That's perfect.
If we were able to have witness testimony, they would say something to the effect that, in Alberta, if a parent earns an income of $45,000 and a second parent expects to make $20,000, with one child, individuals will experience a marginal effective tax rate of 41%. If they have two children, that is 51%, and with three it is 59%.
Let me be clear in terms of responding to something from Mr. Blaikie. Conservatives are not calling for a reduction in the child care benefit. In fact, we were the parents of this idea and we continue to support it.
What we are against is that Canadians, especially low-income Canadians, are having to give up 50¢, 60¢, 70¢ or even 80¢ on the dollar. There are a number of solutions to this, and I'm more than happy to talk to Mr. Blaikie, who is a very intelligent, very thoughtful man—and he can clip that—and to have that discussion with him, but the first step in solving a problem is acknowledging there is a problem. It is one of my driving causes to get more and more Canadians, particularly those who are on the left side of the spectrum, to acknowledge that this is a problem, that for a mom who wants to return to the workforce, paying a participation effective rate of 53% is a problem.
We can discuss and we can debate, and that's what Parliament is for. That's what expert witness testimony is for, but we have to acknowledge that this is problem, that it is not right that a mom who wants to rejoin the workforce is only going to be able to keep 47¢ on the dollar.
There are yet other Canadians who might be keeping as little as 30¢ or 20¢ on the dollar. We have to acknowledge that this is a disincentive to work. This is eroding and corroding Canada's work ethic. Canadians no longer feel as though hard work pays off. I have heard that over and over again. That is what we're getting at.
I'm more than happy, if Mr. Blaikie wants to go on the road with me, to have a debate about this and how we can fix it. I'm more than happy to do that, but the first step is acknowledging that there is a problem, and there is a big problem.
In Alberta it's 41¢, 51¢ and 59¢. Then look at this for a single—