House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2008, with 42% of the vote.
Petitions February 28th, 2003
Madam Speaker, I too have a petition I would like to present on behalf of a number of people in Alberta. The petitioners urge Parliament to protect our children by taking all necessary steps to ensure that all materials which promote or glorify pedophilia and other activities involving children are outlawed.
Goods and Services Tax February 28th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue has said that the total of GST fraud which had been identified was $60 million. Let us see if that is correct. She said that $25 million had been lost to previous cases and about $75 million was currently before the courts. That seems to equal $100 million. Clearly she does not know what the real amount is or she is afraid to tell Canadians how much has been stolen.
When will the minister end her creative accounting practices and give an accurate report to Parliament and Canadians?
The Budget February 26th, 2003
Madam Speaker, again that is an excellent question. We have to remind ourselves that the government made one of its biggest promises, which was to eliminate the GST. The government has not done that. In fact it has managed it so poorly that now we are losing almost billions of dollars in fraud. That is a shame.
The Budget February 26th, 2003
Madam Speaker, there is always a thoughtful question from this side of the House. I am always pleased to respond to my colleague who is a very thoughtful member in this place. He is absolutely right. That money belongs to the employers and the workers of this nation who would have created more jobs if that money had been left in their hands.
Let us face it, the government fails to recognize that. It is giving a measly 2¢ to workers. It could have done a lot more if it had reduced that EI surplus, of which it has taken advantage. Even on the side of CPP, the government has actually raised the premium. Payroll taxes are incredibility high in this country.
The parliamentary secretary mentioned one thing about debt. Debt did not even come to the lips of the Liberals. It was because of the opposition that the government actually followed through in reducing the debt. I wish the parliamentary secretary would give credit where it is due.
The Budget February 26th, 2003
Madam Speaker, I am not sure if I mentioned I am splitting my time with the member for West Vancouver--Sunshine Coast.
The parliamentary secretary mentioned he was disappointed. He was disappointed because the truth hurts, let us face it. I want to remind the parliamentary secretary, which he failed to address in his comments, that we have seen one of the largest surpluses in the budget than we have ever seen. The government could have put some of that money back into the pockets of Canadians.
Let us face it, the parliamentary secretary talks about strategic investments for Canadians. Some of the best people to make those investments are Canadians themselves. When we compare the tax rates of this country with our biggest partner down south, we know why we have these productivity gaps. We know why we are losing a lot of youth to the south. The government should start realizing that unless it starts to bring personal income tax in line with that of the United States, we will continue to lose to our partners to the south. There is no reason that should happen, especially in a country as rich as ours.
The Budget February 26th, 2003
Madam Speaker, I rise to speak to the budget. Simply put, the budget is a failure. It has failed Canadians in some very basic ways. Why? Because the budget is born out of petty internal Liberal politics. It is a budget which says to Canadians that the billions lost to scandals and the massive tax burden do not matter because the Prime Minister wants a legacy. This is no way to budget the money of Canadians, never mind run a country.
By looking at specific examples within my critic portfolio of national revenue, such as the GST, the air tax, RRSPs and income tax, I will lay out the case that the budget has failed Canadians and failed my constituents of Edmonton--Strathcona. Also, as the Canadian Alliance has done in the past, by providing examples of fiscal responsibility that often the government has followed, I will put forward solutions that will rectify the shortcomings of the budget.
As the revenue critic for the Canadian Alliance, I had few expectations the government would do anything to help Canadian taxpayers in the budget. However, I did hope the government would allocate money in the budget to fight GST fraud. In fact, it did not.
GST fraud, simply put, is the writing of fraudulent GST rebate claims on non-existent international shipping orders and then submitting them to Revenue Canada. CCRA then cuts a cheque back to the perpetrators of the fraud, such as organized crime. What is worse, the government knows about these criminals and does not even care enough about this type of crime to investigate it properly.
In fact, the history of the GST under this government, and the previous Conservative government, has been marked by the refusal to heed numerous warnings.
The first warning came from New Zealand tax expert Norm Latimer. At the time, he warned the government that this kind of fraud had been committed in New Zealand and that very specific changes needed to be brought in to stop it, including asking businesses submitting claims to attach receipts. Twelve years later, this requirement has yet to be applied.
In 1994 the Fraser Institute held a conference that discussed this very issue and put forward recommendations. In 1997 the Auditor General once again raised the alarm bells. What was the response of the government? It was to disband the special GST fraud investigations unit at Revenue Canada in 1995. This action was undertaken by the minister of finance at the time. The GST fraud unit was responsible for investigating these crimes. Now, thanks to the man who wants to be prime minister, there is no longer anyone watching the store.
Why is this important and why have I laid out the case that the government needs to address GST fraud in the budget? The answer is simple. GST fraud could be costing Canadian taxpayers a reported $1 billion or more a year. It is $1 billion disappearing into the pockets of those, in the words of the Parliament Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue, described as drug dealers and gun dealers. In another case in Surrey, B.C., $22 million was stolen and laundered through the Khalsa Credit Union, whose founder and CEO is under arrest for participating in the Air India bombing, Canada's worst act of terrorism.
