Bryon Wilfert

[Employment Insurance, May 2nd, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, first, I reject the comments of the hon. member. The Minister of Finance has said that he will sit down and work co-operatively with the new Government of Quebec and with his counterpart, Mr. Séguin.

Second, the member knows that the minister has already started a review of the EI program.

Therefore I suggest that the member be patient while that review continues and while the minister sits down and has good conversations with the new Government of Quebec.

[Taxation, April 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to reducing fat, I would remind the member that in February in the budget the minister announced that $1 billion will be saved across the board. I did not hear the member get up and applaud us for that. I did not hear the hon. member stand and thank us for the work we have been doing both on the capital tax reduction and elimination and the $100 billion tax cut.

Again, the government reduces taxes. It pays off the national debt, as we are doing, down to 44.5% from 71.5% five years ago. We eliminated the national deficit. What is the problem over there?

[Taxation, April 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, we thank the hon. member for that news announcement about the taxes this evening. Maybe the member should know while he is filing his taxes that in October 2000 the government introduced a $100 billion tax cut. This is the third year of it.

Again, we are in the business of reducing taxes, not increasing taxes. Maybe the hon. member should check his figures before he sends them in tonight.

[Vimy Ridge Day, April 9th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 86th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, and today is the first official Vimy Ridge Day.

This day commemorates a massive offensive attack by the allies in the first world war. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was one of Canada's most famous military engagements of the 20th century. Vimy has become synonymous with sacrifice, with heroism and with heroes. It has become known as a nation-builder for Canada, as well as a major step toward the end of the first world war.

On April 9, 1917, the allies, for the very first time, had all four divisions of the Canadian corps attack this German site under unified Canadian command. The Canadians were met with great resistance but after three days of heavy fighting, the Germans realized the loss of Vimy Ridge was permanent and retreated.

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial, which includes preserved battlefield terrain, provides a lasting and tangible reminder of Canadians' sacrifice. The memorial honours the capture of Vimy Ridge and is a monument to all Canadians who died in France and have no known grave. Cut into the stones on the sides of the platform of the memorial are the names of 11,285 Canadians.

We honour those Canadians today. It is part of our--

[Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, April 8th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, all I can say to the hon. member is if there is a system that he thinks could be devised to do so, I would be interested to hear it. The reality is privacy issues are obviously of major concern to Canadians and certainly to the government. I would suggest that it is not feasible. I have outlined the issue with regard to contributions and clearly I do not want to see people being discriminated against. The hon. member may take a different view but in my view I do not think that is what Canadians want.

It is important that we continue to work, hopefully with the hon. member and others in the House, on the review and to establish the kind of EI program which the minister has indicated he would like to see developed. I am surprised that the member would criticize us for bringing the rates down. At the same time, we again have done something which in the previous government went the other way.

[Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, April 8th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I noted the hon. member's comments. I would first point out to the House that there is no separate EI fund. The Auditor General instructed the government of the day in 1986 to put it in consolidated revenue. The minister has announced that there will be a thorough review. In fact he set up a review panel to deal with EI, which will be reporting back in June.

Again the minister has been seized with this issue. As everyone knows, since the government came to power EI rates have continued to go down, and that is important to note. In 2004 it will be $1.98.

On the issue that the member raises with regard to overpayments, as we know employers are required to pay the first dollar for each employee in employment. In 2003 the maximum CPP contribution for employees and employers is $1,802 and EI, $1,147 for employers and $819 for employees. A person who works for more than one employer in 2003 will contribute more than the annual CPP maximum if they have total employment earnings of over $39,900. The same is true for EI total earnings over $39,000. In that case the employee will be entitled to a refund at tax reporting time.

A parallel refund is not provided to the employer. This is because the individual employer has not paid more than the maximum amount in respect of the wage that has been paid to the employee. In other words, the legislation does not allow employers to take into account the previous or other earnings of a worker in terms of the calculation for the contribution of a refund due.

