I'd be happy to comment.
Again, the division of powers between the federal government and the provinces is not something on which I'm an expert. Having said that, I think the point made by Dr. Good earlier is relevant here. To some extent this is the federal government's way of actually getting involved in social programs in a rather backdoor way--that is, through the income tax system.
My basic point is that, putting aside federal-provincial jurisdiction and disputes around that issue, I'm all for the federal government having a say with respect to social programs, but I think the mechanism they're using is presenting some serious problems.
There are two ways to deal with it. One is to try to actually redress some of the inequities that I've alluded to in the tax system, and sometimes that can be done using tax rules. I think that should be done, and I can give some examples.
At other times I think it's a political decision for the federal government that actually the tax rule is just not operating in a way that is fair. If that is an end--if the policy we're trying to achieve can only be done through the tax system--then try to make the tax system fairer, but if it can't and it can be done another way, then I would say that would be more important just to get rid of those inequities. You fix up the tax system if you can; if you can't, you have to recognize that you need to start from scratch, or at least move in a different direction.