moved for leave to introduce Bill C-419, an act to amend the Canada Student Loans Act (definition of full age).
Madam Speaker, this bill provides a proper definition of full age within the Canada Student Loans Act. Full age is defined as 18 years of age or older to ensure that this expression in the Canada Student Loans Act is interpreted consistently with the definition of child proposed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
There are many bizarre things in federal legislation and we have not yet tackled provincial legislation. For example, according to tax legislation, persons 18 years of age and under are considered to be dependent children. This provision enables parents to claim a dependent credit and to receive a child benefit allowance. Discrepancies do arise. When the income of a child reaches a level which is above the allowable limit, the child has to pay income tax.
Working teenagers between 16 and 18 years of age are required to pay taxes as adults, yet they cannot contribute to the Canada pension plan or the Quebec pension plan nor can they contribute to a registered retirement savings plan. I believe the amendment to this legislation and other legislation would pave the way for the federal, provincial and territorial governments to tackle the whole issue of the definition of a child. It will ensure we have a uniformity when we deal with issues such as those I have just mentioned.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)