Mr. Speaker, there are many reasons for moving to a departmental agency, none more important than the demands of our clients, the constituents of our country.
Streamlined and more responsive tax, customs and trade administration services will provide more effectiveness with this new agency. Few Canadians appreciate that in a time of economic expansion the demand for tax, customs and trade services also increases. A million new jobs in Canada since 1993 mean many more tax filers and hopefully more in the future. An 8.6% increase in real exports in 1997 coupled with a 13.4% increase in real imports means a substantial increase in the demand for trade administration and customs and border services.
Resources at Revenue Canada have remained relatively stable during this period of economic expansion and steep increases in business volumes. Much of the new demand has been accommodated by internal operating efficiencies. But as everybody knows, everything has a limit. Hence the new framework for this agency.
The agency model we are proposing for the Canada customs and revenue agency is unique since it combines the strengths of both the public and private sectors while remaining fully accountable to parliament and the Canadian people.
Bill C-43 will permit the agency to offer new and better services to the provinces and territories. For example, at the present time Revenue Canada can only collect provincial taxes that are harmonized with federal taxes. The new agency would be able to collect non-harmonized taxes. This would expand the potential for single window tax collection with considerable savings for businesses and individual Canadians. Greater co-ordination between the federal, provincial and territorial governments will simplify tax administration for Canadians and reduce the overlap and duplication.
To ensure the various needs of Canadians are given full consideration, a board of management of the agency will direct its management activities and oversee its business planning. The board will include 10 directors nominated by the provinces and one director nominated by the territories, all from the private sector.
Another major change that would allow the new agency to adopt a more client oriented approach is increased operational flexibility in the management of internal resources. The new legislation will allow the proposed agency to tailor its human resources and administrative functions to meet the changing needs of the client as well as those of its employees.
For example, under the current status as a department, Treasury Board negotiates collective agreements and determines classifications for personnel. The Public Service Commission is responsible for the staffing process. Under departmental agency status, the Canada customs and revenue agency will assume responsibility for these critical functions.
This change will offer the agency more flexibility in attracting certain in demand skills such as auditors and computer systems experts, training, retraining and keeping these experts. It will significantly reduce hiring times and allow the agency to match resources to work demands whether created by policy or by program changes, seasonal factors or general economic conditions. All of this means improved service to the provinces and territories, to businesses and to individual Canadians. An improved service means savings in time and money, savings in compliance costs for businesses and savings in administrative costs for the government itself.
In creating the Canada customs and revenue agency, we are encouraged by the experience of many other countries such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. Organizations that have been given greater managerial autonomy and operational flexibility provide improved service to the public even while retaining accountability to the public and its elected representatives.
We live in a world that is competitive at many levels. We live in a world that is changing. Businesses and individuals need their governments to support their activities rather than to set up roadblocks. The Canada customs and revenue agency is an important step in the process of providing the best tax, customs and trade administration services in the world. This will mean more business and more benefits for all Canadians and looking to the future, to make it even better.