user fees

The idea of what constitutes a tax has expanded somewhat over the last few weeks to include measures that create government revenue and measures that raise costs. On that note, here is the statement the NDP’s Pat Martin presented yesterday before Question Period.

In response to questions from me, a statement from Peggy Nash on health care and user fees.

Sorry, do I have this right? Peggy Nash is running for the NDP leadership…to the right of the Chrétien government on health care? In Sunday’s NDP debate, Paul Dewar asked Nash what she would do if the Quebec government introduced hospital user fees, as indeed it promised/threatened to do in its 2009 budget before eventually relenting. Nash’s answer, translated by the Star: “We hope that we want our health care system to be public, but really it’s a provincial jurisdiction [c’est une compétence provinciale], so it’s the decision of Quebecers.”

The government’s proposal to quadruple the fee on pardon applications is met with resistance.

Last month, Tony Clement seemed to raise the possibility of new or higher user fees. A day later he seemed to disavow the possibility of new user fees. And a few days after he seemed to categorically dismiss the possibility. And so here is how his office now explains plans by various departments to increase user fees.

Having both raised and dismissed the possibility of new user fees last week, Industry Minister Tony Clement confirmed to reporters yesterday his government’s disinterest.

On Wednesday, Tony Clement raised the option of user fees in a speech to members of the public service. Yesterday, in QP, Mr. Clement seemed to disavow the option entirely.

As a follow-up to our previous discussion on the important, or merely semantic, difference between taxes and user fees (see here and here), we compare and contrast the following.