44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 8, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/8/22 1:40:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, the member for Saskatoon—Grasswood, for his excellent history lesson and for representing the city of Saskatoon and the great aspects of that. I will try to speak a little more to rural aspects of the impact of this.
It is my honour to rise in the House to speak on today's opposition motion regarding the amendment to the Saskatchewan Act in our Constitution, to repeal Section 24. While it has been some time since I have been able to physically be here in the House of Commons chamber, I feel very fortunate to be present today and am happy to see everyone's faces in person rather than through a screen. I know that, just like me, many Canadians are also looking forward to a return of some normalcy after the tumultuous last two years.
As this is my first speech in the House in this 44th Parliament, I would like to thank the great constituents of Souris—Moose Mountain for re-electing me for the third time. Like all Canadians, they are experiencing and living with the frustrations and inconsistencies of the government, as well as with the many inconsistencies that have existed in our national legislation.
Today's motion is just another example of that, and how it treats Saskatchewan differently from other provinces. Today's motion is extremely important for a number of reasons, and I am grateful to have a chance to speak on it in support of my provincial counterparts in the Saskatchewan legislature. I would like to thank all of the MLAs, their staff, the experts and the leaders at the provincial level who worked diligently to ensure that this issue was brought to Ottawa so that it could be addressed at the federal level.
I know that I and my colleagues in the Conservative Saskatchewan caucus will do everything in our power to compel the government to act swiftly and decisively on the matter, and to end the unfair tax exemption given to the Canadian Pacific Railway, CPR.
I would just like to point out that this is a great example of political unity, as the motion to repeal section 24 was unanimously supported by all members of the Saskatchewan legislature. They were able to put their differences aside and see the benefits that this motion had for the entirety of our province, regardless of political affiliation. This is the kind of thing that Canadians want to see here in this Parliament, yet the federal level blocked the original version of this motion, prolonging the process even further.
The stalling on this matter only serves to deepen the divide that the Prime Minister has already created with western Canadians. Canadians expect their government to work together: to come up with ideas, to discuss, to debate and to resolve issues. I hear from many of my constituents that they expect to see a little give-and-take in a minority government, not the “my way or the highway” approach that the Prime Minister and the Liberal government have shown. We could just look out at Wellington Street to see how well that attitude is working.
What this issue really comes down to is fairness. Every corporation in this country is required to pay taxes, so it is simply not fair to require all other businesses to pay while the CPR receives an exemption. This situation is in Saskatchewan alone, thanks to section 24. The CPR is a large profitable corporation, and in this day and age it should not have a competitive advantage over other transportation companies because of a 140-year-old contract. All Saskatchewan businesses, small and large, deserve a level playing field.
Speaking of fairness, exempting the CPR from paying taxes means that everyone else has to make up the difference and pay more than their fair share. As I previously stated, this puts all other transportation companies at a competitive disadvantage, something that is rarely a benefit to the regional or national economy. Competitiveness is an integral part of the fabric of Canada's economy, and we need to foster and encourage it in every logical sense.
Ultimately, every Saskatchewan small business, every Saskatchewan professional, every Saskatchewan employee, union or non-union, every farmer, every rancher, every trucker, every Saskatchewanian will have to pay out of their pocket if this is allowed to linger.
One of the phrases I often use in my speeches here in the House is the trickle-down effect, and it is certainly relevant in discussing this tax exemption. If the CPR is tax exempt, that means everyone else pays extra. While on the surface it may look like this only affects other large transportation companies, the trickle-down effect means that each and every resident of Saskatchewan would have to help foot the costs through increased taxes of their own. When one adds the continuous raising of taxes such as CPP, EI and the Liberal carbon tax, life quickly becomes unaffordable. This is not to mention the increased costs to local communities, RMs, towns and villages due to the RCMP pay increases that are being downloaded to them.
In my riding, an increase to already high living expenses is the very last thing that residents need, but it is unfortunately what they have come to expect under the Liberal government. Many communities have already suffered due to things such as the Liberal phase-out of coal-fired power, and the government's unfulfilled promises to those affected by it. People are experiencing fear and uncertainty for their futures, and the threat of higher taxes only makes that worse.
The Just Transition Task Force gives money for groups to study the transition, but little for the future. Putting some money up to fix roads may help, but when all the young people move away to find jobs elsewhere in the country, who will pay the taxes to keep these businesses and roads in good condition?
There is also the matter of how keeping section 24 could hurt small businesses across the province, including those in communities that are already grappling with how to make ends meet. I cannot stress enough the importance of small businesses in my riding. In rural areas such as Souris—Moose Mountain, they do not just serve as places to buy necessities. They are also informal gathering places for the community, and many small business owners generously give back to that community when they are able to.
We need to do everything in our power to ensure that our businesses stay viable, especially following the hard two years because of the pandemic. I know that we Conservatives are intent on ensuring that not one cent of tax revenue owed by a profitable corporation is picked up by the Saskatchewan people, and I hope the Liberals are as well.
