Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the hon. member.
What we are seeing today in the House of Commons is the hypocrisy of the Liberal government. It talks of fair taxation. It has the nerve and the audacity to talk of fair taxation. Is the bill before us fair?
It is not just donated works of art that are eligible for the tax credits; it can be anything that is deemed to be of outstanding significance and national importance. For instance, prominent retired politicians such as Mr. Trudeau, Mr. Turner and Mr. Mulroney have all donated their personal papers to the National Archives in return for very high tax credits. It will amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars over many years. Who is it being funded by? It is being funded by the taxpayers of Canada.
Fair taxation? Is it fair that this will be used by former prime ministers and people the government deems important, but not by the dual income family that is having a difficult time making ends meet? Is it fair tax policy when something like this will be used mainly by the extremely wealthy in Canada and not by the disabled worker who is on a very low income or by the mother of two who is struggling to survive?
What we are seeing today is the hypocrisy of the government, which in its last budget told Canadians that there would be a tax increase for those mothers who will have to get work to make ends meet, to the dual income family and to the disabled person.
The government raised gasoline taxes by 1.5 cents per litre. That hits home. That hits the average Canadian taxpayer.
What we are seeing today is a tax measure that is for the elite of our society.
Would the hon. member like to comment on that?