Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government has increased the air travellers security tax by 50% which now makes this tax the highest in the world. It is actually higher than Holland's which was the highest before. That is going to mean an international security charge of $25, whereas in the United States, our neighbour and competitor, the charge is only $5. In fact, the government is not even spending all of this money on security. It is actually collecting more than it is currently spending on security. It is putting Canadian airlines at a disadvantage. We have had a problem for years with Canadians booking with American airlines because the taxes are lower.
By increasing this tax by 50%, the government is driving more Canadians across the border to fly on American carriers at the expense of Canadian carriers. I want to ask the hon. member, why would the government do this and how is this good economics?