The respect for, and support of, jurisdictional authority is fundamental to the successful operation of this country. In matters such as this, it only makes sense to allow any individual province to unilaterally amend the section of the Constitution that deals exclusively with its own internal governance, and we Conservatives support this measure.
Furthermore, Saskatchewan is the only province in the country that is having to rectify an issue such as this one, which should provide even more incentive for the federal government to do whatever is possible to level the playing field.
As MLA Wyant stated in his remarks to the Saskatchewan Legislature on November 29, 2021:
Section 24 is a relic of an earlier time when Saskatchewan was not treated as an equal partner in Confederation.
My province and its residents should not be penalized simply because Saskatchewan entered Confederation in 1905 rather than in 1880, when this contract with the CPR was signed. Unfortunately, many people of Saskatchewan have lost faith in the federal government's ability to treat them equally or to act in their best interests.
The Prime Minister says a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian, but I can tell you that my constituents do not remotely feel that. They are not even equally treated by the Liberals. That is evident from the fact that the candidate they had in the last two elections never showed up during the debate, or at any time in the riding, and received less than 4% of the vote.
The Prime Minister continues to talk the talk, but fails to walk the walk and the divide between western Canadians and the rest of Canada keeps getting wider. One only needs to walk outside to see how badly the Liberals have failed to foster any sense of national unity. They sit on their hands and make empty promises. It is no wonder that western Canadians are feeling disillusioned by a government that continually ignores them.
It is also on the current government to make progress on reducing outdated and ineffective red tape, so that other jurisdictions will not have to deal with issues like this in the future. This is a win-win-win situation: The federal government gets to remove some red tape. The province has clarity on the matter going forward. The people of Saskatchewan will not have to pay increased taxes because of the exemption to a profitable company. I can see no reason why the Liberals would block this motion, unless it is to punish the people of Saskatchewan for not giving them a single seat in the last two elections. They may say otherwise, but based on their past disregard for the west, it is not difficult to read between the lines.
To briefly quote MLA Wotherspoon from the Saskatchewan legislature, “The elimination of this jurisdictional inequality is important”. We agree with that. Saskatchewan deserves the same recognition from the federal government as all other provinces and territories, and until this motion is passed the province will remain at a disadvantage.
In conclusion, it is truly in the best interests of all parties to take the lead set by members of the Saskatchewan legislature and vote unanimously in favour of today's motion. It will only have positive implications and increased fairness for Saskatchewan's businesses and individuals. I call on the Liberals to do the right thing and vote in favour of repealing section 24 of the Saskatchewan Act.
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- Feb/8/22 1:50:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Winnipeg North for his illusional thought, because the history of the government has indicated that the Liberals do not show that support for the west. Perhaps forgive me if I do not take the member at his word, but until I see that hand raised during a vote, I do not trust the Liberals to say what they are going to say. Canadians in western Canada and in my riding do not trust the current government.
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- Feb/8/22 1:52:07 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's point. Ultimately, there is a lot that we need to move forward with in the government and in this Parliament. What I am trying to get through is that Canadians want to hear that. They want to see people sitting around and talking. They want to see, in a minority government, this individual coming up with an idea, us coming up with an idea and the Liberals coming up with an idea, discussing that around the table and then bandying it about so that we can have a uniform answer. Unfortunately, we are not seeing that.
The prime example is what we see with the truckers on the street. Some of them just want to be heard and have that conversation, such that we can put that out as a uniform package as opposed to one group individually.
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- Feb/8/22 1:53:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am so glad to hear that my colleague is from Saskatoon originally, that she has been to rural Saskatchewan to see exactly where things are, and that she truly understands the rural challenges that rural Canadians have. I appreciate that.
The member's comment is good. The issue is on big businesses, etc., and how we need to look at that. However, again, it comes down to the same discussion. We need to have that conversation. We need to discuss it and come up with ideas and work together to make this happen. That is what is expected by Canadians at this time. They want to hear that throughout Canada from every one of us. They want to hear us talking together. They want to hear us expressing that to everybody, and they want to see it here in the House. I ask, and implore, that this continue.
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- Feb/8/22 2:09:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, February is Heart Month in Canada, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation is running its annual fundraising campaign.
Approximately 750,000 Canadians face a daily struggle with heart failure, and last November following a heart attack, I became one of them. I encourage everyone listening to learn and regularly review the signs and symptoms of a cardiac episode. Swift action and diagnosis could be the difference between life and death. I personally thought my symptoms were minimal, but I got checked out anyway and thank goodness I did.
I must recognize my doctors at Estevan, Dr. Sheikh and Dr. Tsoi, for their quick action and continued care. I would like to thank the staff of Regina General Hospital cardiac care unit, including the doctors, nursing staff and technicians, for their commitment to providing quality care for their patients. I would like to specifically mention my cardiologist, Dr. Lavoie, and my angioplasty specialist, Dr. Booker. These incredible doctors are the reason I am still here speaking to the House today, and I cannot thank them enough.
Finally, to those who say politicians do not have a heart, I now have surgical proof I do.
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