Mr. Speaker, I will comment about the broad economic philosophy of the government as represented in the bill, and the themes of its economic measures by using the example of some aspects of the personal income tax form. For what we see helps us put into perspective what social attitudes underlie the bill before us today.
First, the big myth is that the Liberals are good managers of the public trust. They are not. It is a myth that they have presented balance to the country in their budgets? What myths. I challenge the media and the folks at home to check the numbers rather than the Liberals spinning machine. The Liberals have shown not to be wise managers of the public trust.
Specifically, to help with general understanding today about the appropriateness of the underlying philosophy of the bill, I cite the historical social attitude of the Liberals toward traditional families in the tax category where parents decide that one of them will forgo a working income to stay home and provide quality child care.
That social choice is denigrated by the government through its tax policy. It is expressed clearly, in the unashamedly unfair differences that it has given since at least 1993, and have deepened in each successive budget. The government's record is that it is not family friendly. Reformers have been talking about it since 1993, but the news media has finally woken up, so when we talk about it and make a point we are now getting it reported.
The finance minister was wrong when he said that his tax discrimination against one income, two parent families was a recent issue for Reform. The Reform blue book as far back as 1993 said:
The Reform Party supports a revision of the federal income tax regulations to end discrimination against parents who provide child-care at home—and—supports equitable treatment for one-income families with dependant children.
Our election platform of fresh start for the June 1997 election clearly included the desired changes on taxation for families. The Hansard shows that I spoke about it clearly in the debate for last year's 1998-99 budget, because by then the hurt against families was really getting deep.
We have been asking why the finance minister would not even admit in the House that his policy documents and budgets have delivered tax discriminations since his first budget in 1994. Why will he not change? Perhaps because he is a Liberal and the cabinet has a mindset of socialist engineering from another era that it cannot let go of. Belatedly, he has now sent the hot potato to committee. It will buy him some political time for now.
The insincere answers that we have received in question period from the finance minister on this subject is avoidance when he claims we Reformers voted against budget measures related to children. His falsity boggles. Reform has voted generally against the tax and spend habits of the Liberals, not specific child programs. We have voted against the lack of accountability in government spending.
The budgets continue to spend too much, therefore tax too much, and thereby the country still owes too much. It is about competence to govern. It is about fairness. It is about helping instead of hurting and equality before the tax law. It is about a Liberal mean-spirited view of the family as expressed in tax law, and about penalizing parents, like giving them a fine for having a traditional family child care arrangement. What hurts the most is that it does it openly and justifies it while it calls us on this side of the House, who have defended the family since coming here, as being just too negative.
The evidence is that the Liberal economic policies hurt people. The whole country knows it, and I am again reminding the House of this again today.
I ask: When will the finance minister provide the tax changes we are talking about today? When will he begin to help rather than hurt families with his tax discrimination? Roughly 82% of Canadians want the tax code changed to make it easier for parents with young children to have a parent stay at home. According to a November 1998 Southam-Compas poll, this is a very high priority for 42% of Canadians, a high priority for 23% and a priority for 17%.
The C.D. Howe Institute's latest report, entitled “Giving Mom and Dad a Break”, states:
Current Canadian tax policy affords no universal recognition of children. In effect, it treats children in middle and high-income families like consumer spending, as if parents had no legal or moral obligation to spend money on their care. This treatment is indefensible.
The balanced budget was achieved by squeezing the people: 76.7% of the balancing came from higher tax revenues; 14% from slashing health and social transfers; 7.2% from cutting transfers to persons; and a minuscule 2.1% by cutting federal spending itself. Where was the government required to live within its means instead of imposing on the weak individual taxpayer? Children are directly hurt by Liberal policy design.
In the 1999 prebudget submission called “Taxes and Health Care: It's Critical”, we proposed an alternate budget. It would include $26 billion in total tax relief and $19 billion in repayment of the national debt over the next three years; increased health transfers to the provinces by $2 billion a year; and an immediate $1 billion reinvestment in Canada's armed forces.
On February 2, 1999 the Ottawa Sun reported that “Sherry Cooper, chief economist for Nesbitt Burns, said Reform's proposals are realistic. This is feasible” she said. Cooper said “If spending is kept in line, the government should have enough money to fund both tax cuts and debt reduction because the surpluses are going to be huge”.
Parents know that the best child care program is a dad and a mom but sadly, commercial day care is the only child care option recompensed by the Canadian tax code. In her 1998 submission to Parliament's finance committee Heather Gore-Hickman, chartered accountant, found that only 16% of families with kids claim the child care expense deduction for commercial day care.
Roughly speaking, in 19% of families, both parents work full time but they either use informal child care, work out of home, or work flex time. So one parent is always at home. Twenty-two per cent of families have a second part time income while providing parent care. Over 33% of families have a parent providing full time unpaid child care.
According to the Fraser Institute in its pamphlet “Tax Facts Ten”, twoearner families earning $30,000 paid $3,492 in income tax, while a one earner family paid $4,317, or 24% more in 1995.
A report showed that a family earning $60,000 paid $6,383 in federal income tax; if a two earner, $10,300; if a one earner, a whopping 61% more.
The tax code of this government sends the message that private parenting has no public value and if chosen, families will be penalized. The suggested changes to bring fairness can be made. These policy problems are only the tip of the iceberg of an outdated Liberal ideology.
I have already cited how the administration is incompetent and how it hurts people and then runs from responsibility, how it fails to fulfil the public trust; but the capper of it all is that when serious policy problems are outlined by the opposition parties and then constructive alternatives are presented from this side to help Canadians, the smugness of the cabinet continues the old style Liberal way and they assert that they have all the answers.
The point is that the Liberals are part of a harsh culture that hurts family life, puts unreasonable pressure on families and poorly serves kids. Heaven help us when the next generation of children returns the favour to our culture. Just 38% of people voted for Liberals, and they still behave as if they had the divine right to govern with impunity and with little accountability.
The bill before us today is the implementation of spending intentions. This legislation is a big fuzzy housekeeping bill that contains a lot of feel good stuff. The Liberals have failed to simplify the tax code. They are announcing money they have already deleted from the taxpayers' surplus in previous budgets. They have failed to give Canadians what they really need, which is massive across the board tax cuts and smaller government.
I trust there will be some better economic policy thought on the Liberal side as a result of these debates. If there is not, we in the official opposition are ready and waiting to govern for the 21st century.