Mr. Speaker, here we are at second reading stage of the budget implementation act. Citizens will ask if this is the budget already. No, they should not be fooled; this is about the 2004 budget. The government was so concerned about these changes to Canadians' lives and here we are still speaking about them on the eve of the finance minister's next budget. It is important before we get to a new budget that we look back on the old budget and what was not in it.
We Conservatives have asked the government for tax relief for low and middle income Canadians. It has become more evident of late that despite bragging about great reductions in taxation, Canadians continue to say, “Show me the money”. Despite stated reductions in taxation, the hardworking people of Elgin—Middlesex—London and the rest of Canada have less money in their pockets.
We must find a way to offer needed services to the citizens of this great country and to stimulate the growth of our economy. We must also ensure that any and all money taken from Canadians in the form of taxes, in payroll deductions, or in fees by the government is treated with the respect it deserves. We must remember the source of these funds. The money comes out of the pockets, the wallets, the bank accounts and the piggy banks of Canadians. These funds belong to the people, not the finance minister.
It is the job of the government to wisely collect, account for, and prescribe spending that the country needs to support its people, remembering that the money belongs to the people. We must ensure that only the amount needed to accomplish this and the needs of Canada is taken away from Canada's citizens.
The habit of huge surplus budgets must end. We must, as suggested, implement a fully independent process for forecasting the government's financial situation. The government has proven either through deceit or ignorance that it cannot be trusted not to take billions and billions more from taxpayers than is needed to do the job. If we just left these funds with Canadians in the first place, we would save the cost of collection and influence the disposable incomes of all Canadians.
The government must also ensure that the tax dollars and other funds sent to the government are treated with the respect they deserve. We must erase the waste. The government has a legacy of waste and mismanagement.
One of the areas of waste in this implementation act is still the Air Travellers Security Charge Act, which should be renamed the “something really bad happened so we found a new way to take money from hardworking Canadians act”. This tax needs not to be reduced but eliminated. It is a drag on tourism. It is causing our airports to be expensive places to fly out of. We have continually asked for that tax to be eliminated, but we have not been listened to. We were correct that more money was being taken in than was needed for airport security. Thanks for listening and finally lowering the tax. The next step is complete elimination.
This is just another example of wasteful action on the part of the government. Canadians value their earnings, it seems, greater than the government does.
With the waste in the sponsorship debacle, the gun registry fiasco, and budget errors, the waste is permanently set into each Canadian's mind. Many Canadians cringe each time they send money or have it taken from them when they think of the wasteful areas in which the government has spent it.
Canadians are fully aware of the employment insurance fund hoax. Many young low income earners are stolen from on every paycheque with EI deductions for a program they cannot use. Employers are paying matching contributions into a fund that should be used as an emergency income support fund to assist workers who are out of work through no fault of their own. Instead it goes into a government slush fund. The use for which EI was designed is not being followed.
The bill makes some small attempts at small business tax relief, but in true dithering fashion it does not go far enough.
In the next budget we must see more tax relief. This brings me to the third and perhaps most important area of concern, taxes. Canadians are too heavily taxed. This kills jobs and causes our economy to grow at less than potential. Lower taxes must be a priority and the pace of implementation must be increased.
We continue to hear about the largest tax decrease ever given. The problem is that it is in the future. It is similar to having a sale at the store for washers and dryers 10 years from now. It sounds great if we are there to take advantage of the world's greatest tax decrease.
Starting with low and middle income wage earners, we can improve the quality of life and stimulate spending. That is where it can help the most.
We must see bold attempts at substantial tax relief in the small business sector. The government must stop its practice of half-measures and inadequate solutions and go the whole distance to help the economic engine that drives Canada, the small businesses of this country.
Through tax reduction in this sector we can assist in dealing with the rising dollar and the ever-rising costs. Small business has been crying out for tax reduction and all it has received is a substantial reduction in the income of small business owners.
In conclusion, Bill C-33 has arrived too late. It accomplishes too little and sets expectations for the next budget too low. Let us hope the finance minister is listening to us this time.