Mr. Speaker, I welcome this opportunity to participate in the debate on Bill C-28.
This is a bill to amend multiple acts. One really has to be a tax expert or have a great deal of common sense to speak on such a complex piece of legislation. Since I consider myself to have common sense, I will make my remarks on that basis.
Last Monday, on the television program Salut, bonjour , Claude Picher from La Presse had these wise words: “The Minister of Finance should use the projected budget surplus as much as possible to reduce” the debt and personal income tax, not to fund new or existing programs. That is a statement that makes a great deal of sense. It is also good advice for the Minister of Finance.
Like me, he could have raised the issue of the GST and said that the GST was originally introduced to dip in the pockets of taxpayers to reduce the huge deficit the central government had at the time. The deficit having been eliminated, common sense would dictate that the government lower if not completely eliminate this tax, thereby making good on an election promise made in their famous red book of 1993. Like me, he could also have raised the issue of transfer payments.
Everyone knows that, in an attempt to achieve zero deficit and even surpluses, the government shamelessly cut billions of dollars in transfer payments to the provinces. These cuts hurt the provinces, which, in turn, had to manage crises in education, health and social programs.
So, common sense would dictate that this government restore transfer payments to their original level instead of talking about implementing new programs that would allow them once again to interfere in provincial jurisdictions. What is the logic in this government implementing new post-secondary education programs when, as we know, the cream of our young achievers trained at public expense in our universities leave Canada for the United States or another country because the tax system is better than in Canada? What would common sense dictate, given that in this exodus of scientists, computer specialists and other professionals, we are losing a large part of our capacity to innovate and, ultimately, the capacity to create jobs in the future?
This is a worrisome situation on which no one, not even the Minister of National Revenue, the Minister of Finance or the Prime Minister of Canada, can put an exact figure. In economic terms, the loss of the most dynamic, the most talented future members of our society is a disaster, an impoverishment of our society. Where is the sense in that?
This brain drain is what has led to the need for taxation reform. It is high time our governments seriously addressed an in-depth reform of personal and small business income tax. If we are to believe Canada's taxation statistics for the 1950s, individuals and corporations accounted for the same percentage of federal income tax revenues. In the decades since, fiscal policy has changed increasingly in favour of big business, so much so that in recent years individuals' contributions have increased eight fold. Where is the sense in that?
It is worthwhile pointing out that the corporate share of federal tax revenues dropped from about 43% in 1961 to a meagre 10% in 1995. The main explanation for this is the proliferation of tax expenditures available to business, the major corporations in particular. Where is the sense in that?
Is the Minister of National Revenue in agreement with the Minister of Finance, his colleague, who claims to be able to solve the deficit without increasing corporate income tax? Why do the corporations manage to shelter income from tax by influencing taxation legislation? Why are they allowed this legal strategy, while the strategy of individuals who decide to do work under the table without paying tax is deemed illegal? This situation represents a serious threat to social equilibrium, Where is the sense in that?
It is easy to understand why the disadvantaged, the people with little or no income, try to get out of paying taxes by every imaginable means. The Bloc Quebecois has long been calling for a job-oriented Canadian corporate tax reform. The Bloc Quebecois is keeping a close eye on the government and will continue to do so in the area of taxation, particularly as concerns the GST, tax shelters, and so on, to be sure that the tax system becomes just and fair for all.
Let us talk about family trusts. There is a flaw in federal legislation in this regard. The report of the auditor general and pressure from the Bloc Quebecois have only partly succeeded in eliciting a reaction from the Minister of Finance on the subject. It is still possible to leave the country without paying taxes owing to Revenue Canada, since an acceptable financial guarantee need only be left. Furthermore, no deferral limit nor method of interest collection is provided for this guarantee.
Since the October 2 amendment to the Income Tax Act, the minister has been unable to report the tax plans this change has occasioned. Where is the sense in that?
The Liberal government should use Bill C-28, an omnibus bill, to make the necessary changes to employment insurance contributions. It is vital the government reform the current employment insurance system in order to put an end to the inequities it gives rise to and to better protect workers, including the seasonally employed.
The Bloc Quebecois also wants the Minister of Finance to substantially reduce the levels of contribution to the employment insurance plan, conditional on the job creation performance of business. The reduction in contributions could be 40 cents per $100 of insurable payroll.
The Minister of Finance must also create an employment insurance fund separate from the federal government's consolidated fund, as the Auditor General of Canada proposed, to prevent money belonging to workers and employers being used as a discretionary fund of the federal government. That makes sense.
It would be a good idea for the government to move quickly to pass anti-deficit legislation as did the Quebec National Assembly. That makes good sense.
Instead of reaching into people's pockets, the government should cut unnecessary expenditures and useless programs within its own departments. One example is the $30 million to change the Canada Post logo.
As my time is running out, I will move on a bit faster to other examples.
It should also cut unnecessary expenditures, the tens of millions of dollars spent by the Department of Canadian Heritage to brainwash Canadians. We are entitled to ask whether this government is acting wisely, whether the way it manages makes sense. No, it does not make sense, because this government's policies are widening the gap between the rich and the poor, and adding to the tax burden of the middle class and our small businesses.
A tax system that drives a nation to poverty definitely makes no sense. For this reason, and in solidarity with members of the Bloc Quebecois, I will energetically oppose passage of this bill. My common sense tells me that it is urgent that the people of Quebec stick together as they move towards sovereignty.