Mr. Speaker, I listened to the hon. member very carefully and I must say that, on several points, he seems to agree with what I said in the speech I delivered in this House earlier today. First of all, he said that we are faced with a revenue problem, and I wholeheartedly agree with him. He used the words fairness and equity, which are key words in our taxation system. And I also agree with him on that.
He talked about the need to reform our tax system, not by targeting the middle class which is the driving force behind the economic recovery and which directly supports the economic cycle, but by increasing the tax base to reach those who do not pay their fair share of taxes. I would like the hon. member to comment a little further on this.
There is another issue I want to raise. In his speech, the hon. member did not mention spending cuts. Does that mean that he thinks the present level of federal spending cannot be reduced and that a revenue-based approach is the only way to put public finances back in order?