On equalization, the general issue of fixing the fiscal imbalance and the specific question of how to improve the equalization program have no doubt been hotly debated and are quite divisive as well. The provinces haven't reached a consensus, of course, on exactly how the program should change, and probably never will. The current government, however, campaigned on and stood by a position that all non-renewable natural resource revenue should be excluded as a base on which equalization payments would be determined. Very briefly, we strongly urge the government to follow through on this specific commitment.
Turning to taxation, while reductions in the GST have been a priority for the current government, we believe that the emphasis should now shift to other measures for greater tax competitiveness, primarily in the areas of personal and corporate income taxes. These are tied more directly to Canadian productivity. For Canadian families, reducing personal income tax rates would result in higher disposable income and more savings for retirement. The benefits of increasing the incentive to work, save, take risks, and undertake further education and training come in the form of higher productivity and economic growth. We believe government should, therefore, look at a multi-year plan to lower personal income tax.