Thanks very much.
My riding is Huron—Bruce, and we've had a number of breweries and some wineries come on board.
My private member's bill was on excise tax. When I talked to one of Mr. Morneau's staff about it, he said, “You know, you're lucky we don't raise the excise tax instead of lowering it.” I thought he was kind of kidding, but I guess it was true. I couldn't believe it when I heard that he was going to raise the tax. This is going back quite awhile ago.
These businesses face costs: the fire codes that they must meet, the rules and regulations, the effluent that comes from their facilities, and so many things. I know one of the breweries in my riding spent about $5 million, and they figure it probably cost them $2 million more to build it in rural Ontario than in the city.
Jan, could you talk about some of the massive costs—forget the taxes—of doing business here, and the red tape, let alone having to face an escalating excise tax? It's incredible to think about it.