Madam Speaker, as the member of Parliament for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, it is my honour to represent the women and men who serve their country as members of the Canadian armed forces and who have the good fortune to be posted to Base Petawawa, which is in my riding.
I am pleased to report to the House and to the Minister of National Defence that since I last spoke on the issue of the health premium tax, which is charged to members of the military even though they are prohibited from using provincial health care plans, I have been contacted by many members of the military thanking me for standing up for them. I thank all the women and men who serve their country as members of Canada's armed forces and who took the time to contact me. Together we will make the government accountable.
For the benefit of Canadians who may be unaware of the substance of this debate, members of the Canadian Forces residing in Ontario are insured under the Canadian Forces health services plan and are specifically excluded by the Canada Health Act from the definition of insured persons. That means their health care is provided directly by the federal government and not by their province of residence.
The Canadian Forces health services plan pays $450 million into its health care system and the federal government identifies that money as a direct federal contribution to the total health care spending in Canada. In turn, the federal government uses this figure in health care negotiations to reduce the amount that it transfers to the provinces. As a result, Canadian soldiers living in Ontario are forced to pay twice for health care.
Members of Canada's armed forces object to paying almost $1,000 a year per person in health care premiums to the Liberal government in Ontario when the Canada Health Act specifically prohibits them from being a member of the provincial health plan. No other province does this.
While I appreciate it when the government states that it is appalled by the actions of its party in Ontario and that at least one minister recognizes that the premium tax is unfair, Canadians are asking: What about the Minister of Health whose responsibility it is to uphold the Canada Health Act? It is a sad day in Canada when the Minister of Health refuses to defend the Canada Health Act.
I have a letter from the Minister of Health, which was copied to the defence minister so I know he has seen it also. In it he not only refuses to defend the Canada Health Act, but he defends the Liberal premium tax on the basis, among other things, that trusts and non-resident taxpayers are exempt. He also defends the premium charge on the basis of residency on December 31 of a taxation year.
What about non-commissioned soldiers who are at a level 1 or 2 overseas posting, or soldiers above a certain level of rank of captain who still pay this premium tax when their point of departure is from Ontario? I understand that even those soldiers at a level 3 or above overseas posting, who should be on tax exempt status, are paying EI, CPP and the Ontario health premium tax.
The point I am trying to make is there are all kinds of exceptions that the military takes into consideration and can take into consideration. This is not an issue of legal technicalities. This decision to charge the tax on this basis is a policy decision. This is a matter of fundamental fairness.
My question to the Minister of National Defence relates specifically to the commitment by the government's representative to compensate soldiers who are forced to pay the premium tax that is supposed to be refunded by the post living differential.
What members of the military do not want to hear is that the government is studying the problem, analyzing the problem and whatever other excuses the Liberals come up with to do nothing.
The Minister of National Defence knows that the cost of living differential is used to harmonize pay on the basis of local costs.