News Release

December 1, 1997                                                                                           For Immediate Delivery

Liberals/Bloc Oppose Direct Democracy and Kill Tax Form Act

"Liberal government says, ‘Pay your taxes folks, shut up and leave us alone.’"

Ottawa -- Garry Breitkreuz, M.P. for Yorkton-Melville, expressed his personal disappointment that the Liberals and Bloc Quebecois worked to kill his private member’s bill - The People’s Tax Form Act (Bill C-214). "They even opposed my motion to refer it to Committee for further study and my colleague’s motion to make the bill votable. If my bill had been passed, every taxpayer would have had the opportunity to tell the government where they would like their hard-earned tax dollars to be spent when they sent in their annual tax return. Why should taxpayers be forced to support political programs that the vast majority do not believe in?" asked Breitkreuz to a nearly empty House of Commons.

Eric Lowther, MP for Calgary Centre spoke in support of Breitkreuz’ bill, "This bill would not frighten any responsible, democratic government but it does seem to frighten the Liberals. It frightens them because they see it as a potential hindrance to their agenda. It frightens them because the Liberals are increasingly out of touch with real Canadians and with what they want their taxes going toward. The Liberal priorities are not lining up with those of ordinary Canadians," said Lowther.

During the debate, Roy Bailey, MP for Souris-Moose Mountain attacked bogus Liberal arguments, "When I hear people talking about this being very expensive, to have one electronic sheet placed in everybody’s income tax forms, to be filed through electronic machines in each province, any government should welcome this. They would have more public opinion than a thousand town hall meetings and they would have it every year by April," countered Bailey. "No one in this House can say this is an expensive measure as far as democracy is concerned."

Lee Morrison, MP for Cypress Hills-Grasslands concluded the debate, "This is one of the most interesting bills I have seen presented in Parliament in Private Member’s Business to date. It is a great shame and a pity that it is not being sent to Committee," said Morrison. "I think the problem we are encountering here with endeavoring to get serious consideration of this bill is that if this bill were to become law, there would be less public apathy in government. The last thing the Liberal government wants is less public apathy. The more public apathy the better. The government says, ‘Keep them out of it. Keep them asleep. Do not consult them. Tell them, ‘Pay your taxes folks and shut up and leave us alone.’"

"We’ve lost one battle but I vow to keep introducing more direct democracy measures to give voters a real say in how their country is governed and how their taxes are being spent," promised Breitkreuz.

-30-

For a copy of Garry’s speech or the bill, please call:

Garry Breitkreuz, M.P.