Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Chair to ensure that I get my full 20 minutes.
Bill C-10, an act to amend the Municipal Grants Act, does not go far enough to ensure that municipalities will be treated fairly and equally by the federal government and crown corporations on the issue of property taxes.
There is no doubt that the minister and crown corporations still retain too much discretionary power. If federal governments, both past and present, really understood and did the right thing, why would we need any kind of legislation regarding the whole issue of the federal government paying taxes?
Canadians all pay taxes. We know what happens if we do not. None of us want to encounter Revenue Canada.
The issue of grants in lieu of taxes goes back many years. Whenever municipal leaders get together, grants in lieu of taxes seems to be a favourite topic.
Despite federal constitutional powers for tax exemption, as we approach the new millennium why does the federal government not operate under the principle of equal and fair treatment when it comes to paying its taxes on federal buildings located in municipal jurisdictions?
I want to say a few words about municipalities. They have been around for a long time in the country, a lot longer than the Canadian federation. Like many of my colleagues in the House, such as the member for Oak Ridges, I was a former municipal mayor before coming to Ottawa. At least 10% of the members of parliament in this House came from a municipality, and there is no doubt that we all know the effects of both federal and provincial downloading on the municipalities, as well as governments not paying their taxes to municipalities.
The federal government needs to pay all of its taxes, period. The federal government should not expect special treatment from the taxpayers. The federal government uses the same services as everyone else. It uses roads, sewage systems, water services, garbage collection and other services.
Municipal governments are the backbone of the country's economy. There are currently a couple of high cost items that municipal governments across the land have to deal with. Those are water and sewage.
It is unbelievable that in a country like ours there are many municipalities and communities that do not have full water treatment facilities. These communities basically rely on chlorination. Giardia is commonplace in many of the communities. Over the last couple of years we have heard in the press about large communities, such as those close to Toronto and Victoria, having cases of giardia.
Even deadlier bacteria, like cryptospiridium, cannot be treated effectively with chlorine. These water treatment plants require a huge capital investment and obviously the source of the capital comes from taxation.
Mr. Speaker, I believe you are signalling me to end my remarks.