Madam Speaker, I will begin by explaining the “why”: Why have we introduced these changes to capital gains in Canada?
The revenue generated from our changes to capital gains will help pay for many of the programs we have put in place. I am thinking, among others, of our national school food program, which aims to help vulnerable children who do not have enough to eat. This helps them learn.
To point out another reason, our government believes that hard-working Canadians who make a salary and get their revenue from labour should not have to pay a higher rate of taxation than Canadians who make money off of capital. I do not believe in having wide disparities in the way labour and capital are taxed. I believe, as our government believes, that income inequality needs to be addressed. This policy, as well as others, such as our luxury tax on boats and private jets, aims to do just that.
This morning, I had the opportunity to attend a round table hosted by Oxfam on the issue of tax fairness and how to address the growing gap between the wealthiest and poorest in our society. While I could spend much time explaining today's discussion or listing figures, I will note that under the current tax system, a nurse or schoolteacher could pay a higher tax rate than somebody cashing in their stock portfolio. I could talk about the Canadians affected by this change, who have an average income of $1.4 million in any given year. I could detail how middle-class families, small businesses and farmers would be better off under our proposed changes. I have done all that before and I will do it again, but today I would like to talk about something a bit more personal.
I represent the riding of Outremont, which includes the neighbourhood of Outremont, but also Côte-des-Neiges, Mile End and the Plateau. These neighbourhoods represent the microcosm of Canada. We have strong linguistic duality, many ethnic and religious communities, and wide disparities in income and wealth. For average income, my riding is slightly above average, rounding out the top 100, but for median income, my community is ranked the 25th-poorest in the entire country out of 338 ridings and the fourth-poorest in all of Quebec. This is very visible on the ground for me. From the beautiful homes that line gorgeous Mount Royal, with amazing views and beautiful parks, to the old and sometimes dangerously unmaintained apartment buildings in Côte-des-Neiges, which is next to the rumbling of our urban highways, the distinction could not be more stark or more visible to me.
I would like to be very clear: I do not begrudge for a second those living in beautiful houses in Outremont, as I live in a beautiful house in Outremont. I also do not pity those living in the apartment blocks in Côte-des-Neiges. I was born in a one-bedroom apartment in Côte-des-Neiges and had such a beautiful childhood in that neighbourhood. However, I believe that everybody deserves a fair chance and deserves an opportunity, one that might be just a bit easier than the one I had to fight and claw for.
That is where the federal government can and should play a role. That is what fighting for tax fairness is all about. All boats rise with the tide, so all Canadians, including Canadians who pay capital gains, benefit when we create opportunities for other Canadians.