I have indicated before that there are important reasons. Clearly, providing a refund for CPP or EI contributions to employers could violate privacy to which employees are entitled. For instance, providing a lump sum refund to employers at tax time would allow them to infer information about their employees' earnings from other employers or self-employment. The fewer the number of workers on the payroll, the greater potential for the invasion of privacy. I am sure the hon. member is concerned about invasion of privacy and an individual's right not to have certain information released. An employee's work history should not be revealed through the medium of either the CPP or the EI refunds.

Refunds to employers could have other undesirable effects, obviously discrimination in terms of hiring. If employers could receive CPP and EI refunds, they would have an incentive to hire workers who have already contributed the maximum to CPP and EI. I do not think that is the intent the member wants, and I am sure we would not want to do that.

Obviously it could also discriminate against people with little or no previous earnings, like the unemployed or those entering the job market for the first time. That is certainly a concern.

[Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, April 8th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, again quoting the president of the FCM to the Minister of Finance, “Faced with a $57 billion infrastructure deficit, we were disappointed and said so”. However, he goes on to say, “Since then we have noted your reference to the total funding representing only a down payment. We welcome this clarification”.

The reality is that the FCM is prepared to work with this government. The reality is that if municipalities need more taxation authority, they need to go to their provincial counterparts, which have the ability to provide them with a hotel tax, a gas tax, whatever they happen to need. To suggest for a moment that one order of government should collect money from Canadians and then turn it over to another order of government, which will then be able spend it without any accountability, I have some difficulty with that. I had difficulty with that notion when I was at FCM and I still do.

I do believe that when it comes to infrastructure it is by leveraging dollars and working collaboratively with our municipal and provincial friends that we are going to solve the problem the member has raised.

[Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, April 8th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, who I know had a distinguished career in municipal politics in the City of Windsor.

As a former municipal politician and a former president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, I want to emphasize very clearly that in 1983 the FCM proposed the national infrastructure program. It then lay dormant under the Conservatives until 1993, when this government picked it up.

We implemented the national infrastructure program. We placed $2 billion on the table. As the hon. member knows, we leveraged that money with the provinces, the municipalities and indeed the private sector. Not to stop with that, in 1997 we renewed the program with another $425 million, leveraging again, through the Canada Infrastructure Works Program, to stimulate over $8.3 billion in municipal investment.

The hon. member said that this budget ignored cities. Not only did it not ignore cities, it went beyond what any government in the history of this country has done with regard to cities.

Let me quote the FCM's president from March 5: “FCM has enjoyed a long and productive relationship with the Government of Canada. Many specific initiatives come to mind. The first Canada Infrastructure Works Program in 1994, support for the homeless, renewed and expanded funding for affordable housing, the groundbreaking green municipal funds, which were recommended by the FCM, the creation of a caucus task force to look at the state of our cities, and the rural secretariat all testify to a record of collaboration with Canada's municipal governments”. That is from the president of the FCM, John Schmal.

I point out to the hon. member that for years, when I was FCM president and before I was president, municipalities asked for a 10 year program in infrastructure and this government delivered. How can one suggest for a moment that we ignored cities in the last budget: homeless, health care, universities, R and D, research, infrastructure. Of course we have a down payment, as the minister said, on infrastructure. There is $100 million this year and it will be increased every year, and we expect our provincial partners to come to the table. As that Ontario member knows, it is the provincial Government of Ontario that has not been at the table. One would have to ask why it was so silent on cities when it came to its budget. It was absolutely dead silent.

This government makes no apologies for our work with cities. We continue to work with our municipal colleagues. I will tell members that I am very proud, not only as a former FCM president but as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, to note that we have listened to cities. We are going to continue to do so.

With that member's help, we are going to make sure that even though cities are under section 92 of the Constitution, and are the creatures, a word I hate, of the provinces, we are going to work collaboratively with them because it is in the best interests of all Canadians.

I appreciate the member's question.

