BarrieToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is from Barrie-Innisfil MP John Brassard regarding Bill C-19, which area boat dealers have said will sink their industry.
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Marine operators in Barrie-Innisfil and workers in the boating industry across Canada are bracing for yet another new NDP-Liberal tax that will devastate Canada’s car manufacturing sector, boating sector, and aerospace sector.
Bill C-19 will impose a new luxury tax on automobiles and aircraft valued over $100,000 and vessels valued over $250,000. As the Canadian economy emerges from the pandemic and businesses struggle to recover, only Justin Trudeau would think imposing new taxes on businesses that create and maintain good manufacturing jobs is a good idea.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates the tax, which is set to take effect Sept. 1 pending parliamentary approval, would bring in less than $200 million per year for the five years, but cause a $2.9-billion drop in sales of the vehicles over the same period.
I have met with the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), local marine operators and the message is the same across Canada — this luxury tax will kill jobs and damage the industry at a time when businesses are already struggling to bounce back from the pandemic.
At a meeting this week, I learned the disturbing results of a four-week study conducted by the NMMA that showed $65 million in lost sales and 69 lost jobs.
They also told me that thousands of jobs are at risk in the industry and along the supply chain because of this new unfair tax are are middle-class jobs, predominantly in rural communities and many are right here in Barrie-Innisfil and in other communities across Ontario.
The NDP-Liberal government has unleashed an avalanche of uncontrolled spending and failed to present a plan to control inflation and make life more affordable for working Canadians. Their answer to the cost-of-living crisis that is hurting families is to impose job-killing taxes that make life even more expensive.
Conservatives have been pushing for substantial changes to Bill C-19 to address industry concerns. I believe it is critically important for the federal government to support Canada’s boating industry that provides 30,000 full-time jobs in the sector in Ontario — 75,000 nationally and contributes $5.6 billion to GDP nationwide each year.
Conservatives will continue to be the voice of the millions of Canadians left behind in Justin Trudeau’s economy who are looking for relief from the cost-of-living crisis with common-sense solutions to leave more money in Canadians’ pockets.
John Brassard
Barrie-Innisfil MP
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