Madam Speaker, I am also pleased to speak to Bill C-303, sponsored by the hon. member for Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, whom I want to congratulate. I think this is the third time the member has introduced this bill in the House. It shows how committed he is to the cause of workers and how he recognizes that they need help.
For the benefit of those who are watching us tonight, the bill reads as follows:
This enactment amends the Income Tax Act. It provides that a forestry worker may, under certain conditions, deduct motor vehicle travel expenses from income where the taxpayer was required under a contract of employment to use the motor vehicle to travel to and from the taxpayer’s ordinary place of residence and the taxpayer’s workplace or the employer’s place of business.
The enactment also provides that a forestry worker may, under certain conditions, deduct from income
(a) the interest paid on borrowed money used to acquire the motor vehicle; and
(b) such part of the capital cost of the motor vehicle used by the taxpayer as is allowed by regulation.
This could be a great bill, because it deals with a specific industry. I think some members have already pointed that out. Others, however, like some members of the Conservative Party of Canada, have said that all workers face the same problem, they all need to travel to and from their workplace. I can only conclude that they still not realize the kind of work these people do and what is required of them.
Let me give you an example. I used to work in a mine. To get to work, I could use my car, the same car I used on Sundays. I can assure the House however that loggers who work in the forests and have to travel 100 or 200 kilometres in mud and in awful road conditions need more than just a regular car. That is the whole difference.
Also, given the jobs available elsewhere, people can carpool to get to work. Four workers, for instance, can travel together in the same car. Oftentimes, loggers have to travel alone.
Costs are very high. These are groups of people who were traditionally ignored by employers. I remember that, at one time, the Consolidated Bathurst paper mill used to hire loggers. One day, it got rid of them, gave the work to contractors and there were no longer any benefits of any kind.
Some time ago, perhaps 50 years—and I can assure the House that I was not born yet—forestry workers were better treated than some of them are today. They had camps, with a cook to prepare meals. They had a place to sleep, with good meals, and they had work for the day.
Today, this is no longer the case, as the Bloc Quebecois member mentioned, and some are living in trailers or in tents. In 2004, there are forestry workers who work in the bush, sleep in tents and wash in the lake. Such is life for some of them.
It is not like what the Conservative member was trying to tell us earlier, when he said that these people did not deserve such benefits, because their situation is like that of any other worker.
For example, in New Brunswick, some people work as loggers and this is their livelihood. There are workers who lost their jobs at the age of 54 or 58, because the Minister of Human Resources Development decided that they should hang up their chainsaw, that it was over. Then, they began hiring small contractors who no longer work for large companies such as UPM. Forestry workers must use their own means of transportation to get to work.
It is true that they cannot work in their community. For example, some leave Tracadie-Sheila to go to work in Boylston, or in the region of Sussex. It is like that everywhere. Such is the life of forestry workers.
Many of them are forced to travel by themselves. The costs generated by the use of their vehicle are totally different from those incurred by a vehicle travelling on paved highways.
That is why a logger has to use his own car.
As for his chain saw, it is tax deductible. However, he has to buy it. He uses one chain saw every year. That is why chain saws are deductible for loggers.
Why could the vehicle he uses to go to work in the forest not be tax deductible? We have heard over and over again in this House that the Conservatives want the government to lower taxes. It has lowered taxes for employers but when it is the employees' turn, it says that it cannot treat them differently from others.
However, as I said at the beginning of my speech, they are different. In the forestry sector, there are over 75,000 loggers. They are not the best paid usually. Their working conditions are among the worst.
Just imagine what I told you. It is the truth. Back home there were loggers who had to live in campers and get washed in the lakes. We still see that today in 2004. And they are being told that the work they are doing is no different from what others do.
We need our loggers. How many times have we heard people say “Oh that one, he is only a logger”. However, when people in a urban centre anywhere in the country buy a 2x4 to repair or build a house, they do not even think for two minutes about the person who went into the woods to cut the tree to make the 2x4. They do not even think that that person entered the forest at 5 o'clock in the morning, worked very hard with his chain saw in the sweltering heat, and was eaten alive by mosquitoes all day long. They do not talk about that.
At least in the mine there was always one good thing: there were no mosquitoes. We had warm food, stoves and all those kind of things. We could always find a vehicle to go to work because the mine employed 1,400 people. There were perhaps 600 people on a shift. There were always people in the neighbourhood who could use the same car. We were able to help each other in this respect. There are five days in a week, four workers per car. It is possible to use one's car once a week only.
Things are different for loggers. They have big expenses. They even have to pay for the gas for their chainsaw. They have all sorts of expenses. Even if they get a tax deduction, we can still imagine their expenses, with the gas they have to use in their chainsaw. They have no choice.
That is why I think the bill introduced by the hon. member for Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques is good. Last December, the Liberal government reduced corporate taxes by $4.2 billion. When friends are involved, there is no problem. When the Prime Minister, with the companies he turned over to his sons, can get away with not paying any taxes in Canada, it seems there is no problem. But when it comes to an ordinary lumberjack, there is a big problem. The same treatment is not available to an ordinary lumberjack or other worker.
It is about time the government did something. Something has been done for mechanics, when they sought a GST exemption on the tools of their trade. We are here to amend laws and bring about changes.
The Bloc Quebecois member's recommendation is a good one. This is a good bill and that is why I will support it. I am sure my NDP colleagues will also support this bill because it is a step in the right direction. Once and for all, this legislation will help the little guy and not the large corporations which the Liberals and the Conservatives want to help. That is the difference between the political parties.