Mr. Speaker, at the end of this month, finance ministers will meet in Vancouver. It appears that the federal government intends to discuss the main recommendation contained in the preliminary report of the finance committee on the GST reform, and follow up on it. The recommendation proposes that the current GST be replaced by another GST, that all provincial taxes be combined with this tax, and that the tax base be expanded to other goods and services not currently covered.
My question is for the Minister of Finance. Will the minister confirm that, at this conference, he intends to start negotiating with his provincial counterparts on the amalgamation of the GST and provincial sales taxes to create a single tax, and that the technical aspects, the procedures and the scope of that tax will be determined by Ottawa?