Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier this afternoon.
I want to thank the member for Victoria for putting forward this motion for debate today for a couple of reasons.
First, the motion goes to the heart of what we as the official opposition are meant to be doing in the House, which is holding the government to account for the promises that it made to Canadians and identifying promises gone unfulfilled or breaches of promises made. This is a government with such little respect for Canadians and for the truth that there is no shortage of these.
In this instance, I am talking about the Prime Minister's promise not to raise taxes and his breach of that promise, a breach repeated by his finance minister while tabling the budget and, in turn, by his parliamentary secretary. Budget 2013 contains almost $8 billion of tax increases on nearly 1,300 types of goods, from hospital parking to bicycles to baby strollers to coffee makers to other goods and services, including MP3 players and iPods.
Second, the motion invites us to talk about what could be done, about what would be possible if only we had a government with some sense of policy innovation or creativity, if only we had a government with an eye to the future of this country, or if only we had a government that was sufficiently humble to look at what other governments are doing around the world as those governments turn their eyes to the future.
I want to take a look this afternoon at just one of the almost 1,300 consumer products that are going to become more expensive because of the tax increases in this budget. That product is the bike.
It is estimated that the cost to Canadians as a result of the government increasing the tariff on bicycles from 8% to 13% will be in the range of $5 million to $6 million annually. It is, in fact, a $5 million to $6 million disincentive to a healthy, active, environmentally friendly form of transportation at precisely the time when cities across this country—including, if not especially, my own city of Toronto—are struggling enormously with the very costly and frustrating combination of traffic congestion and underfunded, and consequently overcrowded, public transit.
When we as a country are struggling with a high and growing rate of obesity and chronic diseases related to obesity and the world is hurtling toward a radically different future owing to greenhouse gas emissions and the consequent climate change—a problem the government refuses to even acknowledge, much less address—enter the bicycle, the modest bike, as at least part of the solution to these issues.
I have spoken many times in the House about the economic implications of traffic congestion in Toronto. As of 2006, Toronto's traffic congestion was estimated to cost the economy about $6 billion per year in lost productivity. The Toronto Region Board of Trade has further reported that this cost will increase to $15 billion by 2030 in the absence of some significant change. The members of the Toronto Region Board of Trade identify the issue as their greatest concern. It is a problem that ought to be addressed, and quickly.
With respect to the issue of health, Toronto Public Health's 2012 report, entitled “Road to Health: Improving Walking and Cycling in Toronto”, advises that 70% of Torontonians commute by car. Toronto Public Health further advises that about 55% of all trips in Toronto are less than seven kilometres and are therefore conducive to cycling. We know that physical activity aids in preventing or ameliorating a number of conditions, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. Collectively, improved health leads to lower health care costs, and Toronto Public Health estimates that savings in direct medical costs arising from citizens engaging in active forms of transit such as walking and cycling would provide a further economic benefit of $110 million to $160 million each year in Toronto alone.
The environmental impact of Toronto's traffic congestion is huge. For every litre of gas burned, approximately 2.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. That adds up quickly in a city of nearly three million people stuck in traffic.
Data from the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group shows that Toronto emits 29.1 million tonnes annually of CO2 alone. Of that amount, 35% comes from transportation. It is by no means just a Toronto problem. Countries and cities around the world are confronting the same challenges and making their own unfortunate contributions to climate change.
However, countries around the world are also recognizing that within the simple, modest bicycle is embedded great opportunities to mitigate these challenges. In part, the response has been one of investing in cycling infrastructure. Denmark is a prime example. In April 2012, Denmark opened its new bicycle superhighway to facilitate commutes between Copenhagen and its outer suburbs. The first of 26 such planned routes, it aims to encourage more and more citizens to choose cycling over other methods of travel.
The city of London, England, is on a similar path. About his revolutionary cycling plan for the city, London's mayor said “Cycling will be treated not as a niche...but what it is: an integral part of the transport network”. London's transport commissioner adds “this is about so much more than routes for cyclists. It is about the huge health and economic benefits that cycling can bring”.
It is in part at least, with an eye to the economic benefits, that a number of countries have implemented plans to make cycling, in fact, less expensive. That is the opposite of what the government is doing with budget 2013.
In 2009, for example, Ireland initiated a national cycle to work program. This program provides a way for employers and employees to receive tax breaks for getting out of cars and onto bikes as their means for commuting to work. Under the program, the benefit, that is the bicycle itself, is not subject to a benefit in kind taxation. Employees can save up to 52% of the cost of the bike, while employers save about 11% in pay related social insurance contributions.
The United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark and cities in other countries have similar and similarly named programs to incent cycling as a form of commuting.
A study done by the Irish Bicycle Business Association called the scheme in Ireland a “massive success” measured against a number of different criteria, including benefits to local economies and, importantly, net revenue benefit to the government. This was mainly through increases in sales tax revenues from increased bike sales, safety accessories sales and servicing and income tax revenues from job creation.
I noted in a recent column by Lisa Rochon, the architecture critic for The Globe and Mail, about the values of young people living in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, that the issue of bike lanes was identified as one of a number of urban features of great importance to the millennial generation. It is reflective of a new way that they want to live in, own and experience their urban environment.
That all of this escapes the Conservative government is reflective of a government that is a poor economic manager, one that fails to understand or care about cities and how they work and one that is deaf to voices young and old alike who want to talk about the future, what the future looks like and what we need to do now to preserve a healthy and prosperous one for coming generations.
Some might say that I have made too much of the bicycle here today. It is, after all, just one of about 1,300 consumer goods that would be made more expensive to Canadians under budget 2013. However, the modest bike represents opportunities for economic growth and productivity, along with healthier living, healthier cities and a healthier planet.
