Madam Speaker, the motion put forward by the Reform Party reads, and I quote: "The GST should be killed, scrapped, abolished". The Bloc Quebecois will support this Reform Party motion, because the GST should
purely and simply be abolished, although our reasons are different from those set forth by the Reformers.
How much money does the federal government make with this goods and services tax? When it was first established in 1991, it brought in $2.5 billion; the following year, in 1992, $15.2 billion; in 1993, $14.9 billion; in 1994, $15.7 billion; and last year, 1995, $16.8 billion. This is a tax that puts $15 or $16 billion in the federal coffers year after year.
Our position on the GST is not new. It was elaborated upon in the minority report presented by the Bloc Quebecois members of the Standing Committee on finance in June 1994. As far as we are concerned, this position is still valid, and I welcome this opportunity to outline it for the hon. members.
Madam Speaker, would you please ask the hon. members to let me speak in peace? I notice that certain members are in deep conversation in the back.