Mr. Speaker, this nation has a very large deficit and a very large debt. It was incumbent upon the government to deal with it in the fairest and most expeditious way possible. That is what we have done.
In this case we have followed the lead of a number of provincial governments, including the Government of Alberta. I believe the member for Lethbridge was a member of the Government of Alberta when it took away the equivalent tax exemption for the public utilities in that province.