Mr. Speaker, we will scrap the GST-those were the words of the Prime Minister during the 1993 campaign. The Liberal government has made the unilateral decision to commit more than 90 per cent of the Canadian population to a semblance of GST reform, one which will be very costly, far more than the $961 million called for in the agreement.
British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec were not consulted, but they will pay for this outrageous cosmetic action taken in a pretence of meeting the commitment on which the Prime Minister and the Liberal Party of Canada have reneged.
Will the Minister of Finance admit that he has gone beyond the usual mechanisms of consultation to commit all Quebecers and all Canadians to a politically motivated compensation payment to the maritimes of close to $1 billion, without anyone having any say whatsoever on the matter?