Thank you, Mr. Chair.
When a study is proposed, I think it's assumed that the items proposed for study are being advanced because there's a belief that there is merit to the proposal. On our side I could say, for example, if we can make the administration of a program much simpler, let's investigate how to do so; if we can make it simpler, we can deliver more infrastructure for the same dollar.
Principally, the idea of looking at bidding practices is to ask whether there are ways to increase the amount of competition in the way projects are bid. I think there's merit to this; that's why we want to advance the idea. On the idea of increasing the participation of the private sector and of private sector dollars in the funding mix, we can look at how we can improve on that. Are there ways to get more private sector investment leveraged against existing public dollars? What is it going to take to do that? I think studying that idea has merit.
On the opposite side, I think it has to be understood that the opposition believes there are merits to such proposals as backing increased municipal borrowing, which is item number two. Why else would you want to study this, unless you think there's merit to the proposal? Is it simply to shoot an idea up and then shoot it down? I don't think so.
As to surplus revenues from fuel duty, currently 5¢ of the gas tax goes into our infrastructure programs; the other 5¢ supports other programs funded by the government. There are no surplus revenues, unless you're suggesting that you increase the amount of gas tax that goes to funding infrastructure, and then those programs will either be cut or taxes will have to be raised somewhere else—an indirect tax increase.
These ideas aren't being floated simply because they might be interesting. The opposition believes there may be merit to a 1% value-added tax that municipalities can implement.
I think this is a bit of a phony debate. We already know that the opposition supports, at least at a minimum, indexing the gas tax revenues to municipalities, which would mean that whatever funds are taken out of the excise tax would have to be replaced by a higher tax somewhere else in order to fund the existing commitments of the government. They suggest the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
It's no secret that they support increased taxes, Mr. Chair. I think it's phony to now suggest that they just want to study the idea; no, they want to make a case for the idea, and I don't think we should be under any illusion about that.
I'm happy to make the case for the three items in the subcommittee's report that we support; I think there is value there. I'm not ashamed to say that we should study the precise ways and factors whereby we can make those things work.
That's what they're suggesting, but they don't want to come out and say it, maybe because their ideas are unpopular.
I'll be voting against their amendment.