Mr. Speaker, if I could just conclude by saying that the questions I was asking were not in search of opinions or talking points from any particular political party, but for specific numbers.
Presumably any government that is proposing to implement a tax of this size, this magnitude, and with these consequences would have calculated the actual costs and impacts on Canadian families. That information, I am sure, exists within the Government of Canada. It will have been documented and it will have been provided to ministers before such a policy could ever have been considered, and certainly before Treasury Board would ever approve it.
Given that it must exist, it must be provided to Canadians. That is why I asked for the government to do so through the very specific use of Order Paper questions, to which the government is bound by parliamentary tradition as old as this country to respond.
It has not responded, and therefore it falls to you, Mr. Speaker, as the presiding officer of the House to ensure that the Standing Orders are upheld, that the questions are answered, and that Canadians get all of the facts before they have to pay the costs that the government will impose upon them.