Mr. Speaker, there are a number of irritants in the budget. It must be recognized that the economy of a number of regions in Quebec is based on tourism.
In my opinion, the Conservative Party missed the opportunity to eliminate the excise tax on gasoline. Gasoline prices for July are forecast to be $1.50 a litre. That will reduce tourist traffic in many Quebec regions.
This is the appropriate time for the Conservative Party to eliminate this tax, which the Liberals had applied. It will be remembered that Joe Clark's government fell because he wanted to impose a tax on gasoline. Mr. Trudeau incorporated it into an escalating tax. However, when the Conservatives took office, they never thought to reduce the cost of a litre of gasoline by a few cents or at least to eliminate the excise tax on gasoline. This would have helped tourist traffic, and many regions in Quebec and Canada would have benefited.
Could the member put this problem to her caucus and ask the Conservatives to abolish the excise tax on gasoline and give a boost to the tourism industry in the regions?