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Ottawa, March 31, 2004
2004-027

Legislation Introduced for 2004 Budget Initiatives

• Explanatory Notes Relating to the GST and HST Rebate for Municipalities.

Minister of Finance Ralph Goodale today introduced legislation to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in the House of Commons on March 23, 2004.

The legislation includes measures to:

• Implement the 100-per-cent rebate to municipalities of the goods and services tax (GST) and the federal portion of the harmonized sales tax (HST), which will provide an estimated $7 billion in GST/HST relief over the next 10 years.

• Renew the federal-provincial equalization program for five years, from 2004–05 to 2008–09. Provinces that receive equalization are expected to get more than $50 billion in payments over this period.

• Authorize $400 million in payments to the provinces and territories over three years to support a national immunization strategy and to relieve immediate stresses on provincial and territorial public health systems.

• Increase funding to the provinces and territories under the Canada Social Transfer by $150 million over two years to accelerate the implementation of existing federal-provincial-territorial agreements on early learning and child care.

• Provide an additional $200 million in funding for Sustainable Development Technology Canada, an arm’s-length, non-profit corporation that assists in the development of new environmental technologies.

• Authorize the payment of $100 million to Canada Health Infoway to support investments by provinces and territories in software and hardware needed to implement a high-quality, real-time public health surveillance system.

• Allow for the reinstatement of Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefits in cases where benefits cease because recipients return to work but subsequently stop working because of a recurrence in their disability during the next two years.

• Clarify the rules governing refunds of contributions to the CPP.

• Remove impediments in the CPP and employment insurance (EI) to business restructurings by enabling employers who acquire new employees as part of such restructurings to count CPP contributions and EI premiums paid by their previous employers when calculating their own required contributions and premiums.

• Provide the Governor in Council with the authority to set the EI premium rate for 2005, should a new legislated mechanism not yet be in place.

The legislation also includes amendments to the Income Tax Act and other acts relating to the limitation period for tax debts, following on the Notice of Ways and Means Motion tabled on March 29, 2004.

Explanatory notes relating to the 100-per-cent GST/HST rebate for municipalities are attached.

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