Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his comments. I will comment on possibly two aspects.
First he talked about punishing success. I note the income tax system currently has approximately three rates: for those incomes under $25,000, $65,000 and over $65,000. Over $65,000 it hits roughly 45 per cent. Depending on what provinces do it could get up to 51 per cent.
That system has been in existence in Canada for 10 or 15 years. The rates on higher incomes have been higher in the past than they are today. I have not seen a whole outflow of people leaving the country because of this policy. Could the member comment on that aspect?
The second one is the comment about the delivery system. We are using the income tax system to deliver social policy or whatever. Could the member comment on what is a successful system to deliver social benefits? I think of child care expenses, GST rebates and so forth. It seems to me that if we want to simplify government maybe we should be focusing on the
income tax system as a method of delivery. Could the member talk about that aspect?