[Interparliamentary Delegations, April 1st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report following the 11th annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from January 13 to January 15.

[Income Tax Act, March 31st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I would first point out that we certainly will not support the amendment to remove the word “Canadian”.

As mentioned, the provision for the government to support or stimulate the creation of Canadian culture product is an important policy of the government. The motion before us for debate proposes a lower tax rate for creative and interpretive artists on income from creative written works, such as royalties and sales produced from copyright and related rights.

The hon. member is to be commended for her endeavour to support the artistic community. I think we all on this side of the House that. Supporting our remarkable and diverse community of artists is crucial to maintaining Canada's identity as a nation. It is absolutely vital that we possess the necessary tools to safeguard our own culture and to tell our own stories.

The government already provides considerable resources to help ensure that our artists and cultural industries remain vital and prosperous, especially as Canada enters the new millennium. These important supports are delivered through a number of organizations and institutions, representing our commitment to continued excellence in the arts.

I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the main institutions, programs and policies available to help Canadian artists, writers and performers in pursuing their chosen craft.

For example, the government provides financial support to writers and other artists through the Canada Council, such as grants, prizes and other assistance for the promotion of the arts, as well as some fellowships in the humanities and social sciences. In 2001-02 the Council awarded nearly 6,300 grants, for a total of $137 million in direct support for Canada's artists and artistic organizations.

Our National Film Board is known throughout the world for its reputation of quality. The Film Board is dedicated to producing and distributing films, audiovisual and multimedia works which reflect Canada to Canadians and the rest of the world. For over 60 years the Film Board has played a crucial role in Canadian and international filmmaking.

The Department of Canadian Heritage also offers a number of important programs, including the cultural initiatives program, which facilitates the involvement of artists from across Canada in over 150 national and international art festivals and special art events. Canadian Heritage also operates a national arts training contribution program, supporting national institutions that prepare young people for professional arts careers.

Turning attention to the tax system, I would note that it too already includes a number of favourable provisions targeted to Canada's cultural sector.

For example, artists may deduct the costs of creating a work of art in the year the costs are incurred instead of when the work is ultimately sold. Moreover, employed artists and musicians are entitled to deduct certain employment related expenses against their employment income which are not available to other employees.

Other important tax provisions in support of Canadian culture include a tax credit for Canadian film and video productions, including the cost of services provided by scriptwriters. This credit provided $145 million in direct support for Canadian film and television producers in 2001-02. They also include deduction over time of the cost of Canadian art that is purchased by businesses and no taxation of capital gains on cultural property transferred to museums.

Turning to the motion before us today, I once again wish to laud the member for Dartmouth for wishing to provide additional support to our cultural community. However I feel that introducing a tax exemption for income earned by certain individuals, such as creative writers, may not be the most effective tool in achieving this result.

As I have already noted, the tax system recognizes the circumstances of artists and musicians in a number of ways. The special provisions ensure that these individuals are not penalized due to various aspects unique to their professions, such as the necessity of maintain valuable musical instruments or the difficulty in valuing art pieces donated from an artist's inventory.

However, outside of these special cases already provided for, it is not clear that artists, such as creative writers, have greater needs than other individuals with comparable incomes. The tax system should, as much as possible, treat individuals in similar circumstances in a similar fashion. Thus to provide a special tax exemption to an individual simply because he or she engages in artistic activities would be very difficult to defend on equity grounds. It would also lead to requests for similar treatment from other groups who also feel that they are deserving of special status.

When it comes to tax relief, I believe the course adopted by the government of substantial general tax relief is the correct one. The government's five year tax reduction plan provides real and significant tax relief to all individuals whatever their chosen career. These tax cuts are particularly beneficial to moderate and middle income families with children. The plan provided economic stimulus of about $17 billion in 2001 and $20 billion in 2002. Canadian writers will benefit from these historic tax reductions along with other taxpayers.

In conclusion, I feel the motion, well intentioned though it is, should not receive the support of the House.