Madam Speaker, Shuswap is actually a great place to live other than that we are being taxed to death out there, and I can say that with confidence. That is one thing. No matter where we go across Canada one of the main problems we are faced with in any meeting is overtaxation to fill the appetite of this government and previous governments for taxation.
I get a kick out of the concern I hear from the Liberals and the Conservatives. All of a sudden they are concerned about the people and taxation. We should never forget that there have only basically been two parties in power, the Liberal Party and the Progressive Conservative Party. Who is responsible for the mess we are in today? It has to be the Liberals and the Conservatives. Nobody else has been in power.
That is reality, no matter what people hear from them when they knock on doors in upcoming elections. They get down on their knees, they raise their hands and they swear that they have learned their lessons. They have never learned their lessons. They have never in the history of Canadian politics learned their lessons.
They have learned how to expand on one and the other's failures. That is what they have learned. That is what we are paying for today. Unfortunately that is what our children will be paying for in the future. The question today is what are we willing to leave our children in future. With Bill C-28 we will not be leaving them very much. The Liberals could go a long way toward helping our people. They could give them a break so the people could stand on their own.
I had the opportunity in my riding of Okanagan—Shuswap to send out a householder. I asked the voters questions. I know that the Liberals, the Conservatives and the New Democrats laugh at us when we send out householders to get input from the public. I can hear them heckling me. That is the problem with the old line politicians. They are afraid to put questions to the people who pay their wages. That is a shame.
I would like to read a response which I received. It comes from a woman named Debby Cook. She has given me permission to read her letter today. Mrs. Cook wrote:
My husband and I supported you in the last election and so far we are not disappointed.
Your questionnaire doesn't really let us voters define exactly our opinions. Therefore I included this letter in hopes you will read it, and maybe get a better understanding of how the average income family feels.
To clarify average income, that's about $30,000 to $40,000 a year. It may sound like a lot, but look at the figures. Our income is already taxed to the max.
My husband has to work like a dog just to keep our heads above water, and that's without children or anything for entertainment.
Even if I was working, the burden would be more. Sure during the year it would work a little better, but without having me as a tax write-off—
It is a shame when we have to start looking at ourselves as tax write-offs. She continued:
—the beginning of the year would look pretty grim.
We would wind up paying every year, and still have to have my husband's cheques docked, with almost half of it going to a government that I'm not sure I believe in any more.
We may have a democracy, but because of high taxes, and lavish government spending, the government does indeed dictate the outcome of every year.
There was a time that a person could plan for vacations every year, which are so greatly needed, so you don't lose your mind.
My husband and I can't afford to go on vacations, so he works and works and works, just so the government can live lavishly, while we peons, at the bottom, go without any satisfaction or restitution.
So, you may ask if we think taxes should be increased for the pension?
No, absolutely not!
Instead, why not cut MPs large pensions and the gross amount of their salaries?
Our forefathers did not create a working government so they could line their pockets, but only so there was some form of representation in a united Canada.
These values have long since been forgotten, or upheld since Trudeau. He started it, and the rest followed. Now look what we've become. Split and divided in every direction.
In the next part I asked my constituents if they thought their family could afford to pay more taxes. One of the examples I gave was in order to cut emissions from burning fossil fuels. Mrs. Cook also had some ideas on that kind of tax. She wrote:
You ask if there should be a tax added or an increase on our gasoline to help cutting emissions. Okay, there is a problem here but not one that can be rectified by raising costs.
More and more families are having to buy second hand cars that are in the 1970s and 1980s. These cars are not as well protected against these problems.
If the taxes on gas are driven even higher there will be no help, only hindrance. We need taxes lowered so that we can afford to buy new vehicles. What doesn't the government get? Wake up and smell the coffee.
I then asked the voters in my riding how they thought the government should spend the so-called fiscal dividend, presuming there will be some money left from today's high taxes after the books are balanced. Mrs. Cook wrote on that topic as follows:
You ask if Ottawa should use fiscal dividends. Why not spread it out and treat people with some respect? Give back to the people that which they have given for so long. Then maybe the question on whether our government is out to screw us would be answered. Show us how hard work and patience can pay off. Give us a break.
Mrs. Cook ended her letter as follows:
Thank you for reading this letter. I am sure you will make good use of our taxpayers dollars.
It was signed:
Just one of your concerned citizens,
Debby Cook.
That is one of hundreds of letters that I received as a result of the questionnaire. This lady is not alone. Her concerns are the concerns of average people, hard working people and honest people across this land. They are fed up with governments telling them to tighten their belts while governments seem to increase three or four sizes every year.
When they work like they do they learn that they have very little say in a country that is supposed to be run democratically. We know that is no longer so. It may sound cynical to the people out there when I say this, but I say in all honesty that I have not seen the country run democratically for a long time.
Let us look at the Income Tax Act. When it was introduced it was a one time act. “Come to us. Believe in us”, said the government of the day. It was only to enact it once but it forget to say that it would be once a year. On and on it goes.
The government wonders why the people out there are so cynical about politicians today. That is one of the main reasons. It is time the government wakes up to that fact before it is too late.