Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to follow my colleague now that he has the attention of some of the members opposite. Hopefully they will listen to the continuation of the well reasoned arguments that our party has put forward.
I am troubled by this motion as I know many constituents are. It is such a sad reflection on the lack of leadership on the other side. The best the government can do is to put forward a bill that puts the struggling small businesses further in debt and offers them no possible relief or hope. This is not the way to increase the viability of small businesses in Canada. If they were more viable, lenders would be lining up to make sure money was available to them. This kind of motion makes it all that much more difficult.
Why are small businesses having such a hard time? A number of small businesses in Calgary Centre have spoken to me over the past year and they have listed their concerns. Never have they come to me to say that they need more access to loans to get them further in debt. Every priority they have presented to me has related to taxes, taxes and taxes. They listed the property tax they pay and how high it is. They listed the provincial taxes and the income taxes. The most painful of all is the payroll taxes. It is particularly painful when they see, hear and read about a surplus they and their employees have paid into but they will not be given any relief in that arena by the finance minister.
Particularly troubling to me was one small business owner, an elderly fellow. He and his wife ran an electronic shop. He showed me on paper that he could actually make a profit but after paying taxes, he was in a losing position. He lost money because of his taxes. It is tragic especially when we sing the praises of small businesses being the engine of our economy and then we tax them into bankruptcy. It is tragic.
We have heard previously from members today about the rate of bankruptcy in this country. Is this the best solution we can come up with for businesses that are going bankrupt? We are going to make the availability of more financing that they would not otherwise have access to drive these businesses that are carrying the tax burden further into debt through government loans. Is that the best we can do?
Certainly that seems to be the best members on the other side can do, but that is not why we are here. We are here to see that these small businesses become successful and to give them some tax relief. This component of our business community should be the first to receive tax relief.
The president of the Restaurant and Food Services Association in my riding has come to me more than once. He has written to me. He has never asked for access to more financing. Each time what he has asked for is relief from taxes. He has pointed out to me that the restaurant business is where many young people in our country get a start. They learn how to work within a company, serve and build their job skills. Yet restaurateurs are so burdened by payroll taxes that many of them are limiting the number of young people they hire and this is where our young people get a start.
At the other end of the spectrum, many professionals and people trained in our universities who venture out in small entrepreneurial enterprises carry the weight of a mountain of bureaucratic red tape and the tax burden. That is one of the factors why this country is faced with a brain drain. Educated professionals look at the options and ask do they stay in Canada or do they go somewhere where their efforts are going to pay a dividend. It is not here that they choose to stay.
We are asking that we get serious about some real solutions for small business. It comes from a climate that allows small businesses to succeed, not to get further into debt, a climate that allows them to make a profit. Some members in the House do not like to hear the word profit. Allow small businesses to make a profit, to reinvest it back into their companies, to expand, to employ more Canadians. Keep more Canadians here, young Canadians, instead of driving them across the border because of the heavy burden of taxes and government red tape.
No, that is not the answer. We need to show leadership in that area and it is leadership that is sorely lacking. That is why we are so concerned about this particular motion today and this bill. It so typifies that lack of leadership.
Let me also point out that our country has the highest tax rate in the G-8, which is something we have mentioned before in the House. Canadians are starting to hear it. We hear the finance minister talking about surpluses, yet he is refusing to give Canadians the tax relief they deserve.
We have seen the vibrancy in Alberta. Why? Because Alberta has one of the most positive climates in Canada for entrepreneurs and business people to succeed. People are moving to Alberta and they are succeeding in Alberta. But the Liberal government refuses to take that as a lesson and allow for that kind of an environment to flourish in the rest of the country.
I refuse to accept the statement some would make that the success of entrepreneurs and businesses somehow means that those who are underprivileged or who are in need would be left out. My very own riding of Calgary Centre, the vibrant community of Calgary, in some ways is becoming the new business capital of Canada. I would say that the charities, the concern and the caring in that community is second to none in Canada.
It does not follow that just because there is business success somehow that means the underprivileged are forgotten. I put forward the strong example of Calgary Centre, my own riding where just the opposite is true. When there is success in business and the economy is strong, the needs of the underprivileged are cared for that much better than when business is struggling and under a heavy burden of tax.
We are so concerned about the lack of leadership on this issue shown by the government. It is so important. That is why we have made mention of this. We are making a point to bring this to the attention of the people in the gallery, those watching and hopefully the few members opposite who are listening.
My closing appeal for the young people of the country, the families that want to have a future, stay in Canada and have an opportunity to grow, raise a family and be strong contributing Canadians is that on their behalf instead of a weak approach of putting businesses further in debt that the government, parliament and all of us be committed to strengthening the economy through lower taxes, less government regulation and let the Canadian people flourish and build a stronger country.