We only have to look at the minority report to confirm that fact
I will deal specifically with the member's points in the latter part of his presentation and why the province of Quebec should not now receive some payment for having harmonized some years ago. We appreciate that Quebec had the foresight to harmonize. It was the right thing to do and obviously the government of the day thought so. It is still a good plan. No doubt there are some improvements that can be made and as a government we look forward to working with Quebec on that.
However, statistics will show Quebec actually gained from the harmonization. In the maritimes because of the tax base and the desire to lower the provincial rate of tax, a 5 per cent threshold was decided on. For any province which harmonized above a 5 per cent cap, compensation would be provided for loses above 5 per cent. As we calculate it there would be no loss for Ontario. As we see it
there was no loss for Quebec. Some other provinces might experience a loss.
As a government we are being responsible and we are prepared to provide some limited degree of compensation. This is not a political decision. This is a country that is not built on cheque book federalism, it is a country built on partnerships among all the regions of this great nation. Every area is treated equally but we cannot treat every area the same.
Did Quebec gain when it harmonized its provincial tax with the GST?