The Canadian Alliance hoped that the government would have reallocated funds under CCRA to re-establish the GST fraud investigations unit. We had hoped that it would have finally heeded the numerous warnings and implemented regulatory changes to stop this type of fraud. It did not. It is just another way the budget has failed Canadians.
More important, a Canadian Alliance government would undertake to reduce the overall level of the GST. We believe that this is an important step in the overall process of reducing the tax burden of all Canadians.
Like the GST, the air travel security tax is a heavy burden this government is imposing on Canadians. In the previous budget, the former Minister of Finance chose to impose a uniform $24 tax on the Canadian travelling public. He argued that this measure was to improve safety following the events of September 11.
However, the fact is that this tax went directly into the consolidated fund and was used to fund numerous white elephants, such as the gun registry and the sponsorships awarded to Liberal cronies.
Instead of investing the money of Canadians in such a way as to ensure their safety and security, the Liberals are investing it to ensure they get re-elected.
Sadly, the money has not gone toward security upgrades at our airports, especially where it is needed the most, like resources for our customs agents who do a great job despite the government's poor management. What it has done is to further hurt Canada's airlines, already reeling from the downturn in air travel following 9/11.
The Canadian Alliance has been calling for an end to this tax since its inception. The government's response was to slightly reduce it, not eliminate it. This is totally unacceptable, yet another failure of this budget.
Another thing the government has failed to act on is the immediate increase in the RRSP contribution limit to enable Canadians to save for their retirement.
This budget will have the RRSP contribution limit increase to $18,000 by 2006. While commendable, this measure is spread over a much too long period. Canadians must have the assurance that they can save for their retirement now, not later.
Also, this limit is lower than the one recommended in the report of the Standing Committee on Finance, which was an all party report.
Just as Canadians need to be secure in their ability to save for their future, they need to be secure in the knowledge that the money they earn is not gobbled up by income tax. Unfortunately, this budget fails Canadians in that respect. As a result, Canadians will continue to be taxed beyond their means. Nowhere in the budget is there reference to cutting the personal income tax rate. Instead the Liberals seem content to continue the harsh level of taxation on families and other Canadians who are struggling to get by.
The Canadian Alliance has pledged on numerous occasions that we would cut personal income tax rates. We are still committed to that and will follow through when we become government.
With the surplus as large as it was in this budget, it would have been prudent for the government to give most of it back to Canadians and not spend it like drunken sailors. It is unacceptable that in the budget the spending is up by 88% and tax reduction is only 12%. Outrageously, in the case of EI, the reduction will only amount to 2¢ on every dollar. The money belongs to the workers and employees and deserves to be returned, not spent by this irresponsible government. We would have liked to have seen much more on that front.
Let me conclude by bringing this full circle by looking at what a Canadian Alliance government believes and what we would have done differently.
The Canadian Alliance stands for tax relief for all Canadians. The Canadian Alliance is working for individuals and businesses to ensure payroll taxes do not destroy jobs. The Canadian Alliance is for a strong health care system. The Canadian Alliance is for a vibrant military, able to defend the interests of freedom and democracy around the world. The Canadian Alliance is for reducing the national debt level so our children and grandchildren do not have it hanging over their heads like an albatross. Most of all, the Canadian Alliance believes in respecting all Canadians.
This is what the Canadian Alliance is against. We are opposed to giving away government contracts as a way of securing corporate donations. We are opposed to wasting a billion dollars on a gun registry that will not stop criminals. We are opposed to a billion dollars in HRDC grants that just seem to disappear. We are opposed to allowing organized crime and terrorists the freedom to defraud our GST system for another billion dollars. Most of all, we are opposed to a government that openly disrespects Canadians.
Goods and Services Tax February 25th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the minister has a responsibility to Parliament and she seems to forget that. The revenue minister has kept Parliament in the dark. We still do not know the true amount of GST fraud losses. The minister says, “It is $25 million; wait a minute, $50 million; no, hang on a second, I think it is $100 million”.
Canadians want to know how much GST fraud is costing taxpayers. When will the minister do the right thing and give a full accounting of GST fraud to Parliament?
Goods and Services Tax February 25th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, documents obtained under the Access to Information Act indicate that officials from Revenue Canada and the Treasury Board decided to change the way losses related to GST credits are calculated in the public accounts. It seems that Parliament and the public have never been informed of these changes.
Why did the minister make these changes and then try to keep Canadians in the dark?
Goods and Services Tax February 12th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, it seems that the numbers the minister continues to raise are confusing Canadians because she is not being clear. In the same public accounts at page 4.2 there is a listed sum of just over $368 million as an allowance for doubtful accounts for the GST. Again, that is just for one fiscal year.
Can the minister tell us how much of that $368 million can be attributed to possible GST fraud?
Goods and Services Tax February 12th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue wanted some facts about GST fraud.
Here are some facts. On page 3.9 of volume two of the Public Accounts of Canada 2001-2002, under debts, obligations and claims written off, there is a figure of over $1 billion for the CCRA and that is just for one fiscal year.
Can the minister tell us how much of that $1 billion is written off to possible GST fraud?