(Christian Diotte, House of Commons Photo Services)

By Glenn Hicks

bill killed

Hoback’s home security tax credit proposal fails

Jun 9, 2021 | 4:00 PM

Prince Albert MP, Conservative Randy Hoback, says he’s ‘astonished’ the governing Liberals along with the NDP didn’t support his proposed home security system tax credit of up to $5,000 a year.

Hoback said his private member’s bill was not about giving Canadians a tax break, but about providing peace of mind for people who have been victimized by rural crime.

The Liberals, however, rejected the private member’s bill calling it a ’boutique tax measure’ that would disproportionately benefit higher-income Canadians.

“I tabled this Bill in response to calls for action by property owners in our constituency plagued by recurring thefts and break-ins,” Hoback said in a prepared statement. “Sadly, NDP and Liberal MPs instead dismissed the increase in crime now being experienced in Western Canada by voting against my legislation. Their dismissal of these increasing crime rates only shows how out of touch both the NDP and Liberals are with the concerns of Western Canadians, both rural and urban.”

If passed, the bill would have created a Home Security Tax Credit applied to the installation, maintenance, and monitoring of a security system installed in an individual’s home, a garage, or barn. The maximum dollar amount eligible for tax credit application was $5,000 per year.

Health alerts

Sask NDP sound alarm over TB cases in northern Saskatchewan

8h ago

PYSANKY EASTER EGGS

"It's special to pass this on": Saskatchewan family celebrates Ukrainian Easter heritage

8h ago

BUSTED

Man charged after fleeing from RCMP on dirtbike in Onion Lake

9h ago

In a Facebook post ahead of Wednesday’s vote on the second reading stage of the bill, Hoback hit out at the Liberals for failing to acknowledge Canadians who are ‘victimized by rural crime.’

Hoback said he had introduced the bill after hearing from constituents who had had their property, “… broken into once, twice, or three times, and they wanted Ottawa to realize that they are in a situation for which they cannot seem to get a resolution. People wanted action.”

Hoback referenced fellow Conservative MP Blaine Calkins who said: “This bill is about making safety and security affordable for all Canadians and if the Liberal government were doing their job instead of coddling criminals, we wouldn’t need to table legislation like this.”

Calkins spoke to Liberal opposition to the bill at a recent debate.

“Not once did this Member [Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen] mention the words ‘justice’ or ‘rural crime’. But I think the victims of crime and those who don’t feel safe in their homes heard him clearly,” Calkins said.

In opposing the bill, Gerretsen said “it would disproportionately benefit higher-income Canadians…[and] our government’s approach is to target support to the middle class.”

Gerretsen pointed out the security system tax credit would cost taxpayers about $130 million a year and be skewed to those homeowners who have the means to pay for such services while it would offer nothing to tenants.

After hearing concerns from his constituents back in 2016, Hoback held a town hall at the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Centre (then the Prince Albert Golf and Curling Club) and spoke in front of 300 people, a lot of whom shared their concerns, Hoback said in his release.

–

glenn.hicks@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @princealbertnow