minister did reduce the deficit. He did slow down the rate at which the water is flowing in. But do you know how he did it? Not by plugging the holes, but by throwing bucketfuls of water onto the provinces' ships. His financial needs and appetite remain unsatisfied. He needs more and more money, which, of course, comes out of the pockets of taxpayers.
It must be realized that the overall situation as regards taxation and public spending, both at the federal and at the provincial level, including in Quebec, is not good, and the basic problem that gave rise to all these difficulties originated in this House, right where the finance minister sits.
We saw how the Harris government, in Ontario, and the Quebec government headed by Mr. Bouchard were forced to take drastic measures and to make deep cuts to the health and education sectors, and even to their own human resources, the provincial public service. Indeed, we witnessed very sad situations experienced by people in Quebec, in Ontario and in other provinces. The public must realize that these problems are not created by the provincial governments, but that they have their roots in this House, right where the finance minister sits.
The minister simply dumped his problem on the provinces, by cutting the funds that were supposed to go to the provinces. He did so in two ways. First, by reducing transfer payments. What is a transfer payment? Under this process, the federal government essentially gives back to a provincial government the money paid by the taxpayers of that province. However, in this case, the federal government simply decided not to do so, with the result that the provinces are no longer getting the money to which they are entitled. We are talking about $2 billion, which was earmarked for health services and higher education.
It comes as no surprise that the provinces, including Quebec, were forced to cut services and budgets relating to health and education, given that the $2 billion paid to the federal Minister of Finance by Quebec taxpayers was never given back to the province.
But there is something else which, in a way, is even worse. The minister has developed the bad habit of taking $5 billion a year out of the employment insurance fund, which used to be called the unemployment insurance fund. Five billion dollars is an awful lot of money. In fact, what the Minister of Finance has done is to artificially create a tax on the backs of workers and their employers.
If we look at it in terms of proportions, we could say that each time a worker or an employer pays a dollar in premiums to the EI fund, 30 cents of this dollar will be skimmed off; not borrowed, not put into a separate fund for the eventual benefit of workers and employers but, when it boils right down to it, diverted from its initial purpose, which was to provide for the future needs of the unemployed, and used to reduce the finance minister's deficit.
Of course the Minister of Finance can then say he has reduced the deficit. Let us be clear. He has not eliminated the deficit, he has not prevented the ship from taking on water, he has not pumped out the water that is already slowing us down. No. He has just reduced the amount of water in the hold. How did he accomplish that? By passing on the problem to employers and employees throughout the country, using 30 cents of every dollar to mop up the consequences of the deficit. It is a tax in disguise that the Minister of Finance will not admit to publicly.
Fortunately the official opposition is here to denounce it, to explain it and to see that people understand clearly that what is happening provincially is not the cause, that the provinces are not to blame, but rather the method of operating imposed by the Minister of Finance, here in the House.
Something must be done about what is going on and, as my colleague mentioned earlier, the Bloc Quebecois has proposed in this House appropriate, detailed and carefully thought out measures to rectify the discrepancies that now exist in tax measures. In fact, with respect to individual taxpayers, the Bloc Quebecois has produced a well researched document in which it proposes to the finance minister ways of eliminating unfairness and introducing new measures that would help families and others.
With respect to corporations, old tax loopholes that are to all intents and purposes no longer used, except by corporations rich enough to do so, should be eliminated and replaced by measures more likely to encourage businesses to create jobs.
One of the things I should perhaps point out in closing is that it is unfortunate that the Minister of Finance has not at least implemented one of these measures, which was intended to prevent corporations from deferring taxes indefinitely. As things stand now, corporations are in a position to avoid paying taxes today, next year
and for years to come, because of certain provisions in the Income Tax Act.
The Bloc Quebecois has asked, and will continue to ask the finance minister to take action to eliminate these measures and replace them with new measures that are effective and productive and that, above all, show respect for the citizens of Quebec and of Canada.