Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Regarding Madam Gallant's point of order, the Office of Consumer Affairs falls under industry, and much of the manufacturing sector that falls within this sector also comes under industry.
The study should get to the bottom of the ongoing debate regarding the taxation of iPods and other MP3 players as well as the plethora of other consumer goods that would be subjected to the Conservatives' increase levied on the backs of Canadian consumers and Canadian industry and should as well give the committee information on the reporting and registry of information related to tariff waivers.
My Conservative colleagues opposite will no doubt tell you that a tariff isn't a tax, but that simply isn't true, Mr. Chair. Let me stamp out that argument from the outset. Even the Encyclopædia Britannica defines a tariff as a “tax levied upon goods as they cross national boundaries, usually by the government of the importing country”. The government can call these tariff changes whatever they want, but that doesn't change what they are: a tax increase, and one that will hit the poorest Canadians the hardest.
Mike Moffat, an assistant professor at the University of Western Ontario, summarized the entirety of these tariff changes most succinctly when he said, “These tax increases are also likely to be regressive in nature”.
The inconsistencies of the Conservative plan to increase the cost of hundreds of consumer goods are apparent to analysts and industry leaders from across the spectrum of Canadian business. One such inconsistency involves the Conservatives' flagship policy of reducing tariffs on hockey equipment, yet shockingly, I've discovered that hockey helmets won't be covered by the reduction. Hockey helmets are imported under chapter 65 of the customs tariff schedule, item 6506.10.90.10, for those who are interested, for “protective headgear, athletic” specifically. However, no chapter 65 duties are listed to be changed in budget 2013. This means that protective headgear for sports will continue to be charged at the most favoured—