moved that Bill C-211, an act to amend the Income Tax Act (travel expenses for a motor vehicle used by a forestry worker) be read the second time and sent to committee.
Mr. Speaker, the name of the bill is a bit unprepossessing, but I would like to summarize its intent.
Basically, it serves to allow forestry workers like those who work in my region—in the Basques, Saint-Jean-de-Dieu, Saint-Médard regions and throughout the Gaspé—who, in earning their living, have to go and work in Abitibi or on the North Shore and have to provide their own equipment, such as a pick-up, skidders, gasoline or a chain saw, to enjoy certain deductions.
The bill came out of a meeting with a forestry worker from Saint-Jean-de-Dieu and a meeting with several forestry workers, who work in this way.
The situation at the moment is that, with the partial deduction the law currently provides, they cannot make enough profit to make it worth their while working.
Right now, tax legislation discourages people from going to work elsewhere, and yet this is the only sort of job available. They would like a more appropriate tax deduction.
How can I say that the current legislation does not fully satisfy them? First, I wrote to the Minister of National Revenue on May 18, 1999 to ask for an interpretation of the law that allegedly permitted an appropriate tax rebate, a large enough tax credit to enable these people to get a tax deduction for travel costs. The law as it stands contains no such provision. The Minister of National Revenue confirmed this in his response to my letter of May 18.
I received a reply three months later and I wrote to the Minister of Finance on August 13, 1999, to tell him, since he is responsible for this issue, that a change to the act was absolutely necessary to allow these workers to have a decent income, to continue to work. Indeed, our tax laws must be an incentive to work, not a disincentive.
The Minister of Finance replied to me on September 30, 1999. Let me read two paragraphs from his letter:
In your letter, you ask if it is possible to consider these expenses as employment expenses, since there are some benefits related to working on a specific site or in a remote area that may be excluded from a worker's income, as long as they are reasonable.
The letter then explains that this somewhat changes taxation practices, but adds:
Even if the costs associated with transportation between a person's residence and place of work are not generally deductible, I submitted your concerns to the attention of my staff.
Today, I am very pleased that my bill can be debated in the House. This allows me to provide the Department of Finance with valid arguments to enable it to reach a conclusion.
On February 22, 2000, a few days before the budget, I asked the minister whether his staff had finally done the studies and reached a conclusion. Again, I got a reply from the Minister of Finance, but only in June 2000. That reply is still positive. The Minister of Finance says:
What constitutes a reasonable level of expenses for motor vehicles is a complex issue that requires a thorough study.
That thorough study sure is taking a long time.
The review of this issue and of other components of the tax system concerning motor vehicles is still going on. We will inform you of the results as soon as it is completed.
They have been looking at this proposal for a year and a half. I find it quite interesting that the Minister of finance has told me twice that this proposal has some merit and that it is worth exploring.
Indeed, on the basic principle that would give a tax deduction to workers who have to travel long distances to go to work and are forced to use their car, I think it is justifiable. This would help reduce unemployment in regions like ours and would promote economic activity.
When a forestry worker comes back to his family after two weeks on the job, he has a pay cheque, he can support his family, he can spend a little money to make sure that he has all the tools that he needs to go back to work. There is some economic activity there.
If the finance minister asks for detailed figures, he will find out that it is much better to help these people who have to drive far to go to work by giving them an appropriate tax deduction than to close the door on them, to entice them to stay at home, to push them into not going to work and becoming a burden on society, thus adding to the unemployment rate in a region that is already badly affected.
For all these good reasons, and because I think it would be worthwhile for these workers to persevere in pushing for this bill, I urge the government, the Liberal majority in this House, to consider passing this bill.
Recently we voted on a bill aimed at lightening the tax burden of mechanics, a bill introduced by the hon. member for Beauport—Montmorency—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île-d'Orléans, which was put to a vote in this House as a private member's bill and has gone on to the next stage. It has somewhat the same objective: to provide a proper tax deduction for the tools all mechanics must supply for their job.
This one deals with forestry workers, and in this case it is not a box of tools but a truck and all the equipment required for work in the bush. The two bills have the same underlying principle. I would like to get the same open-minded attitude from the Liberal majority and from all members of this House.
I am also taking advantage of the fact that we are in the prebudget consultation phase. A letter has come from the member heading the standing finance committee indicating that there is a prebudget consultation exercise to be carried out this year again, in order to ensure that the people of Canada may receive the best possible services from their government and the encouragement to accomplish things and take their place within society.
This is a concrete example on which a quick decision could be reached on behalf of people who are very hard-working, who do not have easy lives, who do not get to go home every night, who often have to do what we call down our way “two week runs”. They work away from home and have to sleep in camps where conditions are not always ideal, they have to put up with difficult conditions. Sometimes they pretty well have to sleep in their trucks.
I believe they deserve respect and deserve to be protected from personal bankruptcy. When people buy a pickup truck that can easily cost $25,000 if they want something decent, they do not buy them for their cool looks but because they are needed for getting to work. This is what they need to do their job properly.
I think our forestry workers deserve the recognition of the House. There are all kinds of tax deductions. In the case of businesses being allowed a deduction for season tickets for hockey or other professional sports, the deduction can be justified because it helps maintain jobs. A similar deduction costing a lot less would allow forestry workers to earn a living, to feel the dignity of being workers, to travel to their place of work, not to make fabulous profits but to earn enough income to keep on working. I think the government should consider doing this for these workers.
It is not a very complicated bill. Basically, it requires only a little sense of fairness on the part of those who would pass it. If it needs a little polishing in committee, we will be listening to see if some changes can be made, but it is obvious that the current legislation does not allow these needs to be met.
We made all the necessary representations to the appropriate officials and we came up against the fact that, under the current legislation, they cannot grant an adequate and satisfactory tax deduction that really takes into account the need for pick-up trucks and related material.
The legislators must take their responsibilities. Our forestry workers deserve our attention.
Over the last few years, we saw that we wanted workers to have jobs. They would like to turn seasonal workers into machines and ship them all over Canada to work. These workers are often willing to drive 200, 300, 400 or 500 kilometres a week just to get to their workplace.
I believe they deserve our attention and this tax benefit. It would only be fair and respectful of the work they do. This would also be an opportunity for rural communities to get enough extra income.
It is all very well to say that rural communities must look to new technologies, but the fact remains that primary natural resources are one of the important components of the economy both in Quebec and Canada. We must ensure proper management of these components. Forest use must be maximized.
Forestry workers have developed an expertise in a given area. If they are not allowed to go to work far from their home and to make a decent living, their expertise will be lost altogether, they will exit the labour market and will not find work in other sectors, thus becoming a burden for society. This is unacceptable.
Therefore I call on the members of this House to consider my proposals. At the end of today's debate, I will have the opportunity to rise again. I hope I will be able to say that I have the agreement of everybody in the House in order to move toward tangible results.
I hope we will be able to say to the finance minister “You have studied the matter, you say that you have not yet completed your review, but the stakeholders and the members of this House want a practical solution, that is giving forestry workers in Canada a proper tax rebate”. I believe forestry workers deserve nothing less.