Mr. Speaker, tax policies do not exist in a vacuum. They only work if the system actually works for the people who rely on it. As a chartered professional accountant, I have spent 26 years in public service. I have filed thousands of tax returns. For decades, friends and clients relied on me to navigate our complex tax system.
Canada's tax system is based on voluntary self-reporting, and that translates into ordinary Canadians being penalized if they do not get it exactly right. The role of CRA should be to help people comply on time and accurately. That means clear answers, knowledgeable staff and accessible service. However, most Canadians have a bad experience with CRA. They struggle to get through on the phone, and they receive inconsistent answers. Some agents are excellent professionals. Others simply read from a script, offer confusion instead of clarity or are simply wrong. That is not good service. Good service requires proper training, accountability and staffing models that allow agents to access the tools they need to help taxpayers.
The CRA touches millions of Canadians every year. It does not have to be this painful. If the Liberal government is serious about respect for taxpayers, it should focus less on extracting every last dollar and more on helping Canadians comply with confidence, dignity and accuracy.
For months, Canadians have been told by the government that there is no tax on food. In December, when I asked the Prime Minister about hidden taxes on food, one of his parliamentary secretaries claimed that the taxes have zero impact on food prices. However, Canadians cannot buy groceries with Liberal talking points. They pay with their hard-earned dollars. When government policies drive up the cost of fuel, energy, packaging and production, that is a tax on food, even if we do not see it listed on our grocery bill.
The clean fuel standard alone adds real costs to gasoline and diesel. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed this increases fuel prices now and they will keep rising. That affects farmers running equipment, truckers hauling food, processors packaging it and stores keeping the lights on. These costs do not disappear. They are passed on to families at the grocery store. The same is true for the industrial carbon tax. Taxing industries that grow, process, transport and refrigerate food means higher prices for everything we eat. Experts have warned that these policies are making Canadian food producers less competitive, especially compared to the United States, and the gap is growing.
Then there is inflation driven by the reckless spending and the Prime Minister's recent $78-billion deficit. Inflation is the most painful hidden tax of all because it erodes the value of every paycheque. On top of that, the government piled on new costs through its food packaging rules, hitting restaurants and takeout providers already facing serious financial strain. Thousands of restaurants have closed and more are expected to follow.
These policies all add costs to food. Conservatives call it what it is, a tax. If the Prime Minister is serious about affordability, would he eliminate the fuel standard and bring his deficit under control to stop taxing the food supply chain?