Bill S-212

3rd Session, 40th Parliament,

59 Elizabeth II, 2010

senate of canada

BILL S-212

An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act (tax relief for Nunavik)

Whereas the people of Nunavik, in the Province of Quebec, most of whom are Inuit, are experiencing a fiscal imbalance owing to the fact that their cost of living is exorbitant compared with that of Canadians living south of the fifty-fifth parallel;

Whereas the people of Nunavik are cut off from other Canadians geographically, economically and politically, and their living conditions are desperate and deteriorating further because of isolation and distance;

Whereas the high cost of transportation has a direct impact on the cost of goods and services, and this seriously limits people's purchasing power;

Whereas, on a per capita basis, the Inuit are the most heavily taxed people in Canada;

Whereas the level of taxation erodes people's savings and makes it extremely difficult for small businesses to operate at a profit;

Whereas tax relief is necessary to promote economic prosperity and social well-being in Nunavik;

And whereas the Parliament of Canada recognizes the need to act in order to remove the economic injustice endured by the people of Nunavik;

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

EXCISE TAX ACT

1. Subsection 2(1) of the Excise Tax Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

2. Subsection 50(5) of the Act is amended by striking out “or” at the end of paragraph (k), by adding “or” at the end of paragraph (l) and by adding the following after paragraph (l):

3. Schedule I to the Act is amended by adding the following after section 9.1:

4. Schedule VI to the Act is amended by adding the following after Part X:

COMING INTO FORCE

5. This Act comes into force on January 1 of the year following the year in which it receives royal assent.