Liberal MP wants to encourage domestic travel by plane, train and bus with tax credits

It probably won't see the light of day, because most private members' bills from the opposition benches rarely do.

But Liberal MP Massimo Pacetti has an innovative nation-building idea.

The MP for St. Leonard-St. Michel will soon table the Discover Your Canada Act, a private member's bill that, if adopted, would give families tax credits for travelling to other parts of our country.

According to PostMedia News, the proposed legislation would give individuals or families "a 100 per cent tax deduction on bus fare, 75 per cent deduction on train tickets and 40 per cent off domestic flights up to a value of $2,000."

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The only catch is that travelers must cross at least three provincial borders.

"Where I'm from, people traditionally go down to Wildwood (New Jersey) in the summer, in the winter they go down to Florida," the Montreal area MP told PostMedia.

"In the West Coast, they go down to California or Washington State so we have a tendency to travel north-south instead of east-west. We want to encourage people to see more of Canada and spend their money here instead of abroad."

Unfortunately, not many in the mainstream media are jumping on-board with this enterprising notion.

"Oh, poor Next Liberal Leader, whoever that may be," the National Post's Kelly McParland wrote.

"He/she hasn't even been chosen yet, and already the shrunken little Liberal caucus is pumping out silly ways to spend even more borrowed money trying to manipulate Canadian behaviour, just like the old days."

Press Gallery journalist Dale Smith says such legislation is not "the domain" of a private member.

"This is not government legislation, nor will the government endorse this because we're living in an era of "fiscal austerity," and it's not a boutique tax credit that will appeal enough to the supposed Tim Horton's crowd," he wrote on his blog.

"But seriously — MPs really need to knock off this foolishness of trying to make government policy from the opposition benches. Private members' business has its place, but these kinds of stunts, while trying to capture the populist imagination, just end up looking ridiculous."

Be that as it may, this is an idea I think most Canadians would embrace.

A simple search on any travel website will tell you that, in most cases, it's cheaper to travel to the United States than to other parts of Canada. Tax credits would essentially bring down the cost of domestic voyages.

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Moreover, Pacetti's idea will buoy tourism industries in each and every province, which means economic spin-offs and job creation.

And, most importantly, it will bring Canadians closer together — figuratively and literally.

This is a great idea.

Too bad it's not going to pass.