David Tilson MP — Making sports equipment and baby clothing more affordable

April 24, 2013 · 0 Comments

Parents are fully aware of the expenses that come with raising a family.
From basic necessities, such as clothing and food, to education and recreational activities, it adds up fast. This is why our government has consistently worked to support and deliver significant savings for Canadian families since we were first elected in 2006.
We started by introducing the Universal Child Care Benefit, providing real choice in child care by giving parents $1,200 a year for each child under the age of six. We’ve kept taxes low, including cutting the lowest personal income tax rate to 15 per cent, as well as cutting the GST from seven to five per cent. We’ve also delivered tax credits that are helping families save every year, such as the Family Caregiver Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit and the Children’s Arts Tax Credit. The average family now saves $3,200 a year.
Despite these savings, Canadians remain mindful of the fact that the price of many products needed to support their family are consistently higher in Canada compared to the exact same products sold in the United States.
Our government understands this concern. We’ve taken action through our latest budget, Economic Action Plan 2013, to help deliver lower prices for hard-working Canadian families.
Hockey skates, skis and baby clothing are just a few of the goods that will now be a little more affordable. To do this, our government has removed tariffs on imported baby clothing and sports equipment, resulting in significant savings for families. Other examples of gear that are now tariff-free include snowboards, golf clubs, snowshoes, toboggans and roller skates. We strongly encourage businesses to pass these savings — in full — to their customers.
This action builds on our government’s strong and already mentioned record of providing real savings to Canadian families. In fact, since 2006, we’ve eliminated almost 1,900 tariffs on products coming into Canada. We continue to take this action to ensure that Canadian companies and Canadian consumers have fair pricing. Not only that, we’ve concluded six free trade agreements which cut tariffs by $65 million annually; that’s a grand total of $590 million in tariff relief each and every year. Such action made Canada the first G20 country to become a tariff-free zone for manufacturers.
Ultimately, Canadians are aware that our dollar has strengthened considerably compared to the U.S. dollar. It makes sense, therefore, that a strong dollar should be reflected in the prices Canadians pay when they purchase products for their families with their hard-earned money. By eliminating tariffs on sports equipment and baby clothing, our government is working to ease the financial burden of raising a family in Canada.