I appreciate that, Madam Chair.
Ladies and gentlemen, I don't want to put you on the spot. I understand your role very well. We thank you for the work you do, whether at the Canada Revenue Agency or at the Department of Finance. This is important work.
When the minister asks you to run scenarios and propose solutions, you do so, and I fully understand that it has to be within a certain framework.
Madam Chair, I'll repeat what I said before. It would be fiscally irresponsible to proceed with a tax cut like the one my Conservative colleagues are proposing if it isn't offset by massive cuts in social spending. Canadians would not come out ahead in this exchange.
In addition, in the fiscal framework that our Conservative colleagues proposed during the election campaign, they also included in their calculations the potential economic benefits of such a tax cut. If we reduce taxes, in principle, that can have a certain effect on economic growth. However, using a potential increase in the gross domestic product, or GDP, to present a disguised fiscal framework is not done in Canada.
According to the best practices of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, potential GDP increases are never taken into consideration to present a balanced fiscal framework. That's irresponsible.