Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.
Gentlemen, welcome to the House of Commons.
As a Quebecer, I am clearly proud to see that four of the six officials from the Department of Finance here today are francophones. That's something to write home about, as they say.
Mr. Chair, I would now like to have a conversation with Mr. Coulombe. In my little segment, we are going to talk about the excise duty on alcohol and tobacco.
Let's talk first about the tax on alcohol.
According to the notes at our disposal, the increase proposed in the 2017 federal budget should increase government revenue by $30 million in the first year, $60 million in the following year, then $95 million, $125 million and $160 million in subsequent years.
First of all, it must be said that this is very technical. I would like Mr. Coulombe to explain to us how the government revenue can increase so exponentially.