Madam Speaker, speaking of the deficit reduction surtax, it is referred to specifically in the standing committee report as being a single tax. Unfortunately, one of the members from the standing committee from the Liberal side, the member for Vaudreuil, has been, I am sure without any malicious intent, misinforming the public by saying that a single tax means 1 per cent.
In other words, Canadians right now think the deficit reduction surtax being called a single tax is only 1 per cent. A single tax simply means that whether it is a single mother of three children earning $1,500 a month, or somebody earning $100,000, or a large corporation, a single tax will be applied to their tax rate. It can be whatever per cent.
Canadians have to clearly understand that what the finance committee did was turn over to the finance minister a blank cheque that all Canadians will have to fill in and sign. Will this deficit reduction surtax be 1 per cent, 2 per cent, 10 per cent? How much is the surtax going to be? I suggest to Canadians they should be aware of the fact that there were balloons being flown at nearly every committee meeting asking what is the vision that we have of our responsibility to Canadian people.
I wonder if the member might wish to comment on the reduction or the proposed elimination of the PUITTA, which is the public utilities tax that is going to be on private utilities in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador where in the presentation that was made to us on the finance committee it was clearly stated by the people making the presentation on behalf of those private utilities that the people of Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador may be looking at as much as a 10 per cent hike in their hydro rate.
I wonder if the member would care to make a comment about that.