Madam Speaker, it is interesting to sit here over time, as the hon. member and I have. We were both rookies in 1993. I am truly saddened to listen to his diatribe this morning with its misinformation and distortions.
The Reform Party arrived here supposedly speaking for business, big and small, and yet when things are done by the government which are applauded by business or by the Fraser Institute, which it used to quote all the time, it suddenly does not mention them any more. The Fraser Institute applauded the budget, the subject of this implementation bill.
Suddenly Reformers are not the friends of business. The other day we heard them attack profits. Today we have heard an attack on small business, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. They threw the gauntlet down and said "how dare you tell us this will be good for business". In their opinion-it is always their opinion and no one else is right-this cannot be good for business and this cannot be good for Canada.
I am glad the hon. member opposite admitted he was a member of the finance committee at the time we brought out our report on the GST. He signed a minority report. I believe he was still a member if he was not being disciplined by his party for disagreeing with it on this or other things. Reformers supported harmonization on the broadest possible base; food, medical devices, everything. They wanted it because as they said in their minority report it would effect the lowest possible rate.
It is nonsense to suggest they thought a flat tax would replace the GST. He is quite correct to say flat tax was a huge undertaking that would require enormous study and had the purpose of a complete revamping of the entire tax system, not a replacement for the GST.
As for compensation, it is incredible that now the member opposite qualifies his support for harmonization by saying "of course, we never thought about adjustment".
I ask him, as I have asked him before, to comment on whether it is inappropriate for one region of the country to offer adjustment assistance to another region of the country for structural change. In particular, could he comment on the state of the wheat industry, the wheat sector, wheat farmers and the compensation they are receiving as a result of budgetary structural change over the last few years. Could he elaborate again, if he dare, on his suggestion we are somehow stifling debate.
We have moved on the issue of the length of this debate only when it became apparent from the member opposite and his colleagues they had no intention of discussing anything in this bill other than one segment. There are many pages to this legislation. They have not yet commented on the CHST, on UI, on seniors. He says all they are talking about and all that is worth talking about is this issue.
I wonder if he would acknowledge, and I would be happy to retract and say I am wrong, that we have been debating more than the GST here. It would be wonderful to hear more from the member's party and the official opposition on many of the other important things in the budget.