Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I stand to address this particular bill, even though, as has been expressed by other colleagues, we have grave concerns in regard to it. However, taxation in general is of keen interest to all sides of this House, as Canadians are always keen to know the government's intentions in dealing with tax. I am sure that if we were to canvass constituents, as in the last number of weeks and months we have been working in our constituencies, we would find an overwhelmingly positive response to what has been implemented in a very short time in regard to the issue of government taxation policies. Later this morning, in fact we are going to be talking about the biggest single tax break going to Canada's middle class, of some 7%, and the millions of Canadians who are going to benefit from that.
This morning we have before us a private member's bill that is focused on spirits. Even though I do not necessarily indulge in spirits myself, I understand the importance of that particular industry and how important it is that we ensure we get it right. I would start by complimenting in particular small businesses that have done so well for our nation by the development and research that goes into it. It is not as simple as pouring some water into a container and then mixing in some oats and so forth and voila we have spirits.
In Canada, we have some of the best spirits in the world. Even though I do not indulge, I have been to other countries where I have seen Canadian spirits. It is important when we deal with this particular piece of legislation that we take into consideration the impact of reducing a tariff or something of that nature. We are a trading nation, and the spirits industry in Canada exports a great deal of product outside of Canada. People who have travelled abroad would see that first-hand.
Here we have a piece of legislation that would give a bit of an edge for our national companies that are producing spirits, and on the surface one might ask why we would not vote for legislation of this nature. I suspect that members will find, even from within the industry itself, that a good percentage of people say they see future growth not only here in Canada but abroad. We have a very aggressive government on the trade file. We have a Minister of International Trade who is constantly outside of Canada, trying to break down barriers and ensure that not only the consumers but also our exporters will benefit from that.
I think of some of the distilleries we have in the province of Manitoba, Seagram Crown Royal. This is something that people can buy all over the world. When we look on the surface of what is proposed with this legislation, one might ask why not, but there is an argument to be made as to why not. A big part of that argument is dealing specifically with the idea of trade. If we were to look at this sector and say here is how we could give it an advantage, and other countries around the world look at that when we talk about taking down trade barriers, we could see repercussions that could cost our industry future sales. I believe that Canada produces the types of spirits that are quite saleable around the world, and this is something that needs to be taken into consideration.
We know that the single most important thing we can do for small businesses here in Canada is to grow the economy in which we operate.
By strengthening, for example, our middle class, we are ensuring that Canadian businesses will have more customers coming through their doors, not only in the short term but the long term. That is why, at the local level, I made reference at the beginning of my speech as to what this government is doing for Canada's middle class with the tax break we have delivered. That will help at the local level.
Our spirits industry is an important player in our diverse economy. As we discuss the rate of reduction proposed in this bill, it is important to first note that the excise duty rates have effectively been unchanged for the last 30 years. In that sense alone, it means that producers are already benefiting from a diminished real rate of taxation due to inflation.
Part of responsible governance is taking our international rules and commitments seriously. Canada depends on these international rules to protect its exports abroad. If we look at it from that perspective, this morning we are talking about spirits, but let us not kid ourselves: Canada is a trading nation. As I indicated, we are trying to the best of our ability to bring forward an aggressive and freer trade policy in which Canadians, in particular consumers, and I would suggest exporters, who create the jobs, are going to benefit.
When we take that sort of approach, from which all of Canadian society will benefit, I would suggest the timing of this legislation in itself could be questioned. I find it somewhat interesting that even the Harper government before us did not see fit to address this issue. It is interesting that now the Conservatives who are in opposition are bringing forward something the Harper government chose not to do. There is a valid reason for that.
I would argue that as the Conservatives attempted to deal with the bigger issue of trade, while understanding the importance of that to our nation they felt the timing was not right, let alone the content. We notice that they maintained what former prime ministers Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin did, which was to keep that same rate for the last 30 years. I have been involved in politics for a good number of years, and I have heard many different representations both from individual and caucus points of view, and this is an issue that has not been lobbied, at least not to me directly.
There may be a couple of members from the Conservative Party who have honed in on this specific priority issue. However, if we look at it from a broader perspective of taxation policy, I do not believe this is necessary at this point in time. In fact, it could be to the detriment of the industry as a whole. The spirits industry in all regions of our country want to aggressively pursue deals abroad, especially when we talk about some of the trade agreements we are hearing about, the ones that the Harper government did not quite finish or get done and we are trying to finalize.
Those are the types of things I believe are providing hope to industries, manufacturers, and producers at the local level, and they see future opportunities. We do not want to complicate those matters in future trade accords because spirits industries in other countries are saying there are Canadian firms trying to expand their reach into our countries and yet are putting forward taxation laws such as this. Therefore, the Conservatives need to tread carefully, be aware of the bigger picture, and understand why the Harper government itself did not choose to go that way.