Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the comments of my friend in the Liberal benches. I am always interested in hearing his comments. He usually has a very erudite way of putting things. He had some valid points to make.
I am very disappointed that we are dealing with time allocation. Even with a government that has a legislative agenda bereft of ideas and initiatives, it is beyond us to understand why it needs the hammer of time allocation to ram this thing through parliament without proper debate. One can only assume that it does not want any more scrutiny on this bill than it absolutely has to because it is afraid of what Canadians will think of it.
Today my colleagues have talked at length about a flawed process that has led to a flawed deal. This is not just about a flawed process right now, it is a process that goes back to the beginning of the whole notion of equalization and how the formula for equalization was to be drawn up and used.
For example, when I was elected in 1993 one of the first private member's bills I brought to the House of Commons was a bill that would require that revenues based on hydroelectric sales be included in the equalization formula and calculations. Those are not included. Some provinces, for example my province of British Columbia, the province of Quebec and other provinces, derive significant revenues from hydroelectric sales. That is not included in the equalization formula. Those revenues often flow directly into the coffers of the provincial government. As we know, many provincial governments own many hydroelectric installations. I cannot believe the Government of Canada would not take into account this massive influx of revenues based on hydroelectric sales.
As many of my colleagues have pointed out, the cost of production in many provinces is not taken into account. For example, in my province of British Columbia the cost of production in tree harvesting is not taken into account. What this leads to is a distortion based on this convoluted formula that is all about political manipulation and delivering political objectives. It has very little to do with true equalization.
The New Democratic government in British Columbia is in the process of taking B.C. from a have province to a have not province as we speak. So I have to be a little careful. We may be in need of some equalization in British Columbia one of these days unless we do something about that government.
The current equalization formula is full of inherent contradictions and inconsistencies. This delivers a distorted and easily manipulated formula which invites political interference. We have seen that recently. My colleagues have been referring to it all day. We saw it with the Government of Newfoundland and the things that took place prior to the last election in Newfoundland. There is no doubt or question that succeeding federal governments have used equalization as a political lever to gain political advantage in different parts of the country at different times. Because it has been used as a lever of political interference and political advantage, it is inherently unfair. The overall effect is really unfair for most ordinary Canadians. Equalization is reflected in provincial tax rates. Have not provinces can maintain lower tax rates than have provinces and still deliver the same services to their citizenry. Because lower tax rates benefit high income earners the most, the net effect of equalization under the Liberals is that poor families in rich provinces subsidize rich families in poor provinces.
I will repeat that because I think it is a really important point. Poor families in rich provinces subsidize rich families in poor provinces which is exactly the opposite effect that equalization is supposed to bring about, I submit.
Government interventionist programs, in particular where they are not well thought out or not properly rationalized, tend to have unintended consequences. Let us call it the law of unintended consequences. These almost always are unfair.
If we think of it, a poor family somewhere in Ontario, British Columbia or Alberta is subsidizing a rich family somewhere in one of the other seven provinces. That is an unintended consequence of this bill. It is inherently unfair but it is what comes when we have a politically manipulated, artificial equalization system that is there largely for political ends and purposes rather than for a real attempt at equalization of incomes across Canada.
After decades of unfairness and the unintended consequences that I have talked about, because this policy has been in place for decades, we would think the government would be willing to look at a new idea, something different, something that completely breaks away from the past because the past is demonstrated as a failure over and over again. But no, the government cannot. It stands with its back toward the future, gazing serenely at the failed policy fields of the past and it thinks if it could just tinker with it a little, if it could move these few words over here and change that clause over there, it would somehow turn this all around and make it fair, make it equitable and make it work.
Frankly, I think that is the main reason why the government does not wish to have any more scrutiny or debate in the House than it has to with time allocation. It does not legitimately want to have the average Canadian taxpayer exposed to its own failures.
I suggest that it is these kinds of government interventions that are inherently unfair, that are premised on political advantage and not on truly trying to do the right thing which lead to divisions in this country. It is one of things that drove me to politics. I was annoyed by the continued manipulation of the federal government and how that affected me as a taxpayer in British Columbia and how it affected my family, my friends and my co-workers, how it affected all British Columbians. It was one of the reasons I got into politics.
I never had any intention of being here. I never had a lifelong wish to be a member of parliament. I never graduated from high school with a burning passion and desire to be a politician. I came here because of this kind of nonsense.
I cannot for the life of me understand why the Liberals just do not get it. They just do not want to face reality. They just do not want to face the fact that what they have cobbled together years and years ago, tinkered with and played with over decades is not working and is driving Canadians to distraction. It has driven me to politics. It is the kind of policy that is in part responsible for the creation of the Reform Party of Canada.
I would argue that the Liberal government has not demonstrated any capacity for change. I do not believe that with this administration we will see any new ideas come forward. It has a legislative agenda that is almost barren. Yet it does not want to give it full and proper debate in the House of Commons.
When the Reform Party forms government and we have a Reform administration, we will have real change to equalization so that the provinces that are really in need of equalization will get it. We will not end up with the ludicrous situation where seven out of ten provinces are called have not provinces. I suggest that is patently ridiculous.