Madam Speaker, I think it is an eminently practical motion, as amended. I believe it is high time that we start leaving more money in the hands of families so they can avoid poverty, instead of driving them into poverty.
There are many businesses which end up declaring bankruptcy because of the high levels of taxation. They lay off their people and they land in poverty. If we had a tax regime that would allow them to thrive and survive, then we would have less poverty.
I have seen people who are jobless. My family used to serve soup in the evenings to homeless people. We used to minister to them. We provided basic food to them. The best thing possible that we could do for them would be to provide them with a job.
How does one do that? It is not by overtaxing Canadian businesses, families and individuals and then having a huge army of bureaucrats to distribute the money. The answer is very simple. Leave that money with the people. They will drive the economy because they will have money for food, for housing, for shelter, for clothing and for some of the luxuries of life. That is what drives the economy. That is what provides jobs. These people now, in much greater numbers, would have jobs. Meanwhile, we would still have a greater income, even at lower rates, because more people would be employed and the economy would thrive. With that additional money we could generously provide for those who because of physical and other problems cannot work. I know those people too. I have friends who are unable to work.
I wish I had more money in my pocket so I could help them directly. I have done that from time to time. However, the taxation level is such now that after we pay our bills we have scarcely anything left. It is unfortunate.
The way to handle this is through organizations. Yesterday we talked about the homeless. There are many private organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity, which more efficiently handle limited resources in providing homes for the homeless than does any government bureaucracy. That is what I am talking about.