Mr. Speaker, at the outset please note that I am splitting my time with my colleague from Surrey Central.
I want to remark about the exchange I just sat through. I remind the hon. member for Oak Ridges that volume does not outweigh intelligence in a debate. He probably should recognize that we do have microphones in this place and he does not have to shout quite as loudly to be heard.
I want to begin my remarks today by thanking my colleague the hon. member for Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam. Since first becoming elected in 2000, he has been an invaluable member of the official opposition by working tirelessly as the Canadian Alliance transportation critic. Today we are debating a motion sponsored by the Canadian Alliance put forward by my colleague which advocates the reduction of federal excise taxes on gasoline in order to provide provinces and Canadian cities with stable funding for infrastructure projects such as highways and roads.
Canadian taxpayers are an incredibly resilient group. Everywhere we turn it seems we have to pay a tax, user fee or surcharge which is quickly deposited in the coffers of our beloved federal Liberal government. Yet the more we pay, the more this money hungry government wants to collect from Canadians. Every time the government hits taxpayers up for more money, it is careful to cite reasons for the increase, such as eliminating the deficit or preventing corporate influence of political parties.
There is a saying with which I am sure everyone is familiar, that there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. Under the Liberal regime there is a preoccupation with taxing Canadians to death. Federal excise taxes on gasoline are only one example of the cash grab from Canadians. In the last fiscal year motorists paid a whopping $4.7 billion in gas taxes with another $2 billion added on top with the GST. It seems only in Canada do we have taxes charged on taxes.
Over the past couple of years Canadian motorists have had to pay astronomical increases in gas prices to fill up their tanks at the pumps. These price increases have been especially hard to take as many people depend upon affordable fuel in order to drive to work or transport their products to market. Although fuel prices have increased primarily due to a higher demand for oil on the international markets, on average 42% of the retail price of gasoline in Canada is attributed to some form of taxation.
The federal government imposes a 10¢ a litre charge plus GST, while the provinces collect the remainder. The primary difference between the two levels of government is that the provinces reinvest the revenue generated from gas taxes into roads and infrastructure projects while the federal government is nowhere to be seen. Every year the federal government offers $118 million to share among all 10 provinces and the territories to pay for roads, which works out to about 1.7% of the federal revenues collected. Less than 2% of the money it collects actually goes into infrastructure.
If we look at the amount the federal government gives to the provinces for infrastructure projects through the new Canada infrastructure works program, we would discover that the federal government only tosses back a dime for every dollar of federal revenues collected at the pumps. Most recently the Liberal government seems content with having gas taxes as a cash cow while using a small portion of the revenues for its own political purposes. On the rare occasion the Liberal cabinet decides to dole out some cash for a highway project, there always seems to be a federal minister on hand to cut the ribbon and usually just by coincidence, it happens to be in a Liberal riding.
It was only a short five months ago that the current fisheries minister kiboshed a highway project in Nova Scotia because the proposal did not include a highway in his riding. This blatant political interference has resulted in an incredible 99% of all federal transfers for highway projects directed east of Ontario. This kind of political mangling of government services is deplorable.
Cities across Canada have been buckling under the financial burden of maintaining roads, providing clean water and transportation. Our municipalities are on the front lines providing the services that most directly affect Canadian lives. They need new means of generating revenue to provide these services. The sensible solution would be to allow municipalities to collect the federal government's portion of the gas tax, as they are the ones ultimately responsible for most of the nation's infrastructure.
However, as the Liberal Party is in the middle of a leadership change, with the member for LaSalle—Émard widely expected to take over the reins of power, Canadians are hearing some mighty big promises from the former finance minister.
Last month the person in question was in Winnipeg addressing a Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference. In his speech he reassured Canadian municipalities that under his leadership everything was going to change. His proposal to municipal leaders was to vacate the gas tax room by reducing the federal excise tax in order for the revenues to be collected by the provinces for use by Canadian municipalities.
Naturally, his plan has various stipulations, but on the whole, it is not unlike the motion we are debating here today. The only difference between our motion and his proposal is that his track record for delivering on promises is dismal, to say the least. By now most Canadians are familiar with the 1993 red book campaign promise to scrap the GST, which the member for LaSalle—Émard never seemed to get around to doing as our nation's finance minister for nine years.
That person's track record in regard to gas taxes is somewhat contradictory to his speech delivered in Winnipeg last month. In his 1995 budget, the former finance minister increased the federal excise tax on gasoline by 1.5¢. His explanation for the tax hike at that time was to eliminate the deficit. However, long after the deficit was a problem, he refused to reduce the tax. Why? Because his increase was contributing an extra $705 million annually to general revenues.
During the best of times and the worst of times, members of the Liberal Party are pretty good at showing caucus solidarity regardless of whether they are right or they are wrong. However the member LaSalle—Émard's comments in regard to the federal gas tax seem to have struck a soft spot with the new finance minister. Just last week the finance minister was quoted in the National Post publicly criticizing his predecessor. His comments were:
I think [he] is being politically opportunistic.... Provinces aren't going to agree to this. And if they do, it's going to be very difficult for municipalities to actually implement it, plus he's also put in the qualifiers on over what period of time and how long. He knows it's bad public policy. I don't think he has any expectation that he will ever be called on to do it.
This is from the current Liberal finance minister, “I don't think he will ever be called upon to do it”. That is rich and quite indicative of how the Liberal government operates. It makes big promises to Canadians and never delivers on them.
We know the future leader of the Liberal Party has a credibility problem when even his successor does not believe him. By the way, I agree with the current finance minister. I do not believe the member for LaSalle—Émard either on this or most of the other promises he is running around the country making.
Canadian municipalities are at the breaking point right now. They cannot handle the costs of maintaining their roadways and their infrastructure. Montreal needs $6 billion to $10 billion over the next 20 years. Calgary needs $1.1 billion right away. Toronto and Vancouver are looking for untold billions. In Canada, cities are responsible for approximately 73% of our 900,000 kilometres of road system, yet they do not collect any of the gas taxes paid by motorists.
Our proposal that we are debating today would reduce the federal gas tax contingent upon an agreement with the provinces, using that tax room created to introduce a special tax that would give funding to infrastructure projects in our cities and provinces.
The funding problem has been around for quite some time. Yet there has never been a concerted effort to resolve the situation.
When I was the Canadian Alliance transport critic, right after the last election, I highlighted, in my reply to the Speech from the Throne, the need to increase funding for highways and infrastructure. However, two years later I am rising in the House again on this very same subject. It seems that when it comes to adequately funding Canada's crumbling infrastructure, as usual, the government cares more about photo ops than it does about actually getting the job done.